After months of careful consideration and a not-insignificant amount of reader polling, we've finally arrived at our It List for 2006. It contains the people who've made waves in recent months; the ones who, whether by way of their work, their words or their business decisions, have continually found themselves at the center of discussion. But our list is not just limited to people; this year, we decided to open up the floor to various technologies, products, clients and trends that are, for better or for worse, impacting the business. So, without further ado, here's a list of the people, places and things that are, in their own way, helping to lead and redefine the advertising world in 2006. We hope you have as much fun reading it as we had putting it together.

Adidas
Client of the year, hands down
With significant, credible work across nearly every medium and every major territory over the last 12 months, Adidas further asserted its creative dominance over the athletic field and, for that matter, every other category in the world. From the bleeding-edge animation of 1st Avenue Machine's "Modular Man" and Pleix's "Adistar" to Internet viral campaigns for Climacool and Adicolor to FX-heavy US broadcast work like Noam Murro's "What Inside" and 180 Amsterdam's exceptionally well-orchestrated cross-platform World Cup campaign 10+, the Adidas brand now ranks at the very top for originality, execution and quality control. They're the brand everybody wants to work for, and judging from the sharpness of this year's work, they aren't likely to give up that title without a fight. Hear that, Nike? It's the sound of a gauntlet being thrown down. MP

Argentina
No need to shed a tear
You're probably tired of hearing how awesome Argentina is as a shooting locale. That's probably because one in every three people you know has recently been in production in the South American country. It's no surprise, given the breadth of the production infrastructure, the variety of landscapes and the unbeatable value for your dollar (1USD:3 pesos), euro (1:4) or pound (1:57). Just ask Frank Budgen or Traktor or Anthony Atanasio or Mathias Hoene or Frederic Planchon or... the list goes on. But beyond pure logistics, the inviting and culturally rich country is enough to send anyone on an extended vacation. The region's biggest challenge in coming months will be to capture, bottle and maintain the current production zeitgeist. RF

Axe
Boldly going where every man wants to
In swiping the global deodorant market share lead from Proctor & Gamble's Old Spice in just four years, Unilever's Axe (also known as Lynx in the UK) has asserted itself as a major force in the ad world. Led by BBH, the aggressive brand has done so with creative that, love it or hate it, has found an entirely new way to present advertising's oldest truth. Mix in the virals "Ravenstoke" and "Webcam", the beautifully-realized US campaign The Gamekillers and a widespread integrated initiative that has even seen Axe ads showing up in popular Xbox and PS2 titles, and it's hard to deny Axe has raised the benchmark for ladmag advertising everywhere. MP

The Barbarian Group
Making the Internet wickeder, awesomer
While they're best known for Subservient Chicken, a quick browse through The Barbarian Group's web portfolio reveals a strand of vibrancy and cleverness running through all their work. From sharp, breezy Flash games to ambitious, immersive web campaigns, the Boston-based integrated company not only knows what note to hit, but how to hit it - something that most traditional broadcast producers miss when producing for the Internet. Add to that a collective creative streak that keeps them entangled in the art world and a youthful feistiness that isn't afraid to go against the grain, and why wouldn't you want them doing your next web project? MP

William Bartlett
And on the eighth day, He said 'And now we shall render'
Tasked to come up with a visualization for nothing less significant than the entire history of mankind for Guinness' "noitulovE", Framestore CFC, London FX supervisor William Bartlett went above and beyond the call of duty, even rolling judicious kitchen experimentation (some of the spot's geological rock formations were a Bartlett-created cocktail of dough, Special K and Grape Nuts) into his exhaustive three-and-a-half month schedule. Not only that, but by replacing a football pitch with a precarious grid of razors for Adidas ("Impossible Field") and fashioning dolphins out of clouds for British Airways ("Clouds"), Bartlett's proved that no brief is too much for his mad Inferno skills. MP

Carlos and Gabriela Bayala
Brought the Madre cadre to Buenos Aires
After a global tour of creative duty that included stops at Mother, London and Wieden + Kennedy in both Portland and Amsterdam, and with a resume that includes iconic and award-winning Nike ads such as "Angry Chicken", "Musical Chairs" and "The Other Game", creative directors Carlos and Gabriela Bayala have returned to Carlos' native Buenos Aires to install Mother's ideals in Argentina. Dubbed Madre, the nascent shop is making waves as a part of the country's burgeoning boutique boom. Not content to quietly slip onto the scene, the first work from the agency is a three-minute, motivational-speech epic for Banco Hipotecario encouraging renewed public trust in the national banking system. RF

