After another round of hearty deliberation and unabashed industry solicitation, we've once again arrived at our It List. The 2007 installment contains the newsmakers, the artisans and ubiquitous folk populating the advertising landscape, as well as the trends, technologies and ideas that have impacted the space. As with last year, our list goes beyond individuals to include clients, companies and overarching ideas. 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 2007.

Dante Ariola
MJZ's red hot all-rounder
Fourth time lucky for MJZ's Dante Ariola who crowned a year of pigeon-hole defying work with a flourish by finally receiving a nod from the Director's Guild of America.

In the past year he nailed filmic spots that made him one of the US's most coveted lensmen, including stunning work for the charged, Edward Norton-narrated journey into the driven, solipsistic world of the runner for Nike+ ("Addicted") and, (fittingly, for the man touted by many to be going into features), the playfully elegant homage to film, "Life Imitates Art", for JC Penney. He's also lent his rich narrative touch to the UK market with one of the most anticipated and fought-over scripts of the year so far, PlayStation 3's European campaign, This is Living. Convoluted and ambitious, it ties perfectly cast vignettes into an epic story that culminates in a bombastic, hallucinogenic, WTF ending.

But what's taken him to the next level is his step outside his comfort zone and into the realm of CG. Some canny script choices saw him land work across the creative spectrum. From the gorgeous Johnnie Walker "Human", bringing gravitas, originality and humanity to John Hegarty's legendary account, and the impeccable attention to detail and believability of the slapstick humor in Travelers "Snowball" to keen direction that brought the athlete's head, kid's body conceit to life for Gatorade ("Big Head"). This year Ariola made a whole new realm of filmmaking his trademark.

Joaquin Baca-Asay
Top DP turns director
Not satisfied with being one of the industry's most acclaimed and sought-after DPs, Baca-Asay made a monumental step last year by taking a brace of Nike scripts originally destined for Lance Acord and directing them himself. "Defy" and "Endure" are breathtakingly beautiful meditations on gravity affecting sportsmen and women, and the pain of losing, respectively. On the back of that he signed to Acord's prodco Park, following in Acord's footsteps from DP to director, and shortly after that Gorgeous for the UK, marking the prestigious prodco's first new signing in two years and first-ever not from the UK.

Baca-Asay - who has worked alongside the greats of commercial advertising including Mark Romanek, Brian Beletic and on Mike Mills's feature Thumbsucker - has DPed on Nicolai Fuglsig's affecting American Legacy Foundation "Melting Moms" spot and Tom Kuntz's awards-laden Skittles work in the past year alone.

With no intention of giving up the DP gig, that affords him the rare luxury usually not available to most new directors - being able to be extremely picky with his scripts. He defied expectation with his third spot, "Skateboard", a CG-heavy Nissan piece featuring a car-turned-skateboard, as his follow up to Nike, and on the back of just those two spots won our First Boards Awards top director prize.

Bolstered by on-set schooling from the industry's best and in a number of genres, he looks set for equally big things behind, as well as beside, the camera.

Juan Cabral/Richard Flintham
Making Fallon London's agency of record
Okay, so following up Sony "Balls" was arguably impossible, but love it or hate it, Fallon CD Juan Cabral's follow up, "Paint", coaxed Jonathan Glazer to make his only broadcast commercial last year and it was doubtless one of the ad spectacles of 2006, scooping the top gong at the BTAAs. Not merely a visual one-trick pony, Cabral (left) also worked on the copy-heavy Cannes Outdoor Grand Prix winner for Tate Modern. Both typify the agency's pure, unwavering commitment to creativity.

While a lesser agency might have wobbled at the loss of Fallon co-founder Andy McLeod to the directing world, Cabral and fellow creative director Richard Flintham (right) have gone from strength to strength, not only with the gigantic coup of winning Orange from a rampant Mother, but by championing charming, beautiful ideas-driven work to the agency's clients. Chris Palmer's recent Skoda "The Baking of", Dougal Wilson and Frédéric Planchon's Orange spots and sterling work from Pleix and Brett Foraker for Sony have been augmented by their effortless and untrumpeted transition into success outside the box.

