Creative Briefs

Oh, Yes ... It's Mr. Bill!Twenty years later, not much has changed for hapless clay actor Mr. Bill—he still gets pushed around. This time, he's being victimized in spots for Ramada Inn from Impax Marketing in Philadelphia.In the Saturday Night Live bits featuring Mr. Bill in the late '70s, he en dured the flying bowling pins, electric chairs and power drills of Mr. Hand and Sluggo in scenarios like the one below, in which Sluggo's construction company builds Mr. Bill a new home.Now, Mr. Bill is again looking for shelter. In spots breaking this fall, he's persuaded by Mr. Hand to try Hotel Cheapo instead of Ramada. Walter Williams, creator of the original shorts, collaborated with Impax and director Brian Isely of Center City Film and Video, Phila del phia, on the script as well as the shoot. "Walter has very strong feelings about what motivates Mr. Bill," says Isely. TBWA\C\D Gets Grand Effie NEW YORK—For the third year in a row, TBWA\Chiat\Day rounded up the Grand Effie at the New York American Mar ket ing Association's Effie Awards, honoring effectiveness in advertising. The Playa del Rey, Calif., shop launched Nis san's Xterra with images of rugged sports juxtaposed with close-ups of the SUV. Red circles highlighted features such as water-resistant seats to the beat of Lenny Kravitz's "Fly Away." (TBWA\C\D's "Think dif ferent" campaign for Apple took last year's Grand Effie, and in 1999 it was the "Yo quiero Taco Bell" campaign.)At last week's ceremo nies, Young & Rubicam took home the most Gold Effies, four, for the "Walk man has landed" campaign for Sony, "Oh, the possi bil i ties!" for Fisher-Price, "Whack and unwrap" for Tobler Choc o late Orange and "Census 2000: This is your future" for The Board of the Census. The New York agency won silvers for its Crystal Light and Baker's Chocolate campaigns and bronzes for its Diet Dr. Pepper, General Foods International Coffees, Jell-O Chocolate Pudding and Tamiflu work.Two gold Effies went to Ogilvy & Mather, New York, for IBM's "Hot Products" and "Software Evangelist" campaigns and for "Make every day count" for Centocor's Remi cade medication. The "Touch of Dove" campaign for Dove won a silver.DDB tied with Y&R for the most awards, 10. DDB's "Whassup?" Budweiser campaign won a gold. Silvers went to the Ener gizer e2, State Farm, Wilson, Americaslibrary.gov and FTD campaigns; bronzes went to work for the city of Chicago, Duckbrand tape, Tyson and Cigna. TBWA\C\D Gets Grand Effie Take Two for DDB at Radio Mercury N.Y. Festivals Go Global Take Two for DDB at Radio MercuryFor the first time in the 10-year history of the Radio Mercury Awards, the same agency won the top prize of $100,000 two years in a row. DDB was the fortunate beneficiary, for its Bud weiser "Heroes" spot saluting "Mr. Pickled Pigs Feet Eater"—"Ig noring all you know about pigs and where they live and what they step in ... it takes guts to eat those feet." At a luncheon in New York last week, the Radio Advertising Board handed out 13 awards totaling $155,000 for outstanding radio work. Stan Richards, founder and principal of The Richards Group, Dallas, was honored with a lifetime achievement award. The irony of be stowing a radio award on an art director was not lost on the ad vet. "I've had a 48-year career and have yet to write my first radio spot," he said. Still, he graciously accepted the award, which saluted the agency's extensive use of ra dio for clients such as Motel 6.N.Y. Festivals Go Global The five grand trophies in the New York Festivals print, poster and design competition went to agencies on five continents, but no Americans were among the recipients. A total of 299 trophies were awarded to agencies from 64 countries. South Africa's Ju pi ter Drawing Room, Jo hannesburg, won for a Nike ad in support of the Paralympics, featuring a close-up of the bandaged hands of a com petitor in a wheelchair. Australian agency Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, won a grand award for a Pacific Access Yellow Pages billboard, which fits on the corner of a building and asks simply, "Hinges?" Hakuhodo, Tokyo, was awarded for its Japan Glass Bottle Association poster campaign, which promoted the ecological benefits of glass containers by showing a ball, a balloon and a woman's breast made over to look like the earth. German agency Philipp und Keuntje, Hamburg, produced a striking photographic promotional piece for the Audi Steppenwolf that was de livered in a metal box labeled "Don't open." Inside there were more la bels, such as "Don't read" and "Don't touch." Fi nally, Brazil's Fischer America, São Paulo, won for its two-page magazine PSAs for the Eye Bank of São Paulo, featuring photos of people with holes in place of their eyes, revealing the eyes of a person on the following page. Copy ex plains how easy cornea donation can be. Other winners included Saatchi & Saatchi, which led the glo bal networks with six gold World Medals. The BBDO and McCann-Erickson networks got four gold awards each.

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