MTV Generation (1990-2004)
Energizer Bunny, Got Milk?, Budweiser frogs, "Wassup?", Jordan x Hare, the Ricky Martin Pepsi era, Volkswagen's "DA DA DA" Golf ad. Advertising treats Gen-X as ironic.
Part of Advertisements
27 moments in this segment.
- — Michael Jordan x Bugs Bunny. 1992. Nike's "Hare Jordan" Super Bowl ad — Michael Jordan playing basketball with Bugs Bunny on the moon. Spawned Space Jam (1996); the most successful athlete-cartoon crossover of all time.
- — Budweiser Frogs. January 29, 1995. Three frogs croak "Bud," "weis," "er." Aired during Super Bowl XXIX. Spawned the Budweiser lizards (1997), Wassup (1999), and effectively defined Anheuser-Busch's Super Bowl advertising era through 2012.
- — VW Golf "DA DA DA". 1997. Volkswagen Golf "DA DA DA" ad — two slackers find a chair on the curb, put it in the Golf, then ditch it. Set to Trio's 1982 song "Da Da Da." Re-launched the Golf in the US; one of the most-loved ads of its era.
- — Apple "Think Different". September 28, 1997. TBWA\Chiat\Day's "Here's to the crazy ones" + "Think Different" Apple campaign. Saved Apple from near-bankruptcy. Won the 1998 Emmy + Effie Grand. Reframed Apple as the brand for creatives.
- — Truth Initiative Anti-Tobacco. 1999 onward. The "Truth" anti-tobacco campaign (American Legacy Foundation) — guerrilla, snarky, designed for MTV audience. Drove the largest single-decade decline in US youth smoking ever measured.
- — Budweiser "Wassup?!". 1999. Charles Stone III's "Wassup?" Budweiser ads — friends yelling the catchphrase at each other on the phone. Won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix and the Clio Grand Prix; spawned countless parodies. The defining late-1990s viral catchphrase.
- — Guinness "Surfer". October 1999. Guinness "Surfer" — black-and-white waves crash into white horses, soundtrack of Leftfield's "Phat Planet." Voted Britain's favourite ad of all time. Set the bar for cinematic brand storytelling.
- — Geico Gecko. 1999 onward. The Geico Gecko (Martin Agency) — green animated lizard with cockney accent. Voted Time's 26th-best ad icon of all time. The defining 2000s-2010s US insurance mascot.
- — Viagra — Bob Dole Ad. 1998-1999. Bob Dole's Pfizer-paid Viagra TV ad — the first major pharmaceutical campaign explicitly featuring a former US presidential candidate. Reshaped what direct-to-consumer pharma advertising could do.
- — Ricky Martin x Pepsi. 1999. Ricky Martin signs with Pepsi at the peak of his crossover moment ("Livin' la Vida Loca"). The defining late-1990s celebrity-mega-endorsement, paving the way for Britney, Beyoncé, the 2000s pop-star-as-soda-pitchman era.
- — Milk Mustache Celebrity Series. 1995-2014. The "Milk Mustache" celebrity portrait campaign for the Milk Processor Education Program. 250+ celebrities — Naomi Campbell, Britney Spears, Michael Jordan. Defined the celebrity-print-ad model of the late 1990s.
- — Aflac Duck. January 2000. Aflac's Duck — Linda Kaplan Thaler agency — quacks "AFLAC!" Brand awareness went from 11% to 94% within a year. The fastest-built mascot-brand recognition curve in US advertising history.
- — Britney Spears Pepsi Super Bowl. February 4, 2002. Britney Spears's 90-second Pepsi Super Bowl ad — a singing tour of Pepsi commercials from the 1950s to 2002. Most-talked-about Super Bowl ad of the early 2000s.
- — BMW Films "The Hire". 2001-2002. BMW Films — short films by Ang Lee, John Frankenheimer, Guy Ritchie starring Clive Owen + a BMW. Branded-content pioneer; 100M+ views before YouTube existed. Won every advertising award going.
- — Telmex Brand Expansion. 1996-2010. Telmex's mass-market advertising as Carlos Slim consolidated Mexican telecom. The dominant Mexican brand campaign of the period; defined Latin American advertising as it shifted from US-translated to original-Spanish-language.
- — Fevicol — Adhesive That Holds India. 1990s onward. Fevicol's adhesive ads (Ogilvy Mumbai) — surreal scenarios (overloaded bus, cracking elephants) where Fevicol still holds. Won 32 Cannes Lions over 30 years; the most decorated Indian advertising campaign in history.
- — IKEA "Lamp". 2002. Spike Jonze's IKEA "Lamp" ad — a discarded floor lamp in the rain, anthropomorphised. Won Cannes Lions Grand Prix; subverted brand-as-emotion. One of the most-cited "great ads" of the 2000s.
- — Apple iPod Silhouette Ads. 2003 onward. TBWA\Chiat\Day's silhouetted-dancers iPod campaign — bright colours, black figures, white earbuds. Defined Apple's 2000s aesthetic; the campaign that confirmed the iPod as a cultural phenomenon.
- — Honda "Cog". April 2003. Wieden+Kennedy London's "Cog" Honda Accord ad — 2 minutes of car parts in a Rube Goldberg machine. 606 takes; no CGI. Won the Cannes Grand Prix; voted Britain's favourite ad of 2003.
- — McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It". September 2003. Heye & Partner's "I'm Lovin' It" jingle for McDonald's, sung by Justin Timberlake. The first global McDonald's ad tagline used in all markets. Still in use 20+ years later.
- — Six Flags "Mr. Six". 2004. Six Flags's "Mr. Six" — old man dancing to "We Like to Party" by Vengaboys. Used a male performer in old-man makeup. Tripled Six Flags brand recall in 8 months; debated for years.
- — Visa "Life Takes Visa". 2004. Visa's "Life Takes Visa" launch — including the famous "Buying Group Hugs" Olympic spot. Re-positioned Visa from a payment network to a lifestyle brand. Single most consequential late-2000s financial-services campaign.
- — Haribo Gold-Bears Jingle. 1990s. "Haribo macht Kinder froh und Erwachsene ebenso" / "Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo." The cross-European jingle that became one of the most-recognised pieces of advertising music in Europe.
- — Milk Mustache Celebrity Posters. 1995-2014. The "Milk Mustache" celebrity portrait campaign for the Milk Processor Education Program. 250+ celebrities. Defined the celebrity-print-ad model of the late 1990s — also intersected with Naomi Campbell, Britney Spears, Michael Jordan portraits already in the loreline.
- — Cadbury Dairy Milk India — "Kuch Khaas Hai". 1994. Cadbury India's "Kuch Khaas Hai" ("Something special") campaign — woman dancing on cricket pitch after husband's six. Repositioned chocolate from kid-only to adult-too. Defined modern Indian advertising emotion.
- — Nando's South Africa — Roast Campaigns. 2002 onward. Nando's South African ad campaigns — TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris's consistently controversial topical roasts on Mugabe, Zuma, Trump. Banned + reinstated repeatedly; defined African advertising provocation.
- — Skol "Desce Redondo". 1998. Skol's "Desce Redondo" ("Goes Down Round") campaign — F/Nazca's edgy beer creative defined Brazilian advertising attitude. Made Skol Brazil's number-1 beer brand for two decades.