"Tate Tracks", for the Tate Modern, honored with the Best in Show at the One Show, is a brand execution par excellence - art, music and marketing that truly belongs to the new advertising age. Stung as they must have been by "Balls" losing to Guinness "noitulovE" at Cannes last year, Flintham wrought sweet revenge, nabbing the creative team behind it, Matt Doman and Ian Heartfield, from under AMV.BBDO's nose. A truly world class act.

Coca-Cola
The year Coke got cool again
As a company, Coca-Cola is at a bit of a crossroads. Its North American sales are lagging, and after years of shunning non-soda brands (Pepsi, in contrast, has acquired several), it finds itself trying to peddle a lot of fizz to an increasingly health-conscious consumer base. But, according to a recent New York Times article on the soda giant, before venturing out to other liquid landscapes, the focus has been on getting things right with its core products.

Part of that strategy has been an upswing in advertising. And for that advertising can we get a "Hells, yeah!" Since winning the account in late 2005, Wieden+Kennedy (Portland and Amsterdam) has produced a veritable carnival of exciting spots from some of the most watch-worthy directors - Dante Ariola for "First Taste" and "Parade", Ivan Zacharias for Diet Coke "Back Lot", and Dougal Wilson for Diet Coke "Frames". Smith & Foulkes crafted Coke's sunny, cheery homage to gaming with the animated "Videogame", and Psyop has been a regular collaborator with the soda giant ("Doggie", "Mr. Happy Cloud").

In fact, Psyop's fantastical look into the inner bowels of a vending machine is making "Happiness Factory" (pictured) a favorite Cannes contender among pundits. And the animated world has just been extended into a six-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, chronicling the lives and quirks of the Coke machine's workers. The doc is being showcased at Coke's newly re-opened World of Coke Museum in Atlanta.

Coke has also reprised its design/artist collaboration project M5, this time employing François Vogel and Sophie Gateau of Paranoid US to design a bottle and short film, with more to come. All of which makes the "Coke Side of Life" seem like something worth experiencing.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Still boldly going where no one has gone before
Crispin Porter + Bogusky can never be accused of being a boring, run-of-the-mill agency. For years it's symbolized innovation, risk-taking and a brash attitude that has a knack for making brands famous. But this year, CCO Alex Bogusky (left), along with ECD Andrew Keller (right), upped the ante even further.

First, they literally ventured into territory that no zeitgeist-capturing agency has embarked upon before - Boulder, Colorado. Looking to open a new office away from it's balmy Miami home, Bogusky et al headed for the Rockies, partially to service new

client Haggar, and largely because they can. And the inclusion of a full in-house production department in the new shop will help strengthen their ability to provide clients with cutting-edge creative executions.

On the spot front, the agency maintained its MO of making buzz-worthy spots, but one in particular for Orville Redenbacher popcorn, raised more hackles than hoorahs. While we were personally aghast by the effort, they'll always be known, for better or worse, as the agency that brought Orville back to life and outfitted him with an iPod.

Continuing its journey into uncharted territory, CP+B steered its hallmark client, Burger King, to arguably one of its most successful, interesting and truly innovative marketing endeavors - branded video games. Dubbed BK Games, the agency launched three titles for the Xbox console, which were available at BK outlets. Sales were swift and reviews were positive - even among the notoriously picky gaming audience. Remarkable, considering they paid $3 a pop to actively engage with a brand and its icons.

David Droga
Keeping the pace
When we wrote about David Droga and his fledgling agency droga5 in last year's It List, we wondered what he'd do as an encore to the agency's immensely popular "Still Free" viral for street-wear label Ecko. Wonder no more, as Droga seems to be making good on his promise to create a multi-disciplinary and media-neutral agency.

In the last year, the shop has dabbled in everything from philanthropy to branded content to online films. In March, Droga aligned with the UN to create a charity event for World Water Day, called the Tap Project. In essence, he branded New York tap water, turning it into a covetable commodity for a day, the proceeds of which benefited UNICEF.

