World’s best ads ever #12: Sweaty dads in briefs make air conditioners attractive
We asked our readers to vote for their favorite commercials of all time. Top creatives from the World Creative Rankings and The Drum’s Judges’ Club then ranked the ads. Now, we bring you the definitive 100 best TV and video ads of all time.
Sizzling summers bring the threat of scantily clad dads – it’s a dreaded image that sold many units for BGH Air Conditioners in 2012.
The famous ad ‘Dad’s in Briefs’ was a dramatic, orchestral, black and white TV commercial that flipped the script in a boring category.
Scored with Requiem In D Minor, the Argentine ad reveled in showing a sweaty gang of pot-bellied dads airing out their undesirables in the most awkward ways – a sure-fire way to inspire fearful onlookers to invest in an air conditioning solution. ’Here’s a problem and here’s the solution,’ offered the brand.
The dads in question rubbed themselves in ice, removed remotes from sweaty crevices and squatted in all manner of ways. These visceral images made the air con brand famous.
Creative agency Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi won numerous D&AD pencils in 2013 for the work, as well as a Gold Lion in 2012.
It was directed by Argentine duo Nico Perez Veiga and Martin Kalina, who have worked on ads for Ford, Axe, Sony, MTV, T-Mobile and HSBC, while Maxi Itzkoff and Mariano Serkin were executive creative directors.
The campaign extended to three spots, with ’Friends’ and ’No Signal’ following.