10.9.09

The Top 10 funniest TV ads of all time

John West Salmon...bear ad voted funniest of all time
John West Salmon...bear ad voted funniest of all time

Perhaps surprisingly, a few names cropped up a number of times, and, from these, we produced a shortlist of nominations.

Some of the ads on the list, such as the John Smith's spots featuring Peter Kaye, were part of a campaign consisting of a number of executions.

In some cases, there was little to choose between the individual ads in each group. In these instances, we picked what we judged to be the funniest and most representative of each group.

Visitors to the Campaign website have been voting on this list for the past two months, and today we can reveal our top ten funniest TV ads of all time.

As you can see from the list, UK TV ads dominate, with classic US spots managing a couple of places.

There is a fair spread of dates, and the fact that four are from the 80s perhaps shows that the creative from that golden age of advertising is standing the test of time.

Or maybe it's because a large number of voters were children during that decade.

Website users were also invited to submit their own suggestions for the ads they thought were the most funny.

Sadly, none of these gained enough nominations to make it to our shortlist, but a few of them are worthy of honourable mentions.

Among those nominated are Holsten Pils "Marilyn Monroe", Grolsch "blue movie", Egg "guinea pig" and the Abbey National ads starring Alan Davies.

As with all such subjective lists, it is more than possible you disagree with our choices and those of the voters.

1. John West Salmon 'bear'



Our top funny is one of two in the list to come from the combination of Paul Silburn and Danny Kleinman.

The ad became so popular that it turned into one of the world's first internet virals.

It starts, tamely enough, in the style of a nature documentary, showing a group of bears catching salmon at the mouth of a river.

But things take a turn for the downright bizarre when a John West fisherman enters the fray and starts fighting one of the bears, kung-fu style.

The entertaining bout ends when the fisherman distracts the bear by pointing to an imaginary eagle and kicks his adversary in the balls.

The ad was viewed online by more than 300 million people by 2006 and Leo Burnett picked up the BTAA Commercial of the Year in 2001 for the ad.

Agency
Leo Burnett
Date
2000
Writer
Paul Silburn
Art director
Paul Silburn
Director
Danny Kleinman
Production company
Spectre

2. Blackcurrant Tango 'St George'



This delightfully over-the-top spot for Blackcurrant Tango starts in corporate video-style, with Tango's "spokesman" Ray Gardner reading out a letter from a disgruntled French exchange student named Sebastien.

Fired up, Gardner leaves the office, followed by a retinue of Tango employees.

As he walks, he strips off to reveal a pair of purple boxing shorts, and ends up in a boxing ring at the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover, with Harrier jets hovering overhead.

To a cheering crowd, Gardner maniacally offers to take on France, Europe and the rest of the world.

The ad appears to be shot in one take, although it was actually done in three.

It picked up a number of awards in 1997, notably a Cannes gold Lion and a silver Pencil from D&AD.

Agency
HHCL & Partners
Date
1996
Writer
Chas Bayfield
Art director
Jim Bolton
Director
Colin Gregg
Production company
Eclipse

3. Hamlet 'photo booth'



Collett Dickenson Pearce's series of ads for the Hamlet cigar brand stand as some of the most iconic in UK TV history.

Perhaps the most famous of the lot, this 1989 spot features Gregor Fisher (later to star in Rab C Nesbitt) sitting for a picture in a photo booth.

The ad plays on the familiar feeling that the photo booth camera always captures you when you are least expecting it.

After carefully straightening his comedy comb-over, Fisher's character wastes his three chances at capturing his mugshot.

After his chair collapses, Fisher's bald pate is seen poking above the bottom of the screen with a puff of smoke rising above it.

The ad won more gold awards for CDP than almost any other, and was voted the ad of the century by a special jury at Cannes in 1997.

Credits

Agency
Collett Dickenson Pearce
Date
1989
Writers
Philip Differ, Rowan Dean
Art director
Garry Horner
Director
Graham Rose
Production company
Rose Hackney Barber

4. John Smiths 'wardrobe monsters'



After the difficulties surrounding Jack Dee's last days as John Smith's No Nonsense man, it would have been understandable if the beer brand had chosen to avoid using another celebrity in its TV ads.

However, the introduction of Peter Kaye in a series of 2002 spots was inspired.

In this ad, Paul Silburn's marvellous script sees Kaye enjoying a meal down his local Indian restaurant with his wife and a couple of friends.

