The best worst ad ever

The last year of the dot com boom was big for Madison Avenue. That year's Super Bowl had one creative standout, one of the most innovative and sweetly funny ads ever conceived. Everybody who saw it remembers it for its pure brilliance. Watch:



So why is this the best worst ad ever? It did nothing for sales. It was brilliant creatively, but the client is subsumed within its genius. It's a high-minded concept, the kind that wins the creme de la creme of the creative awards. But we're in the business of growing our client's business, not our own glory. On that count, this is an abject failure.

I still love to watch it, though.