Uncle Bernbach Profile picture
Writing about the past and future of the advertising industry. https://t.co/olBFzn0fXE
Feb 18, 2022 36 tweets 9 min read
Cadbury's ‘Gorilla’. EXPLAINED.

A thread explaining one of the most entertaining ads of all time. 1/ ‘In the Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins starts to play. Suddenly, we see the face of a gorilla. We watch his facial expressions. He takes a deep breath. He stretches. We see a drum set. The gorilla is preparing for something… And we all wonder what is about to happen.
Feb 4, 2022 33 tweets 11 min read
‘Just Do It.’ EXPLAINED.

A thread explaining how the words of a serial killer inspired the most impactful slogan ever created. 1) Nike only reached their level of global domination as a sports brand because of ‘Just Do It.’

The tagline opened the doors for Nike to talk to every single person remotely interested in fitness.
Jan 28, 2022 35 tweets 10 min read
Guinness’ ‘Surfer’ EXPLAINED

A thread explaining how the best ad ever made came to life against all odds. 1) Some say that if you work in advertising, you have a moral obligation to say Guinness’ ‘Surfer’ is your favourite ad. They are not wrong.
Jan 21, 2022 31 tweets 7 min read
The ‘Think Small’ campaign. EXPLAINED.

A thread explaining the impact of the most influential advertising campaign of all time. 1) The advertising industry would be a different industry today if ‘Think Small’ had never existed. Likely our rich creative history would be a bit poorer.
Jan 14, 2022 46 tweets 7 min read
A HUGE thread with Sir John Hegarty’s incredible advertising wisdom. Sir John Hegarty is one of the founders of BBH London, one of the best ad agencies of all time. The success of brands such as Audi, Levi’s, Axe/Lynx, The Guardian and many others can be traced back to John’s incredible creative mind.
Oct 31, 2021 31 tweets 9 min read
** THREAD **

How the Beatles helped Nike to become a marketing-focused company. 1. On March 26 1987, TV viewers in America were shown a strange-looking ad.

Short clips of people exercising flashed while “Revolution” by the Beatles played in the background. A “Nike Air” logo closed the ad.

It was Nike’s first dive into TV advertising. And it made history.
May 19, 2021 21 tweets 6 min read
** THREAD **

How Droga5 started the era of viral advertising with one can of spray paint. 1) “We try to do work that can be spread around the internet, that creates movements as opposed to being disposable and disappearing the minute the media budget runs out.” David Droga
May 4, 2021 6 tweets 2 min read
It’s rare for an advertising campaign to both entertain and be focused on the product’s price.

In 1997, VW UK wanted a results-driven campaign about affordability in the witty style of the most traditional Volkswagen advertising.

↓ Described as a “brief from hell” by the client, the ads were to hero the car's price within the idea.

“Lamp Post” was the most famous ad of the “Surprisingly Ordinary Prices” campaign.

All of the films had an understated and witty tone, which made for entertaining adverts.
Mar 28, 2021 22 tweets 6 min read
Barbara Nokes is a British advertising legend. The work she created in the 1980s changed the course of incredibly famous brands and of the advertising industry.

This is a thread about her brilliant career. 1) “Gather your facts and get under the skin of your target. Talk to them in their language.” Barbara Nokes
Feb 19, 2021 28 tweets 6 min read
** THREAD **

The 25 best British print ads of 1982. 1) Agency: AMV
Client: Volvo
Feb 5, 2021 30 tweets 9 min read
** THREAD **

The story of Apple’s “1984”, the most influential Super Bowl commercial of all time. 1) "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like '1984.'"

That’s the line that signed off Apple’s groundbreaking “1984” Super Bowl ad, which left the audience overwhelmed with its visuals and message.
Jan 27, 2021 28 tweets 9 min read
* THREAD *

‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ - The story of one of the best judgment calls in advertising history. 1) Towards the end of the 1970s, Audi was nowhere near as relevant as today. It was only known by some as an obscure sub-brand of Volkswagen. This reality would change over the next decade in part because of advertising.
Jan 21, 2021 27 tweets 7 min read
* THREAD *

Wonderful headlines of historic Porsche ads.

1) “One ride and you’ll understand why most rocket scientists are German.” Image
Dec 30, 2020 14 tweets 4 min read
A meta thread with all of threads I've done so far on influential work and people in advertising history. 👇👇👇 1) A thread with beautiful ads from the 1993 D&AD advertising annual.
Dec 23, 2020 55 tweets 8 min read
A HUGE thread of Bill Bernbach’s incredible advertising wisdom. Image Bill Bernbach is the father of modern advertising. Much of the current structure of the ad industry and the values we try to instill in our work were greatly influenced by him. Most of us wouldn’t be here if not for Bernbach.
Dec 2, 2020 25 tweets 6 min read
How a delayed flight helped inspire one of the most popular advertising campaigns ever. A thread. 1) In 1971, Bill Backer was a Creative Director at McCann-Erickson working on the Coca-Cola account. He was on route to London to meet with the account’s music director Billy Davis. The two were to come up with a jingle for a Coke radio ad.
Nov 27, 2020 28 tweets 7 min read
Phyllis Robinson helped start the Creative Revolution as part of the founding team at Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB).

This is a thread about the story of her incredible creative mind. 🧵 Image 1) “She helped to make it possible for Doyle Dane Bernbach to have courage of it’s convictions, to know the difference between good creative work and mere creative acrobatics” said Bill Bernbach about Phyllis.
Nov 25, 2020 25 tweets 9 min read
The evolution of McDonald’s advertising (1960s-1980s). A thread. Image By the end of the 1950s, McDonald’s was a growing brand with more than 100 restaurants and it was primed to be expanded across the US with the help of TV and print advertising.
Nov 20, 2020 25 tweets 6 min read
Lee Clow is the ad legend behind the most incredible adverts Apple ever created, like ‘1984’ and ‘Think Different’. This is a thread with 20 of his most interesting thoughts on advertising and creative excellence. 1) "The job isn't to just do ads. The job is to find the soul of a brand, work a creative story and find rich, interesting ways to create it in the world. That means everything is media. Everything is an ad. The word 'advertising' makes it smaller than ambition."
Nov 4, 2020 17 tweets 6 min read
I did the amazing Goodby & Silverstein advertising Masterclass so you don’t have to. Here’s a thread with 15 of the most interesting insights from the class. Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein are advertising icons. They founded @GSP in 1983 and since then have created groundbreaking advertising campaigns for Nike, Polaroid, Budweiser and many other brands.
Oct 27, 2020 18 tweets 4 min read
A brief tour of what happened in the advertising industry in the 60s. A thread. #1