Peter Byrne
Chief creative officer,
Bensimon•Byrne D’Arcy
Toronto

A copywriter by trade and a creative director for over 10 years, Byrne spends his days taking credit for the work of Bensimon•Byrne creative director David Rosenberg. In the unlikely event that Rosenberg falters, Peter has covered his butt by staffing the agency with a plethora of other creative directors, including Glen Hunt, Paul Ruta and Jamie Way.
Peter has been hanging on to Jack Bensimon’s coattails since they opened the doors of Bensimon•Byrne in 1994.

Favourite advertising
1. Kit Kat TV spots, by J. Walter Thompson.
2. Telus TV spots, by Taxi.
3. Bud Light campaign, by Palmer Jarvis DDB.

Impressions of the work
As much as the work itself, I was struck by the list of finalists. And more by who didn’t make it as by who did. What of Zig and Roche and Holmes & Lee and Chiat? And where were the big guys - Cossette and Burnett and MacLaren?
Has it really been that tough a year?
Well, apparently not for Taxi or PJ or Ammirati. Their work was strikingly superior to their competition.
And predictably, the best work of all three had one extremely precious virtue in common - simplicity. Think of the Telus work, the Kit Kat TV, the arthritis campaign, Flow and Fuji.
Beautifully simple ideas.
They would’ve worked 20 years ago. They work today. And they’ll work 20 years from now.

Marta Cutler
EVP, national co-creative director,
MacLaren McCann
Toronto

Although trained as an art director, it was copywriting that lead Cutler to the forefront of Canadian advertising.
Over the years she has created highly acclaimed work for such clients as British Airways, Holiday Inn, Volkswagen, Pontiac, Sunlight, Pears, Delta Faucets and Unitel. She has won awards from the Bessies, the Advertising and Design Club, the One Show, Marketing and CA magazine. Highlights were a Bronze Lion at Cannes and Commercial of the Year at the 1996 Bessies.
She has taught at the Ontario College of Art, judged the country’s most prestigious award shows, chaired the 1999 Bessies and, somewhere in between, squeezed in a 13-month trip around the world.

Favourite advertising
1. Bud Light campaign, by Palmer Jarvis DDB.
2. Arthritis print work, by Palmer Jarvis DDB.
3. Imperial "All Out of Love," by Ogilvy & Mather.

Impressions of the work
It feels like an uneven year, although there were some breakthroughs by formerly "traditional," risk-averse advertisers, i.e. KFC, Imperial, Kit Kat and Nabob. I loved Bud Light’s brilliant insight and brilliant execution, even down to the employee "announcement" ads - extremely funny copy. Humour is definitely dominating television as an approach, but it’s of a broader, more "common man" style, rather than sophisticated.
It’s also nice to see some smart, long-copy print work in the mix for Michelin and Ryerson.

Jacques Labelle
VP, creative director,
Cossette Communication-Marketing
Montreal

After spending a little time at HEC (where he got as far as the "H"...), Labelle then graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Université Laval. His career in advertising began at the client services level although he soon realized that his true calling was in the creative arena.
He joined Cossette in 1987 as a copywriter, working mainly on the McDonald’s account. He then went on to work on a number of pitches and campaign launches for practically all of the agency’s clients, notably, Saturn in Quebec, the McDonald’s pizza campaign launch, as well as helping to give birth to Bell’s Mr. B character.
In 1993, Labelle became VP of Cossette Montreal’s creative department, where he safeguards the excellence of the creative work. He manages a team of 40 who create ads for, among others, General Motors, McDonald’s, Coke, Bell, The Dairy Farmers of Canada, Molson, Home Depot and Metro.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in advertising. He has also participated as a jury member in Casablanca, Cannes, Toronto and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Labelle is regularly invited to participate in public forums on advertising in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
He is the father of three children on the home front, and 40 adolescents at work.

Favourite advertising
1. Sunlight "Washing machine," by Ammirati Puris.
2. Short Film Festival "Transplant carrier," by Taxi.
3. Clarica’s print campaign, by Ammirati Puris.

Impressions of the work
Lots of good stuff (obviously, since these are supposed to be the best of the best...). But some agencies should have reduced the scope of work submitted for a client. For example, I think the Michelin print work (from PJ) is ordinary, except for the ad about racing, with the Bibendum suit, which I really like.
My "most liked" vote goes to the Sunlight print with the kid, the tongue and the washing machine (sounds like a movie title...). It is a very inventive twist on an old strategy point. Surprising and simple.

David Martin
SVP, creative director,
Lanyon Phillips Communications
Vancouver

Martin joined the agency as creative director in September 2000. Previously, he held the position of national creative director at Anderson/DDB in Toronto. Martin has also held senior creative positions at Ammirati Puris Lintas, Durnan Communications and Scali McCabe Sloves. His creative work includes campaigns for Sunlight, Labatt Ice, Cadbury, Mercedes, President’s Choice, Ralston Purina and Hamilton Beach. While at Anderson, he developed the caramilk.com promotion.
Prior to becoming a copywriter, Martin worked as account supervisor on Labatt Blue, and in media as a buyer/planner on Mazda and Molson.
Martin has won numerous Canadian and international awards for his work, including four Gold Cassies for advertising effectiveness. He has been an instructor at the Institute of Canadian Advertising since 1989 and is a regular contributor to Marketing and Strategy.

Favourite advertising
1. Eatons "Aubergine" campaign, by Ammirati Puris.
2. Sun-Rype "Banana," by Palmer Jarvis DDB.
3. Fuji "Parking Lot," by Ammirati Puris.

