Ads of the Year

After three decades, Sir John Hegarty and Dan Wieden are still trying to one-up each other. That was immediately clear at Cannes this summer when they took the stage together to celebrate the 30th anniversaries of Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Wieden + Kennedy, founded within weeks of each other in 1982.

Wieden took the first shot, showing an amusing video in which he earns various degrees and ordainments through the Internet that give him the title Lord Rev. Dr. Dan Wieden—to equal, or perhaps even eclipse, the (actually) knighted Hegarty. Later, Sir John freely admitted to hating much of Wieden's work—because it's so good.

Playful ribbing between legendary creatives whose place in advertising history is secure? Sure. But it also revealed two men still passionately striving for more, feeding off their rivalry—and a good old-fashioned jealousy of each other's work—as their agencies vie to produce the great advertising of the new century.

In 2012, BBH and W+K did just that—creating between them five of the year's 10 best commercials, including the top two, as chosen here by Adweek. Their work is joined by an assortment of other brilliant spots covering a wide range of products, styles, ideas and executions. There are death-defying stunts and political manifestos; fairy tales and magic tricks; heroic women and utterly foolish men. There's the daring and the goofy; the inspirational and the indelible; the outsized and the obscure. All the spots reaffirm the joy in commercials that are meant to be savored, not sidestepped.

For Hegarty, it was a particularly special year—his last as BBH's global creative chief. (He sold his remaining stake in the agency to Publicis Groupe the month after Cannes.) And what a swan song it was, as "Three Little Pigs," BBH's masterpiece of craft and storytelling for The Guardian, edges out W+K's "Jogger" for Nike as our pick for the year's best ad.

Yes, Hegarty won this round. But you can bet the Lord Rev. Dr. Wieden is out there somewhere, plotting his revenge.

Carlton Draught, "Beer Chase"

Agency: Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, Australia

Director: Steve Ayson, The Sweet Shop

Beer advertising has a long, proud history of inspired stupidity. This year, few ads in the category were as moronic—in a good way!—as this instant classic from Australia's Carlton Draught. Following literally in the footsteps of the brewer's previous faux-epic crowd pleasers like "Big Ad" (2005) and "Slo Mo" (2010), "Beer Chase" opens with four bros celebrating a heist with a cheeky pint. These blokes are so endearingly dumb that they almost fail to notice that the pub is full of police. The ad quickly and humorously cuts to a chase scene, though it takes place entirely on foot, as the guys decide not to drink and drive their getaway car. As a cheesy '80s anthem plays, the boys hoof it through city streets, down alleys and over hills, losing the cops one by one until they eventually blast their way through a roadblock—well, actually, they climb gingerly over it, as the police absurdly duck and cover. Finally, our heroes—pints still precariously in hand—leap from a bridge and land on a booze cruise, where they party on. The ad wraps with the tagline "Made from beer," a wonderfully half-witted ending to 90 seconds of pure entertaining silliness.

Full credits here.

Axe, "Susan Glenn"

Agency: BBH, New York

Director: Ringan Ledwidge, Rattling Stick

Perhaps no spot this year felt as refreshingly out of character for a brand as Axe's "Susan Glenn." For years, the meat-heady marketer has painted its customers as dweeby chick magnets who miraculously, and frankly inexplicably, attract buxom beauties. Suddenly changing course, this spot from BBH New York was a sophisticated, nostalgic ode to the proverbial girl who got away. Peter Rosch's poetic copy has a timeless quality. Ringan Ledwidge—the only director to appear twice on this list—brings it masterfully to life with surreal, stylish visions of fond yet tortured memories from high school. The dream sequences are as romantic as any advertising put to film this year, proving that getting the girl isn't half as interesting as longing for her (and perhaps undermining Axe's traditional brand promise along the way). Kiefer Sutherland's rich narration helps build the delicate atmosphere, and his appearance in the final scene doesn't swamp it. "Everybody has had that person who renders them useless," BBH's Ari Weiss told Adweek in July. This spot, likewise, is irresistible with a charm that lingers.

Continue Reading