2006 was a year of much change. Buzzwords such as consumer-generated content, integrated and 360-degree marketing became big business, YouTube rocked the foundations of distribution and the scope of creative ideas increasingly stepped outside the bounds of the 30-second commercial. And what of that little bastion of marketing? Well, it's alive and kicking, so can we please stop predicting its death? It's starting to develop a complex. Instead, the commercial is now routinely part of something much bigger. And from the consumer's point of view, something much more exciting and, dare we say it... engaging. Here's a snapshot of some of the highlights (and our personal favorites) from the past year. For a look at who we've named Agency and Production Company of the year, as well as a rundown of other top contenders, keep turning the pages. And for a series of reflections on 2006 from readers, check out Rear View on pg. 50.

WHAT EVERYONE'S BEEN TALKING ABOUT
YouTube. It's no doubt the biggest story of this year. 1.6 billion shekels big, which is what Google paid for the user-generated video site, a magnet for 21st Century self-expression (Michel Gondry even got in on the action). The rapid rise of YouTube has also led the ad industry to re-evaluate who's most qualified to create and disseminate content. Perhaps it's a knee-jerk reaction to consumers aping what's been the domain of trained professionals, or a ploy by agencies and clients to be seen with the cool kids, or a bona fide revolution in advertising, but countless marketers and industry insiders alike (see Rear View, pg. 50) are heralding YouTube for its ability to produce a mass audience. So is an undefined massive and the creative crapshoot of UGC enough to keep marketers interested for the long haul? Google's banking on it.

CLIENTS WE LOVED WATCHING
Coca-Cola> After years of seemingly trying to find its identity, Coke found its magic formula this year with the help of Wieden + Kennedy and Mother. From W+K, Portland's wonderfully saccharine "Videogame" (Nexus Productions) to W+K, Amsterdam's joyful journey into the bowels of a vending machine in "Happiness Factory" (Psyop) and Mother's artfully playful "What Goes Around" - which utilizes director Nagi Noda's trademark one-take, many-actors conceit - word of a new Coke spot actually sets pulses aflutter. A new tag (The Coke Side of Life, with branding courtesy Brand New School), daring creative and an apparent directive to use the industry's most innovative and creative directing talent has served the soda giant well.

Geico> It's a rare client that can have such breadth in their advertising yet still make a solid connection each time. With three separate campaigns this year, ranging from geckos to cavemen to washed up celebs, The Martin Agency hit the trifecta. The charming British gecko, the eldest of the three siblings, still manages to grab attention, while The Movie Voiceover Guy (aka Don LaFontaine), Little Richard and Burt Bacharach lend their pseudo star power to average customers to comic effect. Honestly, Bacharach singing about getting hit in the rear! But it's the cavemen that steal the show. Building on the popularity - and the absurdity - of civilized cavemen, this year's effort that pit Neanderthals against the news media and sent them on leisure vacations was a homerun. We're 100% in love with your tone.

TOP CAMPAIGNS
HP Hands> Goodby Silverstein & Partners had a great thing going with its Francois Vogel-directed picture-in-picture ditties ("Picture Book"), but this year it switched things up and put celebrities, or rather their hands, front and center. With masterfully crafted design (and sometimes direction) from LA-based Motion Theory, stars such as Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Mark Cuban opened up their world by offering an intimate look inside their computers, living up to the tagline "Making the Computer Personal Again."

Jay-Z
Mark Burnett
Shawn White
Mark Cuban

Adicolor> Adicolor's series of podcast films were created by some of advertising's hottest directors. They insist the project was not a commercial campaign, but that doesn't really matter. The project, created by Idealogue, rolled out over seven weeks this spring, caused just the right buzz with just the right audience, found a welcoming home on YouTube and wildly surpassed download expectation, cementing Adidas as a cool, aspirational brand. Traditional advertising? No. A glimpse at the future? An Adicolored one indeed.

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Green
Pink
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Apple Mac vs. PC> Simplicity has always been the touchstone of Apple - from its product design to its packaging to its advertising - and this campaign has it in spades. White backgrounds, discussions about product attributes... even the nerd v. hipster setup is ages old. Though we doubt TBWA envisioned that audiences would have taken to the portly PC character, meant to symbolize the shortcomings of Mac's competitor, so passionately. The duo's witty banter and PC's loveable inferiority complex make this campaign a hit.

Virus
ILife
Network
Better

VW Safe Happens> VW's high-profile migration from its longtime agency Arnold to Crispin Porter + Bogusky put increased scrutiny on the first output from the carmaker's new home. While Crispin's Unpimp Your Ride campaign was polarizing for its pop-culture pastiche, its Safe Happens campaign certainly broke through. While no less polarizing - some viewers felt the jarring portrayal of car accidents was too graphic, a fact that even becomes part of the creative - it was a bold move in a sea of automaker hyperbole.

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INTERACTIVE PLAYERS THAT MADE IT FUN TO ENGAGE IN 2006
Agencies and companies of all stripes are now in on the interactive game. In the quest to engage and entertain, these companies produced some of the most enjoyable websites, virals and online experiences. Click away!

Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Miami/Colorado
Continually at the forefront of interactive and engaging executions, Crispin certainly didn't see 2006 as a time to let up.
Greatest Hits:
Sprite "Sublymonal"> www.sublymonal.com
Burger King "Huckin Chicken"> www.huckinchicken.com
Miller "Man Laws"> www.manlaws.com
VW "Features"> www.vwfeatures.com
The Gypsy Cab Project> www.gypsycabproject.com
BK Games CP+B created three Xbox videogames> Sneak King, Pocketbike Racer and Big Bumpin' - for purchase at the fast-food chain's outlets.

Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
Amazingly, Goodby reports that in the last year the amount of interactive and integrated work has grown to a whopping 50% of the agency's total output.
Greatest Hits:
Got Milk? "Cow Abduction"> www.cowabduction.com
Got Milk? "Brittlelactica: Planet in Need"> www.planetinneed.com
Comcast "Culture Fool Challenge"> www.comcastic.com/mr_t/index.html
Specialized Movies> www.specializedmovies.com

The Barbarian Group, Boston
They're not an agency, they're not a production company and they're not quite a web design company. They're all of the above. And The Barbarian Group can always be counted on to blow your mind.
Greatest Hits:
10 Ways To Interact> www.gettyimages.com/10ways
Any Films> www.anyfilms.net
Sidekick 3 mini site> www.sidekick.com
Virgin Atlantic "Name Our Planes"> www.nameourplanes.com

The Viral Factory, London
Who else can lay claim to turning short and curlies into haute couture? With a straight face? These masters of stealthy seeding are also rumored to be the folks behind Levi's eerie Reykjavik Puppet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7Z3NmNoW0I. But we can't confirm that.
Greatest Hits:
Remington "Fashion Show"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INUnV3UZz30
HP "Fingerskilz"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEauLw24G0&search=fingerskillz
amBX "Games Break Out"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtcoKpz45Kg