1. Paul Daniels & Debbie McGee/Heineken
Who'd have thought that an excruciating rendition of Close To You by
Paul Daniels, Debbie McGee and Peter Stringfellow would give Budweiser's
"whassup?" such a good run for its money. Fortunately, Lowe Lintas fed
them all to the lions before viewers began gnawing lumps out of chair
legs.
2. Sian Lloyd/Wales Tourist Board
With the Wales holiday industry going up with the smoke of the
foot-and-mouth funeral pyres, Welsh tourism executives decided it was
time to go for broke.Sian Lloyd, the TV weathergirl, was drafted in to
be the face for Golley Slater's £1 million campaign of five
commercials all filmed, edited and screened in a single day to show
stayaway holidaymakers what they were missing.
3. Johnny Vegas/ITV Digital
A couch potato and his knitted monkey companion flogging ITV Digital
set-top boxes? Oh please. Somehow, though, the pairing of Al - aka the
comedian Johnny Vegas - and the woolly primate seems to work. A typical
bullseye shot out of left field by Mother.
4. Ray Winstone/Holsten Pils
Gallant attempt by TBWA/London to rescue the brand from the anonymous
mass of much beer promotion by hiring the movie hard man with attitude
Ray Winstone and portraying Holsten as down-to-earth and mature. Will
his heavyweight presence regain the advertising edge Holsten once had
but seemed to lose?
5. Sir Elton John/Royal Mail
Elton camped it up for all he was worth - no mean feat for somebody
reputed to spend £10,000 a month on flowers - in Bates UK's opus
for the Royal Mail. Elton accepted a minimal fee for the film which
featured his latest single. The Royal Mail literally got him for a
song.
6. Charles Kennedy/Liberal Democrats
Charles Kennedy had a good election. Not only did the Lib Dems end up
with more MPs than at any time since 1923, but Kennedy himself emerged
as a credible opposition leader and a decent bloke, his character well
encapsulated in Banc's election campaign poster.
7. Sir Steve Redgrave/Walkers Crisps
This campaign featuring "nasty" Gary Lineker should have run out of puff
by now. Curiously it never seems to do so and the AMV BBDO film which
has the five-time Olympic gold winner Redgrave chasing the crisp thief
Lineker on a rowing machine matches the best in the marathon series.
8. Thunderbirds/Road Tax Evasion
Briefs from hell don't come much worse than having to persuade drivers
to pay their road tax. So credit to D'Arcy for abandoning the usual big
stick tactic in favour of Lady Penelope and Parker who find their famous
pink Rolls Royce clamped, underscoring the theme of "no exceptions, no
excuses and no escape".
9. Kylie Minogue/Eurostar
A charming and natural performance by Kylie Minogue, everybody's
favourite Aussie, in her first UK commercial - a TBWA/London film for
Eurostar. She runs across bridges, tries on dresses and slides down
handrails. A nice invitation to stop and smell the coffee.
10. Marian Faithfull/Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic's fortunes since the events of 11 September shouldn't
detract from what has always been a stylish and classy campaign through
Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R. Well expressed in Faithfull's
performance which oozes decadence and over-indulgence.