High Five: Ads to Get Excited About

RJ > Wow, wow, wow. Best commercial ever made. For those of you who haven’t seen it, the spot shows the 1998 Brazilian soccer team getting into a friendly pick up game at the airport. It does so many things right. The tone, music, action - everything. The way Romario lasers the ball through the x-ray machine. I’ve loved this piece since it’s been out, and never knew the John Woo directed it! The guy who did 'The Killer' did this commercial. Perfect. The action is so beautifully choreographed, it makes sense. Ronaldo missing the goal at the end? Chef's kiss!

RJ > What a crazy ad. The sequence of events that led to Aaron Burr becoming a punch line must have been nuts. Michael Bay’s prints are all over this, I love the exaggerated props to really make the wide angles smack, it reminds me of Terry Gilliam. It’s insane to me that this kicked off such a long campaign but the idea works and it’s always cool to get in on one of those.

Pasqual > One of the greatest, most referenced ads ever made. I can’t tell you how many times during dinner with agency creatives that this spot comes into conversation at least once. There's a good reason. Glazer cements his own genre of advertising with a stripped down, intimate and gorgeously photographic depiction of new Americana and the travelling young man wearing, of course, Wranglers. The ad speaks for itself without hardly any product placement, zero voiceover, and just one iconic song - 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road'. Even decades later, this ad still resonates. It’s so 'un-commercial' that it’s become so commercial - and thank God for that!

RJ > I used to work as an intern at a film production company where I screened directing reels and passed on the ones I liked to the boss. I remember getting a Tom Kuntz reel with a bunch of commercials on it and immediately sending it up the ladder. This Skittles commercial is our favourite of that run of ads. The match cut is so sick. It's smart and funny - a solid ad for a solid campaign. In retrospect, it’s probably why I am currently dealing with a Skittles addiction.

Pasqual > I saw this ad (among a collection of others by Lynch) playing at an art house theatre before a screening of 'Fire Walk with Me'. Man, I’d never forget it. As a deeply unapologetic Lynch fan, I couldn’t believe this guy was allowed to make this thing. The entire premise, which is an eerie portrait of people littering NYC streets resulting in all-consuming rats is devoid of any messaging other than the final text, "Clean Up: We Care About New York". It is as effective as it is disturbing, but what blows me away is that it also truly feels Lynchian. Oftentimes, big film directors make ads that could have been made by anyone, but this PSA still stays true to the director’s unique voice, which I absolutely love, and wish there were more of.