The five best ad campaigns of all time: A conversation with Chris McMahon
We sat down with Chris McMahon, Senior Creative Lead at BUNTIN, to explore his picks for the five best ad campaigns of all time. From the audacious charm of Ford’s “Overdubs” to the heart-wrenching beauty of John Lewis’ “The Beginner,” Chris gives us an inside look at what makes these campaigns stand the test of time.
Which 5 advertising campaigns would you consider your favorites?
1. Fina’s “Pink Air.” Really all of the Fina work from that era.
2. Jaguar’s “Good to Be Bad.” I think constantly about what this could’ve been.
3. Ford’s “Overdubs.” Another car one, I know.
4. KFC’s “Return of the Colonel.” Specifically the Norm Macdonald ones.
5. John Lewis’ “The Beginner.” How dare you make me cry at work.
What elements or creative strategies from these top 5 campaigns do you believe set them apart from others in the industry?
Fina’s Pink Air is dry, funny, and unapologetically strange. They were long-winded, even for an era when we’d publish persuasive essays on why you should buy some pants. Every year we get told that attention spans are shorter and we have to rush to the hard sell as fast as possible, but the truth I’m about to paraphrase from Howard Luck Gossage is still right – people pay attention to what interests them, and sometimes that’s an ad. Gossage would crush on TikTok.
Luxury car marketing is often paradoxically homogeneous. How do you stand out when everyone’s picking their own synonyms for “great” while driving through an empty city at night? But Jaguar hit on a truth that only they could really own. Bad guys always drive Jaguars, and they do it because Jags reflect why we all secretly love the supervillain – they’re powerful, grandiose, dangerous and sexy. Certainly differentiated them from their straightlaced Teutonic competition.
Jaguar Rendevous |It's Good to Be Bad
These Ford ads are so audacious it makes me sick with envy. There’s barely production beyond voice over, and they literally have the characters just say the RTBs. But it’s so surprising and weird that it sort of disarms the part of your brain that blocks out ad messaging and you go “huh, you make a good point about the parking assist of the 2017 Ford Fusion, Sailor Moon.”
Ford Fuuu-sion | Overdub
Delightful writing, fantastic set design, just such a clear and focused series of creative. And when they brought Norm Macdonald in to replace Darrell Hammond, they elevated it from a smart campaign to a full-blown meta narrative. The specific moment when Norm Macdonald looks into the camera, declares “I’m the real Colonel Sanders,” then immediately shrugs to say “sure, whatever, let’s go with that,” is one of the best bits I’ve ever seen in an ad. RIP Norm.
KFC The Return of Colonel Sanders
A phenomenal piece of story direction. The moody winter color grade, the transformative cover of “All the Small Things,” the humiliating and grinding progression of our hero, the eventual turn and reveal that rewards the audience for a full minute of trust. Every cut nudges the story. And then we get to the end to find that John Lewis has used this lavishly produced holiday spot to support foster care programs in the UK and nothing else? That’s true brand commitment.
John Lewis The Beginner
Have they influenced your own work? If so, how?
Fina: A million media people will want to strangle me for this, but we could take just as much time today to tell our stories as Gossage did then. We just have to promise the audience we’ll be as interesting.
Jaguar: If you’re already the underdog, lean into it. You won’t beat the champ playing the same game as them.
Ford: Purposeful weirdness is incredibly potent. Also, use anime more.
KFC: Sweat the details. Once you’ve got the story cracked, never stop looking for chances to add flavor to the script, the background, the costumes, even who you follow on social media.
John Lewis: Let the story do the work. If it’s the right story for your brand, you don’t need to sell anything.
Ford Namek Dragon | Overdub
If you had to choose one campaign from your top 5 that you wish you had been part of, which would it be and why? What do you think made it so successful in resonating with audiences?
I need to know how they sold those anime voice over ads. Like, what was the deck they showed clients to get this made? The work is so much better when we stop overthinking things, especially for creative this dead simple.