GOOD, BAD – AND THE UGLY

This is a poll without any independent research, no focus groups – there was not even a specific criterion – just love or hate. It is based solely on the unprompted judgements/prejudices of the Marketing Week newsroom, a group of people with a keen sense of what is good – and what is not. More than 3bn was spent on advertising in the UK in 1996. Here are some of the high – and low – points.

Of all the sectors, telecoms stole the show in terms of hated advertising. From BT’s Bob Hoskins (Abbott Mead Vickers. BBDO) to its irritating and patronising “sitcom” business ads (Butterfield Day Devito Hockney) with ten people from the same office sitting around a computer screen – the major player set the pace.

But Mercury Communications took the biscuit with Oliver and Claire (HHCL & Partners). Bad enough in print and on poster but excruciating on TV, the ad brought new meaning to the words “appalling advertising”.

The mobile phone companies also had a bad year. Vodafone (BMP Needham) sent ex-Twin Peaks star Kyle McLachlan in search of “the other side”. It would have done better to send BMP to look for a more convincing idea. The only real telecoms exceptions are the evocative Kate Moss and John McCarthy ads for One2One (Bartle Bogle Hegarty).

Retailers, too, supplied some of the worst ads. WH Smith’s (AMV) executions with Nich-olas Lyndhurst illustrate its identity problem, Ikea’s “chuck out the chintz” campaign (St Luke’s) is just terrible and the entry of Molly into the Safeway saga (Bates Dorland) is a good example of how to take an idea too far. They all scored high on the hated list. In fact, not one retailer was mentioned among the favoured ads.

The same cannot be said for car ads. The “Texas” campaign from Volkswagen (BMP) was praised but car ad of the year has to go to TBWA’s Professionals spoof for the Nissan Almera – if only because we’re old enough to remember the original. Virtually all the car makers were mentioned, although ad and manufacturer did not always correspond.

EURO RSCG Wnek Gosper’s overblown work for the Peugeot 406 and TBWA’s campaign for the Nissan Primera were singled out for un-favourable com- ments. And while Ogilvy & Mather’s work for the Ford Ka was liked, it lost credits for every other dull Ford ad it has produced.

Football-related ads also featured high on the favoured list with Littlewoods (D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles), Adidas (Leagas Delaney) featuring Paul Gascoigne and all of Coca-Cola’s “Eat, Sleep Drink” Euro 96 work commended. Eric Cantona’s best efforts for Eurostar were popular until someone in the office tried to book a ticket on the service only to be told that they could not be given a departure time. Only Gareth Southgate let the side down, again, with a Pizza Hut (AMV) ad that was almost too embarrassing to watch.

Politics also reared its head. Worst and best awards both went to the Conservative Party (M&C Saat-chi), possibly the only thing it will win this year. The controversial “Demon Eyes” press ads won acclaim, while “It Hurt It Worked” was a close contender for worst campaign of the year.

And so best ad of the year goes to the demented HHCL & Partners-created Blackcurrant Tango. The worst was a close-run thing between two Saatchi & Saatchi clients: Mel Smith’s Kerching Delta Visa – which in another year would have won hands down – coming a close second to Anchor spreadable butter with talking cats, dog, sheep and cows enough to make even Dr Doolittle turn in his grave.