I worked in advertising in Chicago from 1993 to 2003 and transitioned on the job with the support of the agency. Below are some ads I wrote. I’ll add more in the future.
Bud Olympics
This Bud Light ad was later repurposed for Budweiser and ran worldwide in dozens of languages. Joey Scudiero shot this on spec. The delivery guy is a former gymnast named Steve Peszek who worked at our agency. Shot at the Silver Cloud bar in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.
Chicken
This campaign was based on the classic joke opening: A guy walks into a bar with a chicken… shot by Steve Conner of C+C Films.
I sold this sequel the day after I transitioned on the job. Also shot by Steve Conner in the Inland Empire during a torrential downpour.
Scam artists
This was a series where two shady salesmen sell people terrible things because they seem to magically create Bud Light. The apartment one was shot on spec in a condemned building that was so gross that we reshot the whole thing in the same condemned building, but with a paint job.
This sequel for the Super Bowl features Pete Gardner as the patsy. He went on to star in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I had the great honor of working with many of the greatest improv talents out of Chicago in the 1990s.
The national campaign was so popular that we did regional ads for Chicago, Texas, and Florida.
Chicago
With noted local car dealers Celozzi-Ettleson Chevrolet.
Florida
Budweiser racing
This was shot on the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. Very dangerous! Shot by Bruce Dowad, one of the most meticulous directors I ever had the pleasure of working with! I had the great honor of working with Kenny Bernstein, one of motorsports’ greatest athletes. He was the first driver to break 300 mph from the line. I do not follow motorsports, but I was in awe of both Mr. Bernstein and his team.
This is the weirdest commercial I ever wrote that got produced. This was after the Budweiser frogs, and it was sold because we repeated the brand name so many times. It is based on Fellini’s Casanova and Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Shot by James Wahlberg at Celluloid Studios. Celluloid created the first spec piece for what later became South Park. One of the first national Anheuser-Busch ads shot on video instead of film. The smoke on set was so thick you could barely see anyone. Look for a cameo from Michael Clarke Duncan, star of The Green Mile.
Drano
These long-running ads were shot by Michael Patterson, who animated the iconic “Take On Me” video for a-ha.
You must be logged in to post a comment.