The occasion is interrupted by a call from his daughter, who has gone to bed and become frightened of the "wardrobe monsters" in her room.

Matter-of-fact, Kaye tells her that "it's the burglars that break in through the windows" that she needs to be worried about.

Agency
TBWA
Date
2002
Writers
Paul Silburn, Chris Kelly, Rob Webster
Art directors
Paul Silburn, Chris Kelly, Rob Webster
Director
Danny Kleinman
Production company
Spectre

5. Carling Black Label 'dambusters'



This affectionate spoof of the 1955 World War II movie The Dam Busters continued the successful "I bet he drinks Carling Black Label" campaign.

The black-and-white spot was one in a line of patriotic ads aimed at highlighting the beer's UK origins - often at the expense of our German friends.

Carling ad regulars, the comedy duo Mark Arden and Stephen Frost, play two RAF pilots delivering bouncing bombs to a German target.

As their payload splashes off the surface of the lake, a worried-looking German sentry steels himself to defend his fortress.

When the spherical missiles reach their target, the soldier turns goalkeeper, leaping like a salmon to keep out the bombs.

Agency
WCRS
Date
1989
Writer
Kes Grey
Art director
Jonathan Greenhalgh
Director
Roger Woodburn
Production company
Park Village

6. Fedex Fast Paced World



Perhaps more clever than side-splittingly funny, "fast-paced world" consistently appears in best ads lists.

It features John Moschitta Jr as Mr Spleen, an executive who speed-talks his way through his business day.

Talking at more than 450 words per minute, he manages to conduct a board meeting, hire a new employee, complete a deal over the phone and eat his lunch.

It finishes with a voiceover, which says: "In this fast-moving, high-pressure, get-it-done yesterday world... aren't you glad there's a company that can keep up with it all?"

The spot boosted Moschitta's career, and he went on to star in more than 80 ads with ad agency Ally & Gargano.

Agency
Ally & Gargano
Date
1981
Writers
Patrick Kelly, Mike Tesch ?
Art director
Mike Tesch
Director
Joe Sedelmaier
Production company
Sedelmaier Productions


7. Orange
'snoop gold spot'



We could have picked any number of ads from Orange's series of Gold Spots, which run before films in UK cinemas.

However, Snoop Dogg's appearance, earlier this year, managed to make the regular film executives look more out of touch than they ever had before.

Mr Dresden and his assistant Elliot interrupt the rap star in his recording studio and ask him to consider changing the theme of his lyrics to focus less on sex and more on phone calls.

After a brief stand-off with Snoop Dogg's posse, Dresden decides the only option is to record the vocal himself.

Cue toe-curling rapping from the ultimate suit. The ad is one of the last Gold Spots to be produced by Mother - Orange transferred the account to Fallon in August.

Agency
Mother
Date
2008
Writer
Mother
Art director
Mother
Director
Brian Buckley
Production company
Hungry Man

8. Budget Rent a Car 'jet propulsion'



"Jet propulsion" is part of an award-winning series that opens with a bunch of marketing executives indulging in a spot of blue-sky thinking.

One suggests a new gimmick to help customers reach their cars quicker - a jet pack.

The ad cuts to a shot of a renter, who lifts off and shoots straight into an overhead power line.

After a brief pause, the marketers decide to ditch the idea.

Agency
Cliff Freeman & Partners
Date
2000
Writer
Steve Doppelt
Art director
Jason Gaboriau
Director
Dante Ariola
Production company
Propaganda Films

9.Heineken 'majorca'



This 1985 reversal of the Pygmalion story depicts a bepearled Sloane Ranger receiving an elocution lesson at the School of Street Credibility.

Her dismal attempts to shed her posh accent provoke growing frustration from her tutor.

It is only when assistant Del arrives with a six-pack of Heineken that the pupil starts getting the hang of things.

Within seconds of taking a swig of the lager, she is sounding as Cockney as Barbara Windsor.

Agency
Lowe Howard-Spink
Date
1985
Writer
Adrian Holmes
Art director
Alan Waldie
Director
Paul Weiland
Production company
Weilands


10. Castlemaine XXXX
'wife'



"Wife" was one in a series of Saatchi & Saatchi ads that did little to dispel the stereotype of the hard-drinking, misogynist male from Down Under.

This spot depicts two mates transporting crates of XXXX, which are guarded by the wife of one in the back of their ute.

When the truck gets stuck over a ravine, the wife calls out: "I reckon we'll be alright if we lose some weight off the back."