Then, for Kiwi beer brand Steinlager, droga5 created a comprehensive web film campaign to promote a contest, wherein interested parties could swap lives with a Steinlager employee for a month (see Spotopsy, pg. 21).

And as if to prove his penchant for chronic overachievement, the barely year-old agency already has a spin off business, Honeyshed. Backed by Publicis Groupe, which holds a 51% stake, and in affiliation with Smuggler, which will provide production support, Droga's new venture is a website that will focus explicitly and unabashedly on branded entertainment, hoping to eliminate the line between the two. The site will host studio-produced shows that feature brand placement, episodic content revolving around brands, and contests, sweepstakes and giveaways. In addition to Smuggler, other reported content providers include Microsoft, Condé Nast and Viacom.

Now we really wonder what he'll do next.

Dove Evolution
Making everyone feel better about themselves
We all know that most images of beautiful people are complete crap. Yet we still let ourselves be swayed by pretty pictures of perfectly coiffed, styled and airbrushed models. That was until Dove, through Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto, said "That's enough of that" and unleashed "Evolution".

Created as an online film, "Evolution" dispels the beauty myth by showing in time-lapse the transformation of an attractive but average-looking woman into a literal poster girl. It's simple but shocking. And it took off online, garnering over two million YouTube hits in the first two weeks.

The film, conceived by O&M associate creative director Tim Piper and directed by Yael Staav, won Best in Show at Canada's Bessie Awards and Marketing Awards, and has been honored with a Yellow Pencil at D&AD, two Gold Pencils at the One Show and a Silver Clio. It's been picked up for TV in the Netherlands and will be airing in Canada.

Pegged by many as a favorite at Cannes (it's been entered in the Film, Cyber and Titanium categories), "Evolution" poignantly sends a positive and important message while still staying true to Dove's positioning as an advocate for "real beauty".

Farfar
They know how to party
Stockholm-based interactive agency Farfar started on a good foot. Within a year of forming, it won a Cannes Cyber Lions Grand Prix in 2001 for a Milko Fjallfil Dairy Products project. The company's creative and business minds are not online newbies - CEO/president Mathias Palm Jensen and co-founder/creative director Nicke Bergstrom have been active in web exploits since 1996. After winning their first Lion, A-list clients, including adidas, Nokia and Absolut Vodka logged on.

The Farfar philosophy hinges on the fact that today, consumers diligently protect their time, interacting with advertising on their own terms. Thus, special attention is given to creating a participatory experience. A shining, Gold Lion-winning example: "Stockholm: the Musical" for the Swedish Tourist Council gave users a personalized show tune begging them to visit after they typed their name into the interface.

Similarly, Farfar's "Heidies" interactive campaign for Diesel (pictured) captured the exploits of two young ladies who kidnap a Diesel sales rep to get access to its new underwear collection, and netted one million visitors to Diesel.com, as well as Silver and Bronze awards at The Clios and One Show.

It helps that behind the Flash and fun of sites like "How to Party" for the Swedish Alcohol Committee, lie clear, concise ideas and healthy doses of irreverence. After all, this is the team behind "The Lost Lion", last summer's video document of employee Tom Eriksen searching the sands of the Palm Beach Casino in Cannes after (supposedly) drunkenly burying the Gold Lion won earlier that night.

The Geico Cavemen
Paleontological pitchmen
penetrate pop culture

The Burger King had better watch his ass, as there's a new ad mascot stepping headlong into multimedia stardom - The Geico Cavemen, brought to life in 2004 by The Martin Agency from a creative brief to illustrate the ease of using Geico.com.

The account's creative team, CD Steve Bassett, copywriter Joe Lawson and art director Noel Ritter, began riffing on the idea of "so easy a (fill in the blank) could use it", eventually stumbling onto the caveman concept. From there, an alternate world was born where cultured, well-spoken yet sensitive cavemen took umbrage at the brand's insensitivity. The result - hilariously clever spots such as "Apology", "Airport" (pictured) and "Topic", with the latter pitting a spokes-caveman against a TV news anchor in a mock-CNN exchange.