Impressions of the work
As a body of work, solid and sustaining. I didn’t feel a lot of new ground was broken this year although given the volatile economic climate of the last year, it’s hardly a surprise that many took a lower-risk option.
Despite individual creative hot spots, I saw few truly integrated, truly multimedia campaigns. Of the 30 cases presented, I can recall only two that included an interactive component. Whether this speaks to a lack of creativity in new media or is simply the fallout from the dot-com collapse, I leave for another conversation.
For art direction, the "Le Lait" work was truly beautiful: artful and engaging. The Sun-Rype and Flow campaigns were also strong. I’m sure we’ll continue to see all of them well-represented in shows over the next six months.
With the current trend toward visual puns and coloured copy boxes at the base of ads (look at any annual over the past 24 months and you’ll see what I mean), it’s perhaps not surprising to see a lack of outstanding writing, the notable exceptions being the Globe and Mail and Ryerson campaigns.
But out of all the work, the one campaign I expect I’ll still remember 10 years from now will be Ammirati’s relaunch for Eatons. Combining an innovative media buy (including the entire 22 minutes of the Tomorrow Never Dies TV premiere), epic commercial length and astonishing visual scope, these spots were a note-perfect recreation of the 1950s - Eatons’ golden days. It was grand opening advertising done on as grand a scale as this country has ever seen.
Virtually overnight, it generated street noise for a brand that most consumers had completely written off. And if the in-store experience couldn’t cash the cheque the advertising wrote, you can’t blame the brand architects at Ammirati, who drove eight times the targeted traffic through Eatons’ doors at launch. Flawless execution has always been an Ammirati hallmark. With Eatons, they can now add peerless results.

Larry Tolpin
Managing partner and
chief creative officer,
Duncan & Associates
Los Angeles

Tolpin was previously worldwide creative director for J. Walter Thompson, as well as CEO for its U.S. Western Operations, based in San Francisco. Before joining JWT, Tolpin spent over 10 years with BBDO, ranging from creative director of Baker Lovick/BBDO Vancouver to chief creative officer of McKim Baker Lovick/BBDO (which became BBDO Canada) to BBDO North American regional creative chairman.
Tolpin has won every major creative award. While in Canada, he helped transform BBDO Canada into a major creative player on the national and international scene, winning over 500 medals with the agency being named Advertising Age’s "International Agency of the Year," the only time a Canadian agency has held this honour.
Tolpin has worked on literally hundreds of accounts including award-winning campaigns for Apple, BC Tel, FedEx, Jeep, Molson, Pepsi, Polaroid, and Sony.

Favourite advertising
1. Bud Light campaign, by Palmer Jarvis DDB.
2. Eatons campaign, by Ammirati Puris.
3. Short Film Festival campaign, by Taxi; and Ryerson University campaign, by J. Walter Thompson (tie).

Impressions of the work
The best work began with a marketing solution, then a creative solution. The good work was as good as anywhere.
Unfortunately, only a few agencies were consistent across the board and across all media. There were too many ad-makers and not enough idea-makers.
I love the Bud Light Institute multimedia campaign. I love it for its imagination and uniqueness. Clients who buy this work deserve as much credit as the folks who created it.
Eatons’ multimedia campaign is proof you can be original in a worn-out category. This is a big idea presented in a big way.
The Short Film Festival’s posters and film work is a fun campaign for a fun subject matter. These ads aren’t different for the sake of being different. They’re different for the sake of attracting attention and providing you with information in an entertaining way.
As for Ryerson University’s print, I admit it. I’m a sucker for a well-written print campaign. This work might not win at Cannes, but it’s a very intelligent solution to a marketing problem.

Steve Williams
VP, creative director,
Highwood Communications
Calgary

Steve Williams has built his career doing good work out of small markets, namely Ottawa and Calgary.
He is a graduate of the Carleton University School of Business and has been a student of advertising ever since. Beginning his agency career as a copywriter, his main writing influence has been On Writing Well, by William Zinsser.
Williams has spent the past eight years in Calgary and has done award-winning work for clients such as the Calgary Stampede, Travel Alberta, Great Western Brewing, Enmax, and Toby Styles.
His heroes are his parents, Howard Gossage, Bill Bernbach and Raymond Rubicam.
Williams has won at the Bessies, Billis, Marketing Awards, New York Festivals, The Advertising and Design Club of Canada, Applied Arts and the Extras. At Calgary’s awards show he has helped win 26 first-place Anvils in the past five years.

Favourite advertising
1. Bud Light "Conversational Land Mind Detector," by Palmer Jarvis DDB.
2. Globe and Mail TV campaign, by BBDO.
3. KFC "Car Vent," by Ogilvy & Mather.
Honourable mention: Globe and Mail "Viagra for your mind" parking barrier, by BBDO.

Impressions of the work
It’s bizarre that Rethink wasn’t in the running. Kinda felt like the Olympics during one of the boycott years.
Overall, I think the big difference isn’t in the agencies, it’s in the clients. Whoever has the most risk-tolerant clients gets the best work done. And by "risk-tolerant" I don’t mean clients who will approve a fart joke. I mean those who will approve a strategy that goes out on a limb and not blanch at creative that talks to the target audience instead of the CEO.
All of the shops had their standout campaigns. The key was consistency. I’d wager there was a lot of debate in the agencies when it came time to choose the fifth campaign for their submissions. And in most cases it weighed them down.
There were a few instances where the campaign was a single TV spot. Either the client’s budget was cut or the agency didn’t want the other elements in the spotlight. Some print was incredibly inconsistent with the television used for the same campaign. Not that the ideas were bad. Just off strategy.
The great work was done by creative people who went beyond mere cleverness to get inside the prospect’s head. They made a genuine emotional connection based on the understanding of a simple truth.