The man in the passenger seat turns to the driver and says, dryly: "She's a good sport, your missus."

Agency
Saatchi & Saatchi
Date
1991
Writer
James Lowther
Art director
Peter Gibb
Director
John Marles
Production company
RSA Films

9.9.09

HP:::Engine room

Worried it was losing touch with the next generation of computer users, and losing sales to rival brands like Apple and Sony that were seen as ‘cooler’ amongst its target demographic, HP partnered with MTV to create Engine Room. The remit: to engage with young people across the world, challenging them to demonstrate their own creative skills and the capabilities of the HP computer.

Research carried out by the computer manufacturer showed that HP’s target audience saw the brand as being less progressive than both Apple and Sony with only 36% agreeing HP was innovative vs. 68% for Apple and 52% for Sony. Since 2006, HP’s partnership with MTV has sought to rectify this trend.

Engine Room provided 16 talented digital artists, representing Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America, the opportunity to compete on HP’s newest technology, battling it out for $400,000 USD, a load of HP gear and programming control of MTV’s screen in Times Square. The progress of the 16 was broadcast by MTV through a short-form series airing around the world on TV and online.




BRAND:HP

BRAND OWNER:Hewlett Packard

CATEGORY:Computers/Software

REGION:Global

DATE:Jun 2008 - Dec 2008

MEDIA OWNER:MTV

MEDIA CHANNEL

Mobile or Internet

GAP:::in exchange

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, clothing brand GAP wanted a way to mark the occasion with an event that would make a big impact and get people talking about the brand. It decided to team up with the New York Stock Exchange, getting all traders to wear jeans for the day.











GAP became renowned for its jeans-wear back in the sixties when icons such as James Dean made the clothing fashionable. Always associated with blue-collar professions because of their hard-wearing nature, the GAP event was the first time jeans have been allowed onto the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.






On 21st August, GAP outfitted 1200 traders in its new 1969 Premium Jeans collection – named after the year the company was founded. Media organisations

were invited onto the floor to photograph the traders at work and to mark the close of play at 4pm, GAP North American president, Mark Hansen, and founding family members, John and Bill Fisher, rang the Closing Bell remotely from GAP’s San Fransisco HQ.

The stunt gained major press coverage across the states and reinforced GAP’s credentials as a stalwart of the fashion industry, at the heart of American culture.




BRAND:GAP
BRAND OWNER:GAP
CATEGORY:Accessories/ Clothing/ Footwear
REGION:USA
DATE:Aug 2009
AMEDIA CHANNEL

AmbientPR

8.9.09

Doritos:::Ask and you shall receive

Doritos prides itself on being a brand that listens to its consumers. So, when the crisp manufacturer came across a group on Orkut – the most popular social networking site in Brazil – named ‘We want a 5kg bag of Doritos’, it decided to help realise the groups’ dream.

Doritos has always looked to engage with its young target audience in its advertising. Past campaigns have challenged consumers to create videos and participate in computer games. By reacting to the topic being discussed on Orkut, not only did Doritos involve its consumers in a two-way conversation, it also showed it is prepared to engage them on their level.

Doritos launched the campaign by showing off a giant 5kg packet of Doritos at Mercado Mundo Max, an event where new ideas and trends in art, fashion and music are put on display. 5 kg bags were then sent out to Doritos lovers and opinion setters across Brazil, including influential bloggers and advertising agencies. Finally, a live stream of a 5kg bag was put on Doritos website, as well as on You Tube and flickr, and consumers were invited to guess how many crisps were in the packet, with the bag being offered as a prize.

The campaign ran for a month. In that time, the Doritos site received 113,126 unique visitors and 41,135 bets, with users spending an average dwell-time of almost 3 minutes. It turned out to be the biggest social media campaign in Brazil in 2008, so successful that Doritos decided to release a limited edition run of 5kg bags for sale in selected Brazilian supermarkets.






BRAND:Doritos
BRAND OWNER:PepsiCo
CATEGORY:Confectionery/ Snacks
REGION:Brazil
DATE:Oct 2008 - Nov 2008
MEDIA AGENCY:Cubocc
MEDIA CHANNEL

Mobile or InternetAmbient

CBS:::Interactive insert

TV companies are increasingly finding themselves in competition with a raft of digital and ‘on demand’ options.

