Immortal High Five: Alexis Bronstorph
I was asked by LBB to choose five of the best Canadian ads ever of all time for the Immortal Awards. For me, that meant ideas that made an impact, stuck with me, made me jealous or got me excited about the potential of what we do for a living. And as I went through my mental roster of best ads ever, I was super excited about how many game-changing ideas there have been out of our little country...
Dove - 'Evolution'
Agency: Ogilvy
This spot...was it even a spot? It might have been an OLV before OLVs had a name - whatever it was, it was huge. Just enormous. I was just getting into advertising, and it was such a 'wow' moment for the industry. It felt like a first of its kind, and the thing everyone chased after.
Viagra - 'Golf'
Agency: TAXI
These were so good. As soon as they launched, everyone was talking about them. In Canada, if you’re making a pharma ad, you can’t explicitly say what the product does, only “talk to your doctor.” So this was such a simple, smart and memorable way to get around those regulations. Beautifully shot and cast too! I was an intern at TAXI when these came out and I remember being so in awe of the work.
Always - '#LikeAGirl'
Agency: Leo Burnett
This was a global team effort, but I’m going to count it as Canadian work, because Judy John was the CCO on the work. I still cry when I watch this spot! Which is insane, and maybe I need to talk to somebody, but it was so well done.
IKEA - 'Start the Car'
Agency: Zig
This is just a classic and made me want to be in advertising. Capturing a feeling we all have and executing it so well. I think they still air this spot, and it's probably 20 years old.
VIM Cream - 'Mother in Prison'
Agency: Zig
Another Zig spot!! It’s too bad this agency doesn’t exist anymore. When I was graduating ad school, I was told I got an internship at Zig, and I was so excited because it was run by two women and was doing great work, but then they never called me back. Ha! So never give up, kids. Anyway, this spot was really perfect.
