With a plethora of best of the century lists generated in the past year by everyone from The Weather Channel (Storms of the Century) to the hotly debated top 100 films from the American Film Institute, the New York-based One Club for Art and Copy decided to confine its "best of" list to the ’90s. In late December, the organization for advertising creatives held a press conference to announce its picks for the decade’s best television and print advertising. The One Club’s board winnowed the advertising from the ’90s down to 30 spots and 30 print ads. From there, the judges picked the top 10 in television (with two ties) and the top eight in print. (Board members whose own agency work was being judged were required to abstain from voting.) The ad shops with the highest number of TV winners were Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, with four; Portland, Ore.-based Wieden & Kennedy with three nods; and Cliff Freeman and Partners, New York, which scored two slots in the top 10. The top 10 were a mix of single spots and campaigns, many of them comedy-based.
Wieden & Kennedy scored the number one position on the list with the humorous ESPN campaign made up of the spots "Kerri Strug," "The Kid" and "Self Defense," which were directed by Bryan Buckley and Frank Todaro, who at the time comprised the directing team of Buckley.Todaro from bicoastal/international @radical.media. (Buckley is now a partner/ director with bicoastal Hungry Man, while Todaro remains with @radical.media.) The commercials reveal the goings-on behind the scenes at ESPN’s SportsCenter. For example, in "Kerri Strug," the diminutive gymnast who twisted her ankle during the ’96 Olympics and had to be carried to the podium by her coach to accept the U.S. gymnastic team’s gold medal, is seen being carried around the SportsCenter office by various ESPN employees, all of whom keep trying to pass her off to someone else.
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners’ seven entries included the number two ad "Aaron Burr" for the California Milk Fluid Processor Advisory Board, directed by Michael Bay of bicoastal/ international Propaganda Films. The spot, part of the long-running "Got Milk?" campaign, features an Aaron Burr aficionado enjoying a peanut butter sandwich and some classical music on the radio. When the station’s DJ announces a trivia question—"Who shot Alexander Hamilton?"—the phone rings in the man’s apartment. The frantic collector, who of course knows the answer, picks up the phone and tries to say "Aaron Burr," but can’t be understood as his mouth is full of peanut butter. Desperate for milk, he discovers his carton is empty. The shot then cuts to the familiar "Got Milk?" tag. Goodby also landed in the third, sixth (tied with Cliff Freeman and Partners), and tenth slots (again tied with Cliff Freeman and Partners). The number three entry was "It’s Different Out There" for Norwegian Cruise Lines, directed by Carlton Chase of Los Angeles-based Ritts/Hayden. (He has since shifted representation to Shooting Gallery Productions, New York.) The number six spot belonged to "Made Fresh Today" for Chevy’s Mexican Restaurant, which was directed by Tracy Wong and Steve Simpson; the latter served as copywriter on the spot, while the former acted as art director. "Made Fresh Today" tied with the FOX Sports campaign for hockey coverage, which comprised the spots "Bowling," "Billiards" and "Golf." All three spots were directed by Christopher Guest of bicoastal Moxie Pictures. Number 10 went to Goodby’s Nike skateboard campaign featuring the ads "Tennis," Running" and "Golf," all helmed by Baker Smith of Tate & Partners, Santa Monica. The campaign envisions a world in which athletes in more mainstream sports are treated with the same disdain as skateboarders. Tying Goodby in the tenth slot was Cliff Freeman and Partners for a Little Caesars commercial entitled "Focus Group," directed by Bruce Hurwit of Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago.
In addition to being number one on the list, Wieden & Kennedy also landed in fifth and seventh place with campaigns for, respectively, Miller High Life and Nike. Miller High Life’s entry was comprised of the spots "Duct Tape," "Mayonnaise" and "Boat," all helmed by Errol Morris of @radical. media. The ads celebrate the eccentricities of the "High Life man." Nike landed at number seven with "If You Let Me Play," directed by Samuel Bayer of bicoastal Mars Media. The spot features uplifting images of young girls discussing how they will be able to succeed if they are able to play sports.
The number four spot belonged to "Lamppost" and "Chair" for Volkswagen out of London agency BMP DDB, and directed by Paul Gay, who is represented in Europe by Outsider, London, and in the U.S. by bicoastal Omaha Pictures. Number eight on the list went to Nissan’s "Toys," via TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles, directed by Kinka Usher of House of Usher, Santa Monica. Number nine went to the only other international entry on the list: Levi’s "Washroom," out of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London, helmed by Tarsem of @radical.media.