To ensure its top programmes get the viewing figures it wants this Autumn, CBS is pulling out all the stops and putting a paper-thin interactive video player into the pages of Time Inc.’s popular magazine Entertainment Weekly.

Gone are the days when TV companies could place print ads in TV Guides and expect an audience to drop everything and tune in - viewers are increasingly in control of when and where they watch their favourite programmes. In recent years, CBS has resorted to increasingly bizarre methods of generating publicity for the launch of its new shows, including advertising on the shells of supermarket eggs.

Its latest idea is certainly more hi-tech. The interactive video-player insert, designed by Americhip, triggers automatically when readers turn to the ad page. The player is rechargeable by USB, and extra footage can also be downloaded in this way too. Likely to cost CBS millions of dollars, it will come loaded with a montage of clips from shows promoting the TV programmer’s ‘Monday to the Max’, which features season debuts of ‘How I Met Your Mother’, ‘Two and a Half Men’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and its new series ‘Accidentally on Purpose’.
To go alongside the insert, CBS will also screen the pilot of ‘Accidentally on Purpose’ at college campuses. An online microsite will be launched featuring teasers for the show and red-carpet interviews from a Los Angeles premiere party.

BRAND:CBS

BRAND OWNER:CBS Corporation

CATEGORY:Entertainment

REGION:USA

DATE:Sep 2009

AGENCY:OMD

MEDIA OWNER:Time Inc

MEDIA CHANNEL

Mobile or InternetTVPressAmbient

Carrefour new wordmark and icon:::“Positive is Back”

Carrefour Logo, Before and After

With more than 15,000 stores in 35 countries generating more than 100 billion Euros in sales, the French supermarket chain Carrefour is undeniably one of the world’s most prominent retailers and purveyors of, to put it simply, good stuff at decent prices.

Its identity design, the icon and typography have remained consistent since 1966 — only nine years after Carrefour’s launch — when the C-in-a-diamond icon made its appearance next to a typewriter-style wordmark. This September 4th, along with a new campaign titled “Positive is Back,” Carrefour has introduced a new wordmark and a slightly modified icon.

Carrefour Icon, Before and After

Old (yellow) and new (blue) icon comparison overlay, 3 second interval.

Carrefour Logo, Before and After

Old (above) and new typography.

The resulting shapes from the C eating away at the diamond is instantly recognizable so with such a high-stake operation around the world it makes no sense to introduce something revolutionary.

The new wordmark is friendlier and quirkier, and has a nice flair to it that most serif typefaces lack, so it feels like a good birdge between the blocky slab serif of old and some corporate serif. .

Carrefour Logo, Before and After

Sample applications.

Carrefour Logo, Before and After

Gradient combinations, more at Carrefour’s Facebook page.

The biggest change, more than the icon or the typography, is the introduction of a range of gradients for the icon. In application — which, unfortunately, we only have one small image — the concept seems like it could work and gives Carrefour a slightly trendy and upbeat look.

Carrefour Logo, Before and After

New TV ads for “Positive is Back” campaign.

Molson Dry beer: Social reality gaming

Association of party pros (APP)

The challenge Molson Dry wanted to position itself as the ultimate party beer. We had to connect drinkers with the brand as well as with one another. We developed a unique concept: A social reality game.
The solution We created a new sport related to a social activity: the party. Players are members of the Association of Party Pros (APP), which is supported by a distinct advertising campaign and a Web platform. The game is played in all the natural habitats of “party animals:” bars, parties, concerts, Facebook, nightlife webzines and at www.produparty.com . The players who accumulate the most points through their performances during parties are crowned with the title Party Legend. They are featured on the APP website and Facebook, get exclusive party gear at the Molson boutique, APP privileges, and ultimately represent Quebec at the Tenerife Carnival, in the Canary Islands.
The results The campaign, launched in 200_, became more than contagious, it went viral: thousands of players, no less than 25 parties, each bringing together over 3,000 party pros, almost 10,000 fans on Facebook, closely followed by 6 nightlife webzines and 20 winners. Uniqueness The relationship between the field and the social networks in the APP campaign clearly demonstrates that the Web can work effectively with other marketing platforms to create a global experience in multiple locations, with many players. Molson Dry became a hub for social interaction between party pros all over Quebec.



Credits:
Creative Director: Jonathan Rouxel
Art Director: Kevin Lo
Copywriter: Marilou Aubin
Illustrator: David Arcouette
Other additional credits:
Production : Sandie Rotge
Released: May 2009

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