As favorable word-of-mouth about the campaign spread, the agency introduced the characters through other mediums, including a fake movie trailer on YouTube, cavemen crashing the Academy Awards, and a golf match with football commentator Phil Simms during the Super Bowl pre-game show. In an interesting twist, the client developed a website, cavemanscrib.com, where users lounge about in a Neanderthal's digs.

But the biggest sign that the Cro-Magnon cult is gaining momentum is a TV pilot for ABC, penned by Lawson, and directed by Furlined's Speck/Gordon. Currently testing, it's too early to tell if the show will be picked up, or if the Geico Gecko is royally pissed.

Goodby, Silverstein & Parnters
Old school gets new school right
Nearly every traditional agency knows it needs to change to keep up with the times, yet very few have moved from talk to action as quickly and effectively as Goodby Silverstein & Partners. In the last couple of years, agency founders Jeff Goodby (left) and Rich Silverstein (right) brought their agency from what they refer to as the brink of irrelevance to a digital and broadcast tour de force.

The agency is proud of the stats that show the shift: In 2005, less than 20% of the agency's work was nontraditional whereas by the end of 2006 it boasted a 50/50 split between TV and non-traditional (read: interactive). While impressive, the numbers pale when compared to the caliber of work.

GS&P crafted elegant and intimate television work for HP with its Hands campaign, in which headless celebrities give a guided tour into their computer worlds, as well as a raft of comedic spots for Comcast and Emerald Nuts - one of which featured a wonderfully eerie Robert Goulet. The agency also brought Doritos into the world of social media, purchasing airtime on the Super Bowl to run a consumer-generated ad. Its online feats were no less impressive with sites for Comcast (featuring Mr. T), Milk ("Brittleactica", "Cow Abduction", "Get the Glass") and Specialized. The agency also ventured heavily into installation work for clients Saturn at NextFest and Adobe CS3.

Paying more than lip service to the notion of change, by breaking down the conventional walls of television, print and interactive that surround creatives, Goodby and Silverstein have ushered their 400+ agency personnel into the new age of creative agency and have helped re-ignite the creative spark in San Francisco.

Gerry Graf, Ian Reichenthal, Scott Vitrone
TBWA NY's wonder team of weird
Under the tutelage of executive creative director Gerry Graf (pictured, middle), group creative directors (and copywriter and art director respectively) Reichenthal (left) and Vitrone (right) have crafted copious amounts of sugar-addled psychosis for Skittles ("Trade", "Leak", "Beard"), and have steered similarly skewed spots for Starburst (the most recent, "Bus Station", features a Little Lord Fauntleroy clone raving about berries and cream). And who can forget the Combos Man-mom campaign, also overseen by the trio?

While Skittles "Trade" and the Combos work have already nabbed Lions at Cannes, recent showings at the D&AD (three Yellow Pencils) and the Clios (three Silver and two Bronze Clios) have kept the campaigns on the awards circuit. Still, while ad pundits universally praise these campaigns, the past year hasn't been a complete laugh riot for the team.

A decidedly controversial Snickers ad, "Mechanic", featuring two men accidentally kissing and then pulling out their chest hair to prove their manliness, was roundly decried as homophobic and was subsequently pulled the day after its Super Bowl airing. And losing Sprint/Nextel as a client was surely a bit of a blow.

But the trio - which has a long history of working together since Graf's days at BBDO, NY where Vitrone and Reichenthal freelanced - continues to dominate the realm of the surreal sell, even if they don't think the stuff is all that weird. "How is an opera-singing rabbit more surreal than a woman dancing around her kitchen singing about her Swiffer?" Vitrone asked Boards last year. Fair question.

The Greening of Advertising
It's not just the color of money
Sure, it's tempting to harrumph about bandwagon-jumping ad execs hitching their carts to anything that carries the whiff of the now. But when it comes to the advertising community's current fascination with environmental issues, we instead offer a hearty "Huzzah!"

