CHOPIN POLISH VODKA

Isn't an ad supposed to brag about how marvelous the product's ingredients are? Invoking the "lowly tuber" and the "humble Stobrawa potato"—and then impaling one a pitchfork—this ad for "the world's only luxury potato vodka" is almost insulting to the spuds. Oddly enough, this gives the brand character. For one thing, it's a luxury to read an ad for an upscale brand without wading through an adjectival swamp of wanna-be elegance. Smart advertisers realize the definition of "luxury" is in flux. Not long ago, it referred to the most refined sort of artifice. Now, it's as likely to denote unadulterated authenticity. The farmer in the photo certainly looks like the real thing. (He also looks like he's behind bars, but overtones of serfdom never hurt a brand's Old World aura.) The potato isn't garnished with superfluous praise. Disdaining to ingratiate itself with us, the brand takes on a certain dignity. We come away persuaded it derives from centuries of Polish vodka-making expertise and not from the ingenuity of some conglomerate's marketing department.Agency J. Walter Thompson, Chicago

Client Unilever's Helene Curtis, Chicago

Creative Director Ann Pearson

Art Director Monica Klasa

Copywriter Michele Salmon

Director of Photography Thomas Kloss

Photography Moshe Brakha

Agency Clarity Coverdale Fury, Minneapolis

Client Millennium Import Co., Minneapolis

Creative Director Jac Coverdale

Art Director Glenn Gray

Copywriter Kelly Trewartha

Print Producer Terri Herber

Photography William Huber

Agency

Borders, Perrin and

Norrander,

Portland, Ore.

Client

Columbia Sportswear, Portland, Ore.

Creative Director

Terry Schneider

Art Director

Tia Doar

Copywriter

Troy Asplund

Photography

David Emmite

Steve Lane

stock Agency

Toth Brand Imaging, Concord, Mass.

Client

Wrangler Co.,

Greensboro, N.C.

Creative Director

Michael Toth

Copywriter

Janet Champ

Producer

Melisa Goldie

Broadcast Art Director

Thatcher Adams

Production Company

Brian Howard

Productions,

Los Angeles