Contac/"Cold
Diggers of 1969"
Another valentine to Busby Berkeley as the Capsules with
the 600 Tiny Time Pills are brought to life by Broadway/Hollywood
high-kickers who perform to
(Button
up your overcoat...You Belong to Me.) Wonderful,
schmaltzy overkill! Word has it that Contac (which means "continuous
action) became the #1 OTC cold relief med within two years.
Contac
Agency: Foote, Cone & Belding
Choreographer: Peter Gennaro
Year 1969
Florida/"When
You Need It Bad, We've Got It Good."
So very, very simple. Shots of cold people up to their
elbows in snow and slush. I've got
it bad! is their
mantra. Then shots of beautiful bodies in the sand, tennis
players, all that sun. Really bad grammar, really good
advertising. Seems the campaign was so successful, you
could hear air travelers say, "I've got it bad," as
they got to the airport to take a south-bound jet.
State of Florida Tourism
Agency/Writer: Mike Sloan
1970's
"Man
From Glad"
A glorious groaner campaign for trash bags. This white-haired Bond-like stud in his white suit arrived whenever somebody had a container/trash problem to solve. Sometimes the MFG arrived in bizarre vehicles. But always with a clipped/terse speech pattern and always with a solution.
Glad
Agency: Leo Burnett Company
Writer: Dalton J. O'Sullivan II, among others
1963
"Hai
Karate"
Latter-day sex-driven campaigns for Tag and Old Spice can trace their lineage directly to this campaign. Nerdy guys in Buddy Holly glasses splashed on some Hai Karate and the women would go so nuts the guys would have to fight 'em off! (The cologne package even included self-defense instructions!) Theme line: Be
careful how you use it. If only this stuff had smelled good! Hai Karate was distributed by big pharma Pfeizer which later concocted Viagra. Hmmmm.
Hai Karate Cologne
Agency: McCaffrey & McCall
1966
Hertz/"Puts
You in the Driver's Seat"
I hesitate to add this one, given it's O.J. Simpson. The NFL great runs into, through and out of airports, and magically jumps into Hertz's rentable cars. Hard to believe we liked him so much then.
Hertz Rent A Car
Agency: Ted Bates, then Scali, McCabe, Sloves
1974-79
Jamaica/"Wet
T Shirt"
Beautiful native women showed us the drawing power of the client's name across a bust line. Doyle Dane's stunning print ads come to life.
Jamaica Tourism
Agency: Doyle Dane Bernbach
Art Director: Bob Gage
1960's
"Marlboro
County"
Don't know if I ought to tip a 10-gallon hat at the sale of so much tobacco to so many people. But it's undeniable that the Marlboro Man, when he rode across the screen to Elmer Bernstein's theme from The
Magnificent Seven, was majestic marketing. It redefined the brand–once a slinky sophisticated smoke hawked by Julie London–as the ultimate man's cigarette. Sales increased 5,000% in the first eight months! The campaign also arguably helped redefine what America deemed to be male beauty. (From matinee idol to craggy cowboy.) Two "Marlboro Men," Wayne McLaren and David McLean, later died of lung ailments. The late great Don Tennant, a top Burnett exec, is generally given creative credit for the cowboy concept. Tennant supposedly also created Tony the Tiger (See #21.) I must say I'm ambivalent about this listing. It's a bad product, well sold.
Marlboro
Agency: Leo Burnett Company
1960s
"The
Night Belongs to Michelob"
Successor to the "Weekends are Made for Michelob" campaign. Some of the finest cutting this side of Hollywood. I don't like Phil Collins, but his sultry music here makes you reach for the fancy bottle's twist top. Sinatra and Eric Clapton were also part of this campaign that mixed yearning and loneliness and "making it" into Busch's premium sudsy brew. Apparently the spots didn't move Michelob's sales needle. Oh, well.
Agency: DDB Needham, Chicago
1986-89
MCI/"Parents"
Great sendup of AT&T's three-handkerchief "Reach
Out and Touch Someone." (See #57.) A nice lady is
on the phone. She's weeping. She hangs up. Her husband
asks, Didn't he tell you he loves
you? She nods. Then what
on earth are you crying for? he asks. She answers, Have
you seen our long distance bills? MCI was on the map, a
brassy cost-cutting newcomer.
MCI
Agency: Ally & Gargano
Writer: Tom Messner
Art Director: George Euringer
Director: Bob Giraldi
1982
Pepsi/"Michael
Jackson"
Could the star of this spot who charmed us actually be the guy who now haunts us so? On the shoot, MJ's hair caught on fire, thanks to a shower of sparks from a fireworks tower! The pop star was rushed to a hospital and treated for second-degree burns. The resulting publicity was like a "Lucky Strike extra!" Legendary BBD&O icon Phil Dusenberry was supposedly on the set. I believe my old colleague Arnie Blum produced.
Pepsi
Agency: BBD&O
1984
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