Bio-friendly buzz started building when production companies like Santa Monica's Instant Karma Films and agencies such as Euro RSCG Skybridge announced their carbon neutral status. Soon after, creatively cool endeavors like droga5's Tap Project (in which New York restaurants served tap water to raise money and awareness for UNICEF and World Water Day), Leo Burnett, Sydney's Earth Hour collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (where Sydney turned off its lights for an hour last March) or Venables Bell & Partners' campaign to "green" San Francisco (pictured), emerged. That's to say nothing of the raft of green-spun commercials that pass through our doors on a seemingly daily basis.

While there's undoubtedly a conscience behind this trend, it's also good business - as more consumers grow environmentally aware, brands that actively reflect that consciousness can only stand to gain credibility. Droga5 CEO Andrew Essex calls it "philanthropy for profit", and that's as good a term as any for this long-overdue marriage of commerce and cause. The fact that most of the work emerging for climate-conscious organizations and events is as good as it is (see Frank Budgen and Malcolm Venville's recent SOS films for Al Gore's Live Earth initiative) helps to assuage any latent cynicism about anyone's intentions.

Thus far, it's a trend that shows no sign of dying - unlike the environment itself.

Microsoft
What haven't they done this year?
Microsoft is one of those brands that people love to hate, and in recent years Brand Gates has been getting it from all sides. Apple made Microsoft's PC the comedic foil in its popular Mac vs. PC campaign; the iPod dominates the market that MS's music player Zune competes in; and the last Christmas season pit Sony's PlayStation3 against the MS Xbox 360. But as a marketer, Microsoft is hitting all the right non-traditional marks in its efforts to sell its various brands - from online films to websites to an ongoing collaboration with artists and musicians.

For the launch of Zune, LA agency 72andSunny devised Zune Arts, an online portal exhibiting short films from top names in motion graphics, design and animation, such as Motion Theory, Bent Image Lab, Bitstate, SSSR, Tokyoplastic and Punga. To promote Microsoft Vista, McCann Erickson, San Francisco, worked with Mekanism to create a webisode-based site called "Clearification" (pictured). The films feature the dry and sardonic wit of comedian Demetri Martin (of Daily Show fame) as a young man suffering from HANDTOSS - Hyper-Achiever with No Direction and Tendency to Overcomplicate Situations Syndrome - who is sent away to find clarity. It's funny, it's engaging and totally unexpected for Microsoft.

Delving further online, McCann, by creating a series of web films for the launch of MS Office 2007, shunned traditional TV ads. Directed by Stacy Wall of Epoch, they combine sharp writing and surreal situations to illustrate the new Office's virtues. For Visual Studio, McCann employed the skills of LA-based Exopolis to create an online campaign using Machinima animation, which tapped into the zeitgeist of VS's programming-geek audience.

And when Microsoft did do TV spots, such as the ones from McCann for Xbox 360 (Gears of War "Mad World", Halo "Starry Night"), they made sure they were well worth looking at, which makes Microsoft look decidedly cooler than the Apple ads would have you believe.

Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody
Here, there and everywhere...
In the five years since it first launched, bicoastal Smuggler has gone from feisty startup with an intriguing but largely unproven roster, to something of a creative powerhouse with an intriguing and largely shit-hot roster. And its success can be traced back to its founders, Brian Carmody (left) and Patrick Milling Smith (right), whose passion for great work doesn't preclude that work being fun.

Following last year's Cyber Grand Prix-winning "Still Free" viral for Ecko from droga5, Smuggler has continued to pull strong projects in both the traditional and non-traditional space. Most recently, director Randy Krallman re-teamed up with droga5 to direct a series of web films for Steinlager beer, promoting a contest in which an American can win a chance to swap lives with an Aussie Steinlager employee (see Spotopsy, pg. 21). Back on the boob tube, Krallman was responsible for Skittles' foppish Elizabethan oddball in "Bus Station", and ESPN's very MTVish Mondays campaign. Directors Happy had a banner year with left-of-center work for Sprite ("Sublymonal"), Comcast and WSIB, while Smuggler/Stink superstar Ivan Zacharias planted his camera stateside for two high-profile gigs: Diet Coke "Back Lot", which aired during the Oscars, and the gorgeously fleshy Vaseline "Sea of Skin".

