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231 articles
NIKE | DRIVING RANGE | 2000
Tiger Woods just walks through a driving range, and one by one, the amateurs around him start hitting perfect swings. But the moment he leaves, everyone suddenly slices their shot. The gap alone is funny.
HOLLYWOOD VIDEO | DON | 1999
That movie-trailer voice crawls out from under the counter at a video rental store. One ad from Hollywood Video, 1999.
KELLOGG’S CORP | Slackers | 1999
It's 1999. Kellogg's teamed up with JWT New York and won a Gold for a film. Its title was "Slackers."
NIKE | SKATEBOARDING | 1998
Skate through the city and a security guard comes running. Try a trick in front of a shop and someone starts yelling. In 1998, that was just normal life for skateboarders. Nike's response was a single question: "What if other athletes got treated the same way?"
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT | Never Underestimate the Importance of a Good Night's Rest | 1998
Ever had the most embarrassing moment of your life because you didn't get enough sleep? In 1998, Courtyard zeroed right in on that.
MILLER BREWING CO. | Fly | 1998
This is one entry from the "Dick" series that the legendary Minneapolis agency Fallon McElligott made for Miller Lite in 1998. It's framed as the work of a fictional creative director named "Dick," turning the ad itself into the joke. For its time, this must have been a pretty bold move.
FOX NETWORK | BILLIARDS | 1998
Back in 1998, this 30-second spot ran with a simple premise: what if billiards were as physical as hockey?
FOX NETWORK | NHL on Fox - Better If It Were Hockey | 1998
This is an ad from 1998, back when FOX held the broadcast rights to the NHL. It shows footage of a squash match and then flatly declares, "This would be better if it were hockey" — the sheer boldness of that move is something else.
Apple | Think Different | 1997
In 1997, Jobs returned to an Apple that was on the brink of bankruptcy, and what he put out into the world wasn't a new product or a discount—it was just two words. "Here's to the crazy ones"—this 60-second tribute to crazy people became more than an ad; it became a declaration.
MERCEDES E-CLASS | RHINOS | 1996
1996. The year the Mercedes E-Class debuted with a new face, there was an ad featuring a rhino. The title was "RHINOS." Pretty much says it all.
PEPSI-COLA | INNER-TUBE | 1995
A boy wearing an inner tube at the beach is drinking a Pepsi through a straw. He sucks and sucks, trying to get every last drop — and ends up getting pulled into the bottle himself, tube and all. His little sister turns and says, "Mom, he did it again." This 60-second spot aired during the Super Bowl in 1995, and it hits you with a "wait, what?" before you're already laughing.
JEEP | Snow Covered | 1994
It's 1994, and for 30 seconds something moves through a landscape buried in snow. The vehicle itself never once appears on screen. And yet everyone watching thought, "Ah, that's a Jeep." This is the ad that became the first car commercial ever to win the Grand Prix at Cannes, and even 30 years later, it hasn't lost an ounce of its power.
PEPSI-COLA | PLAYGROUND | 1994
In 1994, a commercial featuring basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal interacting with a kid became the second most popular commercial in America. It also won a Gold Lion at Cannes. That 90s Pepsi feeling—celebrity, youth, and a dash of rebellion all mixed together. But I could barely find any articles that talk about the story behind this campaign.
THE LEE APPAREL CO. | SHOWER | 1993
In 1993, Lee Jeans teamed up with Fallon McElligott to put out one humor-driven ad after another.
YMCA SUMMER CAMP | SLEEPING IN | 1991
An ad for YMCA Summer Camp from 1991, back when videotapes were still the norm. The title is "SLEEPING IN." It means sleeping late in the morning. Somehow that one phrase seems to capture both kids' summer vacations and what parents are secretly thinking.
PENN ATHLETIC PRODUCTS | BOUNCE TEST | 1989
In 1989, Minneapolis agency Fallon McElligott unleashed a 30-second spot on the world. To prove the "consistency of bounce" of a racquetball, it wasn't just balls getting dropped from a building.
HUSH PUPPIES SHOES | VENTILATED | 1989
1989, just 15 seconds. A basset hound's droopy ears lift gently in the wind from a passing subway train. That's it. But somehow, that's enough to make it work.
VOLKSWAGEN | Launch II | 1988
In 1988, this film won the Grand Prix at Cannes. It came from the golden pairing of VW and DDB, but honestly, I barely know any details about it myself.
NYNEX | Human Cartoons | 1988
In 1988, how do you make a "boring free product" like the phone book interesting? TBWA CHIAT/DAY's answer was a visual riddle.
PARTNERSHIP FOR A DRUG FREE AMERICA | GIRL & DEALER | 1988
America, 1988. A 60-second spot of a girl pleading with a drug dealer on a dark street aired right in people's living rooms.
