Creative: Best Spots

P> Best Spots are selected by Adweek editors from commercials breaking on broadcast and cable television. Call Nancy Sobel at (212) 536-6453 to submit reels or to order this month's collection. The Best Spots section is compiled by Mark Lang. DAIRY MANAGEMENT INC. A party plate of cheese is placed next to a goldfish bowl. The two goldies have a hankering for the yellow stuff and they go kamikaze, leaping out of the water. Unfortunately, the cheese gets moved. Oh, well. Sushi, anyone? TITLE: Goldies AGENCY: Leo Burnett, Chicago CD/COPYWRITER: Rory Monaghan ADS: Ben Hershey, Bob Shallcross PRODUCER: Michael Antonucci PRODUCTION CO.: Propaganda Films LIVE-ACTION DIRECTOR: David Kellogg SPECIAL EFFECTS: Rhythm & Hues HEAD TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Robert Luyre EDITOR: Jim Hutchins, Nomad Editing MUSIC: Cliff Colnot Music DIAL-A-MATTRESS A guy in a squirrel costume highlights this funny ad. "Anybody with half a brain knows an Arctic ground squirrel is down by now," says the giant rodent to the mattress-delivery guys. Seems squirrel boy hasn't had a chance to hibernate--too busy cleaning the gutters and roof. And too busy arguing with his wife--a human woman. Hmmm. Where's Ken Starr when you really need him? TITLE: Squirrel AGENCY: Dweck & Campbell, New York CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Lori Campbell ADS/CWS: Steve Pearson, Scott Vitrone AGENCY PRODUCER: Larry Shanet PRODUCTION CO.: Hungry Man DIRECTOR: John O'Hagan EDITOR: Dave Koza, MacKenzie Cutler DREYFUS This striking ad offers a haunting violin score, plus a man and his cat: "Someday, I plan to sleep through rush hour, start a business with my son, see a ballgame on a Tuesday afternoon. Someday, I plan to teach someone to read, run for city council, build a boat, learn all the ways to cook rainbow trout." Dude, here's the plan: Don't pet the freakin' lion. TITLE: Sleep Through Rush Hour AGENCY: Citron Haligman Bedecarre, S.F. CDs: Matt Haligman, Kirk Citron ART DIRECTOR: DeeAnn Budney COPYWRITER: Kelly Sopp AGENCY PRODUCER: Rob Sondik PRODUCTION CO. Ritts/Hayden DIRECTOR: Herb Ritts EDITORIAL: Bob & Sheila's Edit World MUSIC: Gary Remal Malkin ESPN ESPYs While Best Spots is not a big Norm MacDonald fan, we like the fact that this smarmy comic hosted the ESPYs, a made-for-TV awards show. In this ad, MacDonald tries to "fool" the audience into thinking NBA star Dikembe Motumbo is onstage with him. Hey Norm, can you say Weekend Update? TITLE: Dikembe AGENCY/PROD. CO. Hungry Man, New York CD/COPYWRITER/DIRECTOR: David Shane AD/COPYWRITER/DIRECTOR: Rick Rabe AGENCY PRODUCER: Stephen Orent EDITOR: Ian MacKenzie GATORADE The "Be Like Mike" song is back with a vengeance. MJ, Chris Berman, B.B. King, John Popper, Lisa Leslie and Ahmad Rashad (Ahmad Rashad?) all make appearances. The kicker: Larry Bird says he's not going to sing. Bet he still gets paid, though. TITLE: Return of Be Like Mike AGENCY: Foote, Cone & Belding, Chicago CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jonathan Harries ART DIRECTOR: Joe Burke COPYWRITER: Danny Schuman AGENCY PRODUCER: Jeff Felter PRODUCTION CO.: RSA DIRECTOR: Marcus Nispel EDITOR: Jim Lipetsky, Red Car MUSIC: Ira Natelis HOME DEPOT On the streets of Nagano, a cute-as-a-button Japanese girl looks up at an Olympic banner. As she reads it, the Japanese characters turn into a skier, who shushes down the mountain. This "proud to be an Olympic sponsor" ad is a nice mesh of visuals, computer animation and music. TITLE: Banner AGENCY: The Richards Group, Dallas CD/ART DIRECTOR: Gary Gibson ART DIRECTOR: David Jenkins CWs: Stephen Emerson, Gregg Steward AGENCY PRODUCER: Harvey Lewis PRODUCTION CO.: Steve & Linda Horn DIRECTOR: Steve Horn EDITOR: Jack Waldrip, Charlie Uniform Tango COMPOSER: Chip Jenkins, Elias Assoc. SPECIAL EFFECTS: Digital Domain IBM This charming ad profiles an Olympic skier from Cyprus. Seems Andreas is serious about his quixotic quest, and we meet adoring family and friends. His grandma says (in Greek): "He's a good boy." The Olympian trains hard: "It's difficult to be a skier in Cyprus; we haven't any snow." By the way, our hero picked up a nickname in Nagano: Dead-Last Andy. TITLE: Look for Me: Andreas Vasili AGENCY: Ogilvy & Mather, New York WORLDWIDE CD: Steve Hayden CDs: Chris Wall, Susan Westre ART DIRECTOR: Chris Curry COPYWRITER: Brendan Gibbons EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Lee Weiss AGENCY PRODUCER: Lee Reizan PRODUCTION CO.: radical media DIRECTOR: Lenard Dorfman EDITOR: Crew Cuts IKEA 6:15 a.m. A hot babe wakes up, gets out of bed and stretches by the window. On the sidewalk below: Three paper boys stare up in awe. "Curtains from $15.95," the super says. Best Spots never saw that kind of action delivering The Hartford Courant in the 1970s. TITLE: Paper Boys AGENCY: Deutsch, New York ECD: Kathy Delaney ACD/COPYWRITER: Cheryl Van Ooyen ART DIRECTOR: Todd Gallentine COPYWRITER: Mark Mendelis AGENCY PRODUCER: Cheri Anderson PRODUCTION CO. Tool of North America DIRECTOR: Chris Hooper JOHN HANCOCK Promoting the Sarajevo Olympic Children's Fund, this haunting ad juxtaposes joyous scenes of the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo and the horrors of war eight years later. "People have to realize it is time to change guns to hammers, sirens to songs," the VO says. Hear, hear. TITLE: Sarajevo AGENCY: Hill, Holliday, Connors, COSMOPULOUS, Boston GCD/ART DIRECTOR: Jamie Mambro GCD/COPYWRITER Ernie Schenck AGENCY PRODUCER: Scott Hainline PRODUCTION CO.: radical media DIRECTOR Tarsem EDITOR: Robert Duffy, Spot Welders SOUND DESIGN: Albert Ibbotson, Albert Entertainment KFC The family has gathered to watch Susie skate on TV. But a KFC ad airs first, and the folks are hungry. So they blow off Susie for some original recipe. Talk about a double Axel. TITLE: Susie's Family AGENCY: Young & Rubicam, New York ECD: Manny Perez GCD: Chris Grabenstein CREATIVE DIRECTOR: John Lucci ART DIRECTOR: Reid Miler COPYWRITER: David McMillan AGENCY PRODUCERS: Susan Chiaffullo, Toni Lipari MUSIC PRODUCER: Steve McCabe PRODUCTION CO. Backyard Productions DIRECTOR: Rob Pritts EDITOR: Rob Tortoriello, Mad House KODAK A trip to California exposes the vagaries of changing film speeds and lighting conditions. The Hollywood sign becomes Hey Low Light; at Grauman's Chinese, Doris Day's handprints turn into Wrong Time of Day; and Burt Reynolds stars in Blurred Reynolds. Big year for Burt: an Oscar nod and a Kodak ad. TITLE: Hollywood AGENCY: Ogilvy & Mather, New York CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Rick Boyko ART DIRECTOR: John Trahar COPYWRITER Chris Mitton AGENCY PRODUCER: Lance Doty PRODUCTION CO.: Bruce Dowad Assoc. DIRECTOR: Bruce Dowad EDITORIAL: King Cuts MUSIC: Jonathan Elias, Elias Assoc. LEXUS Desert sand, mountain snow and lots of impenetrable roads pepper this spot intoducing Lexus' new line of SUVs. But a simple piece of VO dialogue put this baby over the top: "Roads? We don't need no stinkin' roads!" TITLE: End of the Road AGENCY: Team One, El Segundo, Calif. CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Tom Cordner ACDs: Steve Levit, Rob Schwartz ART DIRECTOR: Laura Dellasala COPYWRITER: Greg Collins AGENCY PRODUCER: Nancy Dickerson PRODUCTION CO.: HSI DIRECTOR: Paul Garreau EDITOR: Stuart Waks, Stuart Waks & Co. SOUND: Reinhard Denke, Primal Scream MUSIC: Jason Johnson MASTERCARD This cookie-cutter campaign is churning them out, but this ad hits home. Thanks to MasterCard, a woman gets dolled up. "Look on old boyfriend's face at the reunion: priceless." TITLE: Reunion AGENCY: McCann-Erickson, New York DEPUTY CD: Jonathan Cranin GCD/COPYWRITER: Joyce King Thomas SR. CD/ART director: Jeroen Bours AGENCY PRODUCER: Sally Hotchkiss PRODUCTION CO. Gorgeous Pictures DIRECTOR: Frank Budgen EDITOR: Jim Heygood MUSIC: Zen Music/Joe & Co. MOTHER'S COOKIES Meet Lawrence, Diana, Michael, Deborah and John, the dancing cookie chefs. Their big news? A cookie with an unusual name. "It doesn't make sense to you or me," sings John, "why a cookie like this should be named Taffy." Then the Fab Five spell out T-A-F-F-Y with their bodies. The Village People have nothing to fear. TITLE: Taffy AGENCY: Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners West, San Francisco CD/AD/COPYWRITER: Jennifer Solow ART DIRECTOR: Jeff Musser COPYWRITERS: Robert Solis, Andy