Milling Smith and Carmody also collaborated with Creative Artists Agency and eBay to help launch the online auctioneer's Let Them Post project, in which eBay sellers create films to advertise the items they hope to sell (see Topic, pg. 15). Further formalizing their fruitful relationship with droga5, the duo partnered with Droga in his new branded content initiative Honeyshed, proving that strategic partnerships, media flexibility and an eye for great creative are a winning combination.

The Mill
London's premier post house just got bigger
Even by the standards of the only UK visuals effects house to have an Oscar (for its work on Ridley Scott's Gladiator, since you ask), The Mill had a pretty special year. How many post houses can count Ivan Zacharias's stunning epic "Sea of Skin" for Vaseline, Dante Ariola's "Human" for Johnnie Walker, the "This Is Living" campaign for PS3, again from Ariola and Ringan Ledwidge's breathtaking "Dangerous Liaisons" (pictured) for Levi's on their reel? And that was just the London office.

But it was more than just the work that made The Mill stand out from the rest this year. Not content to sit on it's considerable laurels, in a further bid for world domination they opened a third office in Los Angeles in January to cater to the untapped West Coast American market. The office adds to those in London and New York, and is headed up by former Digital Domain exec producer Gabby Gourrier. The Mill became the first post house to have three offices globally and quickly settled into business as usual, working on high-profile jobs including "Hondamentalism" for Honda, directed by Mark Romanek, and JC Penney "Life Imitates Art" from Ariola among many others.

While the continued high standard of their work cements The Mill's standing as one of the most creative commercial post houses, the new office gives it the scope to expand into Hollywood's lucrative hills.

Psyop
Happiness is...
Cheery and saccharine never seems so appealing as when in the hands of Psyop, the New York animation studio behind Coca-Cola's world of wonderment "Happiness Factory" from Wieden+Kennedy, Portland. With a cast of quirky characters, all responsible for some aspect of making your Coke just right, Psyop created one of the most buzzed-about spots of the last year. The client even had Psyop extend this mythical world inside the machine into a six-minute behind-the-scenes documentary for its newly reopened World of Coke museum in Atlanta.

But that's not all the Lower East Side gang - led by executive producer Justin Booth-Clibborn and creatives Marco Spier, Marie Hyon, Todd Mueller and Kylie Matulick - got up to. Output includes the evocative "Lovebirds" for energy drink Motley Bird, as well as artful ads for MasterCard, Shell, Fanta and Miller. And since signing with Stink last November, the collective has made considerable impact, with the wonderful VFX tale "Fisherman" for Renault and a gorgeous Psyopian take on car porn with Mercedes "Reflections". With a top-secret blockbuster rumored to be in the works, Psyop shows no signs of losing its edge any time soon.

R/GA
Plus-ing the online experience
Much conversation of late has been dedicated to traditional agencies beefing up their interactive and cross-platform chops. But what many fail to realize is that while the big 'uns are busy naval-gazing, digital shops are swooping in and eating their cake. That's exactly what happened when New York digital agency R/GA was awarded the Grandy at April's ANDY Awards for its Nike+ website-cum-online community (pictured), marking the first time non-television work was bestowed with the top prize.

And the awards didn't stop there. D&AD dolled out a rare Black Pencil for the site that combined a runner's community with iPod technology and Nike gear, awarding it for New Uses of Websites. It also took Best of Show at One Show Interactive and the Grand Clio for Interactive.

While one project does not a digital revolution make, consider that R/GA - led by CEO Bob Greenberg and executive creative director Nick Law - reports having made over 100 videos in 2006 and is expanding its digital studio to facilitate in-house shoots. And as clients migrate more of their attention online, the gap between the 30-second spot and "filmed content" becomes smaller. The agency has also been hiring from outside the digital confines - in March it brought in former Berlin Cameron United creative director Taras Wayner as ECD - to sharpen its narrative skills.

