The month kicked off with the biggest ad event of the year. But few TV spots lived up to the pre-Super Bowl hype, and the water-cooler chatter was consumed instead by the halftime nipple-ring flash. Among the commercials that stood out: Budweiser's tale of a Clydesdale wanna-be, "Born a Donkey," a sweet spot and well told; Chevy's "Soap," showing kids so floored by the new SSR that their expletives get them the wash-out-your-mouth treatment; FedEx's alien worker, "Jenkins"; and the NFL Network's musical, giving hope for "Tomorrow." February also saw new efforts from sneaker makers Adidas and Nike, both delving into the idea that anything is possible with powerful executions featuring deft digital manipulation. Adidas puts Laila Ali into the ring with dad Muhammad in its "Impossible is nothing" campaign, while Nike asks, "What if?" with images of star athletes taking on new sports (see story on page 28). Fast-food rivals Burger King and McDonald's also launched noteworthy work. Crispin Porter + Bogusky's first effort for BK brings back "Have it your way" with a quirky drama involving an office worker copying a colleague's lunch order. McDonald's also went the humor route, with an execution from DDB in Chicago featuring a man whose greatest aphrodisiac is the smell of McDonald's. Yet the most attention-
getting fast-food spot came from Quiznos, which broke its first work from The Martin Agency with the surreal singing of rodentlike creatures boasting distorted eyes and human teeth. Extremely odd, yet somehow engaging. And definitely memorable.
-Eleftheria Parpis
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