I was interviewed for a year-end piece on NPR about the advertising highs and lows from 2005. It will be on All Things Considered on Friday and I'll provide a link to the audio after the fact (unless I end up sounded like a dork)
Here is a selection of my best and worst "so called TV" spots (hint: they needn't have run on TV to be considered TV in my eyes) from the year:
Best
- Proof of Life Award: Wieden + Kennedy’s Honda Anthem Spot
- Production Budget Safety Blanket Award: Sony Bravia
- Best Exercise in Consumer Collaboration: Converse Gallery
- Reality Advertising Award: Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty
- Reality Advertising Part II: Nike’s Tiger Woods spot (mine)
- Shtick to the fundamentals Award: Young Tiger Woods spot (Nike)
- Burger King’s “The King” series esp. with NFL Football
- One step ahead award: Burger King’s iPod Video (Heavy) creative
- Best use of 30-seconds: Napster’s 30-second peep-show
- Best worst kept secret: “Banned” X-Box 360 ad
- Best extension of a conventional campaign: Reebok’s I-am-what-I-am
Best covert-PR-cover-up-conspiracy-theory-premeditated act of genius (TIE): The Heavy (already denied) or Crispin created "viral" Crying Game spot for Burger King on Heavy.com and secret society blood brothers partnership between Lugz and Apple for the latter's so-called rip-off of the former's former campaign (see below)
Wurst
- Neil French Award: Continental’s One Pass Miles (the one with the office whore who will sleep with anyone who has enough One Pass Miles - ugggh)
- Sex does not necessarily Sell Award: Carls Jr
- Borrowed Interest Swill Award: GAP’s downward spiral using celebrity endorsement
- Failure to reinvent the wheel: Pretty much most Automotive Advertising
- Most in need of an Extreme Makeover: Target
- Most esoteric and abusive placement AKA I advertise because I can, as opposed to I need to: Apple’s iPod
- Most blatant rip off of a previous campaign courtest of the Blogosphere: Adfreak's spot-the-difference post of the iPod Eminem rip-off of the Lugz campaign