Alex Bogusky
Wake up, he's the king
When CP+B famously nabbed the Volkswagen and Sprite accounts within days of one another last September, naysayers wondered if the Miami darling wasn't in over its head. While the polarizing Unpimp My Auto campaign that resulted might have been a bit lacking creatively, it's produced the desired Crispin effect by thrusting the carmaker right back into pop culture's ongoing conversation, in turn setting the table for the far superior followup, Safe Happens. As for that other account win, Crispin's latest Happy-directed campaign for Sprite ranks among some of the weirdest and most inspired work we've seen so far this year, and should make for a brash rejoinder to all the skeptics who said Bogusky should stick to burgers. MP

Drazen Bosnjak
Q is for 'bleeding edge'
With superb music and/or sound design treatments for MHD's "Crow", Adidas's "Modular Man" and a trio of Adicolor films ("White", "Green" and "Blue") all issued in the last three months, Q Department founder Drazen Bosnjak has dramatically asserted himself as the go-to guy for the progressive, art-minded creative. As equally versed and interested in the outer limits of digital sound manipulation as he is in classical music's archetypal patterns, Bosnjak's compositional range extends far and deep. As does his credibility; for every ESPN or Nike on Q Department's reel, there's a small budget art film or personal project to match, proof that Bosnjak's heart is foremost in the work. MP

Stephen Butler
The dimension bringer
Hired by Mother, London to lead the Orange account in early 2005, former BBH CD Stephen Butler made almost immediate impact. Under his watch, Mother turned out a strong batch of telecom work that was deep and affecting without being cloy or sentimental. To the shock of many, March's shakedown from Orange's larger international account resulted in Orange UK jumping to Fallon, leaving Mother feeling a bit snakebitten. Nonetheless, thanks largely to Butler's work, the agency managed to expand its scope beyond comedy and proved it could handle creative with a more serious dimension. MP

Juan Cabral
From unknown to superstar in 250,000 balls
A year ago this time, Fallon, London's Juan Cabral was a relatively unknown adworld commodity. Then, Sony "Balls" happened, and as if overnight, Cabral - who nabbed the Top Creative award in 2005's Young Guns Awards as a result - suddenly found himself representing the next generation of creative incumbents. While only time will tell if he's got it in him to repeat with something as iconic as "Balls", Fallon is giving him every opportunity to try - Cabral was promoted to CD for the Sony account in May. MP

David Droga
You might know the name...
His short-lived stay as Publicis' worldwide creative director may have come to a close in September, but it didn't slow David Droga down one bit. On the same day he stepped down, Droga announced the formation of a brand new, Publicis-backed boutique. Dubbed Droga5, the New York-based agency is being touted as an extension of Droga's mandate toward more experiential, three-dimensional creative. And although still in its infancy, the agency has already made a splash; Droga5's first and only project to date is a White House-baiting viral from Ecko Clothing that's generated more ink in three months than some entire agencies manage in a year. Wonder what he'll do for an encore? MP

Chris Franklin
Expert script flipper
Even though he was nominated for no fewer than five AICE awards just last month, no amount of hardware sells Chris Franklin as well as his word of mouth. Lauded by peers for his storytelling ability, his uncanny knack for pulling unique details out of seemingly innocuous footage and for his bonus skillset of sound design talents, which some touted as superior to many well-established music houses, the owner/editor of Big Sky Editorial is a jack-of-all-trades type who engenders strong loyalty in everyone he works for. Trust us, we saw the emails. MP

William Gelner
Game still very much intact
What do smarmy rich guys, showy sportos and emo tenderhearts have in common? They're all out to kill the game of normal guys everywhere. They're also part of BBH, New York's multi-faceted campaign, The Gamekillers, conceived under creative director William Gelner's stewardship. Featuring a motley cast of characters whose sole purpose is to get in the way of true romance, the campaign includes commercials, a web effort and an hour-long TV show for MTV. Since joining BBH from Cliff Freeman & Partners in 2002 to oversee the Axe account, Gelner has helped the global effort to elevate Axe beyond the antiperspirant aisle into the coveted realm of lifestyle brands. RF