US HEALTHCARE | STAGES OF LIFE | 1988
This film won Gold in 1988, a time when healthcare advertising was still expected to stay understated. Just look at the title: "Stages of Life." The idea is that healthcare is part of every moment of a person's life, from birth to death.
NYNEX | If it's out there, it's in here / DUMBWAITERS | 1988
A phone book ad that actually gets a laugh — that's a big deal. NYNEX's Yellow Pages ads were a memorable presence in the northeastern US in the late '80s.
JOHN HANCOCK FINANCIAL SERVICES | Real Life, Real Answers | 1986
Cannes, 1986. The moment director Joe Pytka stepped onto the stage, the room erupted in a roar of boos. This ad, which had just won the Grand Prix, wasn't welcomed by the French audience. "This kind of reality doesn't belong in advertising," they seemed to say. But that was exactly the point of this campaign.
LEVI | Laundrette | 1986
In 1985, a 60-second spot aired in Britain the day after Christmas, and it turned jeans—once seen as uncool—into something to long for. What Nick Kamen took off wasn't just his clothes, but the heavy baggage of jeans being "your dad's clothes."
APPLE COMPUTER | 1984 | 1984
January 22, 1984, third quarter of the Super Bowl. On screens watched by 960,000 people, 60 seconds ran with no product and no specs in sight. Just a woman hurling a hammer, and a screen shattering. The two commentators looked at each other and couldn't help but ask, "What was that?"
BLITZ-WEINHARD | ELK CREEK CUT OFF | 1980
A piece made by Ogilvy & Mather in 1980. I still haven't been able to track down the full content, but just the title alone is enough to pull you in.
THE SEVEN-UP COMPANY | UN STORY | 1972
A 1972 TV commercial for 7-Up, titled "UN STORY." Back then, psychedelic billboards lined America's highways, and "Uncola" had become a catchphrase among young people.
VOLVO | NOW, THAT'S HARDTOP | 1971
This is an ad from 1971 where Volvo talks about hardtops. Back then, in the American market, Volvo—having come all the way from Sweden—was in the middle of building its reputation as a maker of tough, sturdy cars.
UNITED CALIFORNIA BANK | NICK | 1971
It's 1971. Back when banks were still stiff, buttoned-up institutions, this California bank put out a commercial like this one.
VOLKSWAGEN | KAFERKILLER | 1970
This is VW's piece that won the Grand Prix at Cannes Lions in 1970. The title is "KAFERKILLER." Käfer is German for beetle, meaning the Beetle. Killer means, well, killer. I've always been curious what an ad looked like where VW declared it was "killing" its own icon.
UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY FUND | Have a Cigar | 1969
A husband holds out a cigar to his newborn baby. It looks like a casual gesture, but hidden in it is a story about cerebral palsy. This is Have a Cigar, Grand Prix winner at the 1969 Cannes Lions.
VOLKSWAGEN | Funeral | 1969
In 1969, there was one thing advertising simply didn't touch: death. Everyone avoided that third rail — DDB walked right onto it.
LAURA SCUDDER DIV | SUPERMARKET | 1965
It's 1965, right around the time supermarkets were becoming part of everyday American life. This film, made by the California potato chip brand Laura Scudder together with DDB, won the Grand Prix.
CHEVROLET | TRUCK EGG TEST | 1963
In 1963, Chevrolet won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Their fourth win in five years. They hung eggs from a truck, drove it over rough roads, and the eggs didn't break. That was the whole ad.
UNITED BREWERS ASSOCIATION | WHO SAYS BEER IS A MAN'S BEVERAGE? | 1962
In 1962, an American beer industry association asked a simple question: "Who says beer is a man's beverage?" Behind that single line, you can sense a real intention to change the times.
GENERAL MOTORS | MAGIC RIDE | 1961
1961. An ad where you can't actually see the car — and it won a Clio.
CHEVROLET | CORVAIR OLYMPICS | 1960
In 1960, Chevrolet was the challenger. Into a compact car market dominated by the Volkswagen Beetle, they threw a punch with the Corvair's revolutionary rear-engine, air-cooled design. The launch campaign was named "OLYMPICS," and it reportedly won a Grand Prix.
CALO PET FOOD CO. | TIRED DOG | 1959
1959. The year that changed the course of advertising history. At Cannes, where film ads had always taken center stage, a TV spot won the Grand Prix for the first time ever. The star was a tired dog, the brand was Calo, and the agency was Foote, Cone & Belding Chicago.
CHEVROLET | STATION WAGON | 1959
It's 1959. This is the year Chevrolet's station wagons hit American roads with cat's-eye taillights and tailfins that looked like wings. The ad film, made by Campbell-Ewald, reportedly won a GRAND PRIX.