As awards season kicks into high gear and the advertising world goes into reflective mode mulling over the best work of the year, we at Boards also take the opportunity to collate our annual It List. As with previous years, this year's list notes the people, companies, products, trends and technologies that have made the advertising landscape a fascinating one to inhabit for the last 12 months. As always, we thank those of you who took the time to jot down your thoughts as to who or what we should include, and for those of you who made the list this year, thanks for doing what you do so well. Onwards...

Advertainment
Here we are now, entertain us
Okay, we admit it. Since BMW Films we've been frankly bored to tears by a lot of what's termed branded content, as it tends to fall victim to half-baked creative, poorly thought-out ideas and heavy-handed product placement. But a sea change took place this year: incrementally brands are taking a back seat, promoting brand values rather than products. Instead of overt pack shots they're creating entertainment portals - much like music event sponsorship - letting the brand's affinity for creativity garner consumer attention. If that sounds like a free pass for agencies to create brand-free weirdness, as well as seeming financially risky and frankly sacrilegious to the gospel of advertising, it certainly can be, but it's a response to the increasingly high bar consumers place on entertainment coming from all sources. The most notable recent success was Cadbury "Gorilla" (pictured, getting ready for his close-up), Juan Cabral's latest addition to pop culture. A gorilla drumming to Phil Collins has nothing to do with chocolate, complained many in Adland. "Who cares?", countered the British public, with 10 million plus YouTube hits and countless spoofs, and, crucially, a bump in sales proving the point. Other fine examples: eBay's online short films currently making the rounds of the festival circuit; Zune Arts' continuing series, Schweppes' Film Festival, Liberty Mutual's "Responsibility Project", and Scion's Want2BSquare efforts. They're all taking the bold move of employing creative filmmakers to make films infused with brand value. The age of the brand as arts patron is fully upon us. EW
AKQA
From online to everywhere
With offices in America (San Francisco, New York and Washington), Europe (London and Amsterdam) and Asia (Shanghai), the 700-person strong AKQA has made its mark with innovative interactive work and a sharp digital focus. This year, the company solidified its advances into non-digital terrain, establishing AKQA Film (a filmed content division) and even creating radio work. "We're asking ourselves, 'Are we a digital agency?'" said New York ECD Lars Bastholm in our March '08 issue. "The struggle becomes to define the new type of agency that's not 'either/or'." Bastholm says the way to think of AKQA, at least for now, is as a strategic entertainment and technology company. But this doesn't mean the company is turning its back on digital. Its "job recruitment" site for the Coca-Cola "Happiness Factory" franchise (pictured) brought Psyop's animated characters further into the realm of entertainment with a clever, colorful online premise. If the early awards show accolades for their immersive Halo 3 web experience, part of the game's massive launch campaign orchestrated by McCann Worldgroup/T.A.G. San Francisco, are any indication, the shop that was named as one of Fast Company's "50 Most Innovative Companies" this year will find itself in more and more agency and client rolodexes this year. Good thing its name begins with 'A'. BW
Amber Music
Re-Inventing the Classics
We used to think, and maybe a little ironically, that there are some songs that are so incredibly awesome, they need not be touched. During childhood, it was the deceptively educational yet undeniably catchy "Dem Bones"; Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf" provided the soundtrack for romantic conquests in the '80s; and the salsa dance craze of the '90s, plus that old Burger King commercial, would be nothing without The Blackout-All Stars' "I Like It Like That." But how horribly wrong we were. Music production powerhouse Amber Music tackled all three with rearrangements as addictive as the originals. For Nomis "Damn Boots," the bouncy track took center stage, narrating the chain of events that lead to a soccer star's downfall. Composed by Will Bates and sung by former LCD Soundsystem guitarist/percussionist Phil Mossman, the entire track was completed in less than 24 hours. Then there's the studio's reworking of the Duran Duran classic sung by none other than cult classic himself, Bruce Campbell. Old Spice "Hungry like the Bruce" (pictured, right) found arranger H. Scott Salinas nailing the seedy, piano barman vibe to hilarious effect. Not to be outdone, the animalistic orgy of Orangina "Naturally Juicy" was spiced up even further by Colin Smith's and Simon Elm's fiery take on the '90s salsa hit, and for its raunchy effort got a music-adaptation nomination at the Clios this year. The company also won a silver Clio for its chugging sound design for Brand Jordan "Engine". CC
Anomaly
Talkin' 'bout an evolution...
A more aptly named company there isn't, but when Fast Company names you one of only two advertising shops in their "50 Most Innovative Companies" list you know it's good to be odd. New York-based Anomaly wooed us with smart work for new client Converse, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The company isn't redefining marketing, it's building its own model: dismantling notions of what an agency is, how its relationships work, what it's responsible for and how it's paid.