The Glue Society
The ties that bond
Since first making a splash for Burger King with 2004's PETA-baiting "Chicken Fight", the New York/Sydney-based creative collective of writers, directors and designers has been putting its sticky imprint over some of the world's best non-traditional creative. On top of Axe's Gamekillers initiative, which saw certain members of Society direct a pilot for MTV, the collective's Jason Donovan-aided viral campaign for Virgin Mobile also found widespread acclaim, in the process nabbing two yellow pencils at last month D&ADs and further solidifying their status as the wunderkinds of integrated. MP

Pictured: Jason Donovan reps for Virgin Mobile

Bob Greenberg
The Godfather of interactive
R/GA CEO and chief creative officer Bob Greenberg has been working towards integrated, cross-platform creative for years, and now that the rest of the industry has finally caught up with his ideas, the well-positioned R/GA has been reaping the rewards. This last calendar year yielded a 40% increase in revenue, wins on Intel and Subaru, 140 new hires and continued strong work for Nike and Nokia, all things that prove the 2006 Clio Lifetime Achievement Award winner is nowhere near finished yet. MP

Daniel Kleinman
Larger than life after Large
Since his ill-fated partnership with Jeff Stark dissolved back in October 2004, Daniel Kleinman has gone on a hot streak that would make even Noam Murro take pause. With big budget spots for the likes of British Airways, Guinness, Levi's and Adidas all in his back pocket, it's become understood amongst London prodcos that most big boards make an automatic detour through the offices of Kleinman Productions. With Grand Prix buzz for "noitulovE" and a new co-venture with director Ringan Ledwidge (Adidas, Nike) set to get off the ground soon, it's little wonder that Kleinman's is the name on everybody's lips. MP

Alwin Kuchler
DP to the stars
A bona fide star in the UK indie film circuit, where he's most famously DP'd the films of fellow National Film and Television School graduate Lynne Ramsey, London's Alwin Kuchler is a quiet force on the commercial side as well. But even by his own lofty standards, he's on a bit of a run - this most recent stretch has seen him working with the likes of Kleinman (British Airways "Cloud"), Dougal Wilson (Vodafone "Work & Play") and Nicolai Fuglsig (Landrover "Go Beyond") as well as Blue Source, Nick Gordon and Stacey Wall. Factor in previous spot work with the likes of Budgen and Romanek and it becomes clear you'd be hard-pressed to find someone with a richer work experience. MP

Lobo
The Brazilian treatment
Although the design and animation group have been an ongoing concern since first officially founding way back in 1994, it was a primetime feature in last year's Saatchi & Saatchi New Director's Showcase at Cannes that broke them wide open. These days, the Brazilian collective, repped by The Ebeling Group, not only find themselves mingling with the heavy-hitters of the design and animation world, but occasionally even setting the pace. And with work that runs the gamut from simple and sweet (Buenos Aires Zoo "Together") to arty and heavily designed (Coke M5) to smart and contemporary (VW Passat 120 Short Films), this month's cover stars are nothing if not versatile. MP

James McGrath
His self-reflexivity made you thirsty
Of the year's most successful spots, perhaps none has come from further afield than the triumph of beer bellies, arch pomp and self-reflexivity that was Carlton Draught's "Big Ad". Led by creative director James McGrath, the massively popular spot has helped shine a spotlight on George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne as top-drawer purveyors of arch Aussie humor. And, as evidenced by the edgy humor of McGrath's work for network The Cage and his cleverly devised creative for Austereo, "Big Ad" is far from a one-time thing. MP

Moving Picture Company
Spreading faster than H5N1
Boasting a recent commercial client list that includes 3 ("Talk Silk"), Coke ("What Goes Around"), Levi's ("Moonbathing") and Stella Artois ("Ice Skating Priests"), not to mention a positively ballooning feature film division (The Da Vinci Code, Poseidon, Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix), it should come as no surprise to learn the almost 500-strong post house's Soho office is slowly creeping out across an entire block. Better yet: with an increasing batch of its proprietary film technologies being made available for the commercial sector, MPC stands to become an even stronger force in London's broadcast world in the years to come. MP

