USA TODAY advertising writers Dottie Enrico and Melanie
Wells tabbed their winners and losers among ad campaigns for '95.
Some highlights: Enrico ranked Wieden and Kennedy's ESPN
campaigns the best of '95: "Hilarious. High-minded. ...Wieden &
Kennedy's work ... is primo." Enrico put Nike's "If You Let Me
Play" campaign in her "Best" category, also, writing that this
W&K piece "was heartbreaking and haunting. When was the last
time you said that about an ad that wasn't a public service
spot?" Wells pins Domino's "Gus and the Guys" spots among her
Worst. Wells: "I have avoided all NFL games this fall just so I
don't have to face Domino's in-your-face, know-it-all pizzaphile
Gus" (USA TODAY, 12/18).
FROM THE WEEKLIES: TIME's top ad campaigns of '95 ranked
Wieden & Kennedy's "SportsCenter" campaign for ESPN its seventh-
best for '95: "Taken together, these 15 spots promoting the
sports-news show function as a mock documentary, offering a
hilarious behind-the-scenes look at SportsCenter" (TIME, 12/25-
1/1 issue). U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT's "Predictions" for '96
include "A Banner Year For Advertisers," noting that the '96
Games are a key catalyst for ad spending (U.S. NEWS, 12/25-1/1
issue).
