Opinion: Newland on ... Ariel.

Eskimos clearly research well. Given the miniscule proportion of the world's population that they actually make up, they appear in a lot of ads. There was Alliance & Leicester's bemused Innuit, Guinness Extra Cold has cast one in its current campaign, and now there's Ariel.

The brand has a history of quite annoying, smug advertising about how white Ariel washes (a husband resorting to feeding only white food to his baby was a low point). The wooden Tim Henman has been cast as a spokesman in more recent campaigns. All in all, evidence of a belief in the power of strong creative work has been absent for some time.

'Ice fishing', now on air, breaks this tradition. It features an Eskimo woman appearing to fish through a hole cut in the ice. The scenery is dramatic, the music emotive. She reels in her line and pulls out, not a baby seal, but a clean white babygro.

The ad is designed to demonstrate Ariel's ability to wash in cold cycles.

It does this clearly. As a dramatic piece of film, it will stand out in a daytime ad break populated by loan companies and contingency law firms flogging their wares.

It's a warm film (no small feat given its icy setting) and as such is better equipped to build a relationship with consumers than its predecessors.

With this ad, I think you are really starting to see Procter & Gamble backing more creative strategies; its commitment to creativity is moving beyond simply attending the Cannes International Advertising Festival every year.