John Myers & Jerry Spivak
Make the Flames go higher
While admittedly not perceived to be as fashionable as some of its brand-name competitors, Los Angeles design and FX studio Ring Of Fire has nonetheless ingratiated itself to a host of faithful agencies and production companies over the course of its 10-year reign. Under the leadership of executive producer John Myers and creative director Jerry Spivack, the company has made great work and superb communication its central tenants, and in turn has invited a level of customer loyalty that, if our informal polls are any indication, doesn't come easily. MP

Naked
Helping media and creative kiss and make up
At a point in history where the line between creative and media functions is blurring into obscurity, and where smaller boutiques, devoid of a media planning infrastructure, are winning large chunks of global business, companies like Naked are poised to fill the gap. Somewhere between a media shop, creative agency and consultancy firm, the London- and New York-based company (founded by Will Collin, John Harlow and Jon Wilkins) recently opened an office in New York, with the hopes of importing its media agnostic, unbiased creative thinking stateside. Since setting up shop, the office has collaborated with Mother, Virgin Mobile and Nokia. Able to work directly with clients, agencies or however the situation dictates, Naked's focus is on the idea over the need to support a particular business model. And in the end, that chameleon ability will help them forge into the future. RF

Network HDTV Channels
How to see what you didn't know you could
Sure, HDTV has been a buzzphrase for years now, but we've only really just started to see the first trickles of creative made exclusively with the medium in mind. In making full use of the technology's obvious visual advantages as well as its native 5.1 surround sound potential, campaigns from MTV's MHD and Britain's Sky HD (above) have already raised the bar for broadcast. With such a significantly widened palette of options for designers, animators and composers, it's only a matter of time until the creative community establishes a whole new paradigm for cutting edge. MP

Nagi Noda
Freeze, you're famous
A video fanboy pinup ever since her 2004 promo for Japanese singer Yuki went boom all over the web and awards circuit, Japan's Nagi Noda is just starting to make herself known in North America and Europe. Finally released after an interminable delay, her commercial debut for Coke ("What Goes Around", from Mother London) has been met with positive audience response. But despite the fact that it saw her reprise her signature Yuki gimmick, Noda's no one-trick pony. As evidenced by her older short films and her recently issued video for Tiga, she's bursting with imagination. Whether she can find a way to work comfortably within the agency framework remains to be seen, but it should make for fascinating viewing nonetheless. MP

Kim Papworth
Currently building a second mantelpiece
Pop quiz:how many Wieden creatives can list Honda's "Cog", "Everyday", "Grrr", "Choir" and "Impossible Dream" on their CV? Answer: just the one. While fellow joint creative director Tony Davidson certainly deserves accolades for his consistently brilliant work on the Honda account, Papworth's the only one who's toiled on them all. And in a year where Honda has not one but two spots ranking in contention for the Grand Prix, the tireless copywriter by trade deserves kudos. (And possibly also a fully-loaded s2000, but we'll let the client take care of that one.) MP

Pleix
Improved puppies with lasers
While it was Guinness that ultimately reminded us good things come to those who wait, this year it might just as well have been Pleix. So painstakingly made are the French animation team's films that followers have become used to the massive delays in between, so when Pleix manage to bless us with three top-notch pieces in under 12 months, that's cause for celebration. And not only were they prolific, but they broke out of their comfort zone as well; in addition to signature pristine animation for Adidas ("Adistar"), the crew also turned out the proverbial symphony of money shots with car porn for Pontiac ("Worlds") and a live-action short film for electro artist Vitalic that paired slo-mo shots of dogs hurtling through the air with, wait for it, lasers. Naturally. MP

Psyop
Nobody does it better
One of the few positive byproducts of last year's Apple ad flap was that it sent thousands of people back to Psyop's original piece for Lugz. That gentle reminder of the design group's greatness has been nicely reinforced by their most recent work - from jokey bumpers for Coke and an unbelievably involved photologue for adicolor to another, much more epic animated piece for Coke and recent work for MHD (which we've gushed enough over elsewhere), the Lower Eastside collective has found a way to branch out in the worlds of motion graphics and animation while still retaining their supremacy. And with yet another new initiative about to take off in the company's talent mentoring offshoot Blacklist, it doesn't look like they're going to cede the title any time soon. MP