Sohn AGENCY PRODUCER: Ben Latimer PRODUCTION CO.: Palomar Pictures DIRECTOR: Francine McDougall EDITOR: Dan Swietlek, Swietlek Inc. MUSIC: John Beach, The Beach Bros. MOUNTAIN DEW She spritzes perfume. He uses breath spray. And the two sky-surfers launch off separate mountains, meeting at 10,000 feet. After a midair striptease, the pair dance to "Tonight, Tonight." When a can of Dew appears, he pulls out two straws. She pulls his ripcord and says, "Let's just be friends." As he disappears into the night, she chugs the soda. Kids these days! TITLE: Duet AGENCY: BBDO, New York CHIEF CREATIVE: officer Ted Sann EXEC. CD Michael Patti SR. CD/COPYWRITER: Bill Bruce CD/ART DIRECTOR: Doris Cassar AGENCY PRODUCER: Gary Delemeester PRODUCTION CO.: House of Usher DIRECTOR: Kinka Usher EDITORS: John Murry, T. Muldoon, Nomad Editorial NIKE Poet Matthew Cook writes: "Picabo Street, that's probably the coolest name in the world." If that name was "a scary dictator," we'd think of "gasoline prices a rodeo clown, it might just seem idiotic. But when a champion has that name, it's a whole new kettle of fish." Picabo stars as herself. TITLE: Picabo Street AGENCY: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco CDs: Jeff Goodby, Rich Silverstein ART DIRECTOR: Margaret Johnson COPYWRITER: Steve Payonzeck POET: Matt Cook AGENCY PRODUCER: Cindy Fluitt PRODUCTION CO.: Propaganda Films DIRECTOR: Dante Ariola EDITOR: Noah Herzog DIRECTOR: Tim Barnes, Lost Planet NIKE "I can't believe they're about to take a gold medal from a 19-year-old kid," says boxer Roy Jones Jr. At the time, we couldn't believe it either. But the judges stole Jones' gold medal in Seoul 10 years ago. This spot is a powerful, moving and honest tribute to a man who was victimized by one of the most heinous acts in the history of amateur athletics. TITLE: Roy Jones Jr. AGENCY: Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore. CDs: Jamie Barrett, John Jay CD/ART DIRECTOR: Vince Engel COPYWRITERS: Canice Neary, Mik Smith AGENCY PRODUCER: Jennifer Smieja PRODUCTION CO.: radical media DIRECTOR: Robert Leacock EDITOR: Lucas Eskin, Mad River Post MUSIC: Jeff Koz, Hum Music POLAROID Goofing on America's penchant for shaking Polaroid pictures as they develop, this ad spans the globe for other strange customs. The Chinese prefer the vigorous head rub. The Scots turn to their livestock. And Arabs beat the photo like a Persian rug. TITLE: Shaking the Polaroid AGENCY: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco CDs: Jeff Goodby, Rich Silverstein ART DIRECTOR: Greg Bell CWs: Paul Venables, Steve Dildarian AGENCY PRODUCER: Khrisana Mayfield PRODUCTION CO.: Tate & Partners DIRECTOR: Baker Smith EDITOR: Livio Sanchez MUSIC: Elias Associates SOUND: Earwax SNICKERS This ad spoofs the new Nike campaign. "I can't give up," says a kid shooting baskets on a deserted b-ball court. "I can't stop trying to fly." The kid goes up for the dunk. "I can't get down." He's gonna be awhile. TITLE: Rim AGENCY: BBDO, New York CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Ted Sann Sr. EXEC. CD: Charlie Miesmer CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Wil Boudreau ACD/GCD: Rick Midler ART DIRECTOR: Ana Feder COPYWRITER: Teddy Stoecklein AGENCY PRODUCER: J.D. Williams PRODUCTION CO.: radical media DIRECTOR: Frank Todaro EDITOR: Mike Douglas, MacKenzie Cutler TURLOCK IRRIGATION DISTRICT "Well, Johnny. Do you have any last words?" asks the warden. "Well, yes," answers the condemned man, strapped to the electric chair. "Now that Californians will be getting a choice in their electric service, I strongly advise shopping around." From there, this crisply edited spot keeps the viewer in suspense. When the switch is pulled, the prison's cheapo electricity fails. Johnny lives (for the sequel)! TITLE: Johnny AGENCY: Katsin/Loeb, San Francisco CD/COPYWRITER: Jef Loeb CD/ART DIRECTOR: Carlton Taylor AGENCY PRODUCER: Andrea Sanchez PRODUCTION CO.: Pavlov Productions DIRECTOR: Marty Weiss EDITOR: Tom Schachte, Straight Cuts COMPOSER: Jason Johnson, Primal Scream

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Creative: Best Spots - February

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