Creative review of the decade.
Advertising Age did it. Adweek did it. Now it's my turn. A humble tip of the hat to my five best advertising ideas/campaigns of the decade. My only gripe is that I had nothing to do with any of them. In fact, I don't even know anyone who knows anyone who had anything to do with them.
The decade started conventionally enough. I, for instance, was playing traditional ad guy at a traditional New York agency. A few days in saw me yucking it up at The Mondrian in Los Angeles, while shooting a typical thirty-second spot for a mainstream multi-national corporation. Who would have wagered that ten years later the best place to see a traditional advertising agency in action wasn't on set, but rather on a retro television drama series on AMC.
Not surprisingly then what inspired, wowed and provoked me to scream out, "fucking cock-suckers, I wish I did that" bared little resemblance to the advertising we once knew. The judging was unanimous. Me, myself and I all agreed that the two most mind-blowing pieces of work were "The Hire" from BMW and "HBO Imagine". Poetically, the former began the decade, the latter ended it.
Was the "The Hire" eclipsed as the decade wore on by more even creative forms of branded entertainment? Of course, as it should have been. But because it opened my eyes and probably lots more to the idea of long-form content outside the sixty-second spot, it has to be at the top of my list. Here's to the pioneers.