Ian Reichenthal
The Candyman can
Chances are good that if it had something to do with candy and it made you laugh like a drain, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York's Ian Reichenthal had a hand in writing it. Under the leadership of TBWA's Gerry Graf, Reichenthal has helped turn clients like Skittles and Starburst into top-level bringers of the funny. With the Lionel Richie-aided "Art Center" for Starburst already on his CV, Reichenthal's gone even farther astride of late, lending his pen to the unrelentingly weird "Trade" and "Leak" for Skittles and CDing on the mildly less unsettling "Factory" for Starburst - all standout spots that are raising the stakes for sugar-addled freakout humor. MP

Rick Russell
His Rolodex trumps even Zander's
Traktor, Errol Morris, Fredrik Bond, Nick Gordon and Daniel Kleinman. So reads a snippet of Rick Russell's recent work history - and that's just the stuff from the past year or so. But beyond being one of the most respected and in-demand editors in the game, Russell's also an astute businessman. The last decade has seen him expand Final Cut from London to the US, first with a New York office in 2000 and again with the opening of a Los Angeles office in April of last year. With A-listers still constantly ringing him for edits and Final Cut offices now firmly established in the world's three major advertising production hubs, world domination can't be far off. MP

Short spots (:05/:10/:15)
Demolishing attention spans everywhere
With attention spans narrowing by the year and media buying becoming increasingly more sophisticated, some agencies are bucking the :30 trend in favor of shorter, punchier spots that allow them to stay on point while exploiting the benefits of brevity. With recent shorties from Toyota Scion, Adidas, Honda and the award-winning Vodafone campaign all generating positive audience responses and interesting work, the :5/:10/:15 blip isn't in danger of falling out of vogue any time soon. (Maybe this is what all those people meant when they talked about the death of the :30 spot.) MP

Video iPod
Not just for porn anymore
It's been said a million times before, but it's still worth repeating: whatever blowback the advertising world has seen from the emergence of the video iPod is still only the tip of the iceberg. With Apple's stranglehold on digital distribution tightening and the iPod's video iteration still in its formative years, advertisers are scrambling to find a way into the market. Will it be with iPod-specific branded content? Brand sponsored podcasts? Nobody knows yet, but power to the agency that can somehow find a way to unlock those doors, for behind them lie great riches. MP

The Viral Factory
More hits than ABBA
With successful bandwidth-toppling work for clients as diverse as Axe, Microsoft and Ford ballasting another healthy year-on-year increase and a reel boasting increasingly more sophisticated, thoughtful creative, Shoreditch studio The Viral Factory continues to lead the pack in the viral market. Led by Matthew Smith and Ed Robinson, the modest London company has proved itself nimble enough to adapt its content to the viral's constantly changing form and smart enough to know when to stand back and let the Internet take over. MP

Nancy Vonk
Refuses to call them Freedom Fries
After attending a live event in which former WPP creative chief Neil French boorishly diminished the importance of women in the ad sphere, Ogilvy & Mather Canada co-chief creative officer Nancy Vonk blogged a level-headed but firmly-written rebuttal that started the gears turning on French's eventual dismissal. Much more crucially, in the course of decimating French's glibness with well-argued polemic, she shone a light on the industry's woeful lack of female representation and sparked an international discourse that extended far outside the realm of advertising. MP

Dougal Wilson
Mystery science theatre
Blessed with a scientist's curiosity and a philosophy student's record collection, Scotland's Dougal Wilson continues to forge out a unique path for himself as a director. Although he graduated from Durham University with an astrophysics degree, Wilson reserves any lingering scientific predilection for his pitches. Melding a natural director's touch with a penchant for concept, process and structure, he's fashioned himself into one of Britain's most consistent and exciting directors. And all that without mentioning his abiding dedication and fidelity to the most forgotten of artforms, the music promo. MP

Youtube
How Narnia changed the Internet
Modes for video content dissemination are evolving with such rapid speed that it's hard to know what to think anymore, but in a climate where TiVo has broadcast producers thinking the worst, it's nice to have YouTube around to highlight another simple and heartening truth: good content always wins out. Whether it's home-videoed segments of teenagers lipsyncing to cheesy pop songs, must-see snippets of pop cultural marginalia or yeah, even the odd commercial - YouTube is an invaluable cultural barometer that, in its short lifespan, has already changed the fundamental nature of the viral. It's only a matter of time before broadcast commercials are made at least partly with it in mind. MP