Call it the coming of age for the digital agency or a sharp notice for traditional guys, but either way R/GA is at the forefront of moving the industry forward.

Rebolucion
BA's hit-makers
With the likes of Rebolucion directors Armando Bo (pictured with son Armantido) and Luciano Podcaminsky on their doorstep it's no wonder that top Buenos Aires agencies like VegaOlmosPonce, Santo and Madre are not straying far to match their slew of world-beating creative with similarly high-quality execution.

Mssrs Bo and Podcaminsky have been riding the Argentine renaissance, delivering a seemingly unending string of hits. From the simple, comic performances of his rom-com pastiche campaign for Impulse, to the retro-styled whimsy with a twist for Rexona "Musical", Bo's assured style epitomizes the confidence that infects Argentine advertising right now.

Podcaminsky is no slouch though, adding considerably to the prodco's reputation with a reel from the last year that runs the directing gamut, helming a sexy, sweaty feminist manifesto for Nike, "Surgery", surreal, CG-driven flights of fantasy dreamt up after a good-night glass of the white stuff for Got Milk? and a slapstick, laugh-out-loud alien abduction story, "UFO" for Answer. Latin awards festival El Sol saw fit to award the company the Grand Prix this May, and they're sure to come home with an armful of hardware from Cannes.

With the newest Rebolucionary Lemon co-directing under Bo and Podcaminsky's watchful eye and coming along in his own right, the hits look to keep coming from - dare we say it - South America's finest commercial production company.

Santo
Good clean advertising
Fresh, fun and under two years old, Buenos Aires boutique agency Santo has been punching above its weight since the word go. Led by creative directors Maximiliano Anselmo and Sebastian Wilhelm, it has quickly become one of those sure things, producing hit after hit.

Not only have their Lux spots become mini-event spectacles in the course of a year, but the creative defies anything one would expect from a soap commercial - whether it's a girl's transformation from coquettish lass to randy vixen in "Calista", directed by Bent Image Lab, or a burned out neon girl's journey from disgrace to revitalization in "Neon Girl" (pictured), directed by Danny Kleinman.

Its work for Coke has been memorable, if not a little bit off the wall. Last summer's collaboration with Portland animation house Laika for the World Cup yielded some joyous stop-motion moments, while Coke Light's animated musical ditty "Corny Moments" combines saccharine with sarcastic to charming effect. Not to be outdone, "Birdman", directed by Stylewar, is more of a head-scratcher, but Santo got Coke to agree to making a central figure out of a strange species that adopts animalistic characteristics from passing music lovers, and we like that. And lest we forget the agency's brilliant integrated campaign for Argentine Internet provider Arnet, wherein a hapless bald guy implores people to sign up for the service so that he can receive one hair per registration.

The agency's ability to draw top international talent with unexpected creative should cement Santo's status as a small but powerful player in South America.

Web 2.0
Finally, it's all about you
Odds are that, unless you were a college or high-school student this time last year, you weren't on Facebook. And now you can't stay away, admit it. Such is the nature of the ever-evolving Interweb, especially in the second generation, or Web 2.0 phase. Information has always reigned supreme online (well, that and porn), but with Web 2.0, its collection and dispensation altered.

Web guru Tim O'Reilly cites the difference between an Encyclopedia Britannica website and Wikipedia as illuminating the gap between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. As with most major 'Net phenoms over the past two years (eBay, YouTube, MySpace, the blogosphere), the user controls and creates the data and can share it easily via technological advances.

Thus, brands and their agencies are utilizing various approaches to reach web-savvy demos in the social networking space, ranging from setting up shop in web community Second Life (pictured) to dabbling in user-generated content. Crashing the party has bit some brands in the ass - witness the hatred aimed at fake blogs, or flogs, and at horribly misjudged videos that go viral for the wrong reasons (Agency.com's Subway pitch clip). But others have gotten it right.

As more agencies and production companies build their interactive divisions or collaborate with interactive agencies, and more Web 2.0 monsters like YouTube and its owner Google grow their ad models, the real power of the "third screen" will be indisputable.