Everyone who has the know how to get under the hood got their start somewhere. This was kickoff broadcast spot for a new campaign for AutoZone in 2008, which I developed as part of pitching and winning the account for Sponge.
The spot was so well received throughout the company that they asked their current agency - Havas - to bring the idea back and incorporate it into their new campaign in 2016.
True story: While I was the copywriter behind "Dude, you're gettin' a Dell.", that line wasn't on my original approved script.
The phrase that became about as ubiquitous as "Wassup!" in the early aughts was on a list of ad-libs I brought to set at the behest of director Bennett Miller, who was directing his first commercial.
Editor Nikki Marvel found it in the dailies, put it on the hero cut, and thus began the 'Dell Dude' odyssey.
While at DDB, I got 'loaned' from the Dell/McDonalds team to the Anheuser-Busch team build the activation for Busch's NASCAR series sponsorship. The centerpiece of the activation was this spot, which dovetailed into the brilliant 'Simple Man' campaign. Rather than follow the campaign's traditional format, I proposed we tell a story.
The story stuck.
I was part of the DDB McDonald's team that developed the 'I'm Lovin' It' platform, giving it meaning and form beyond its initial iteration (which was essentially a Justin Timberlake video).
Of all the work, which includes a Cannes Finalist and McDonald's International Ad of the Year (which, to be honest, doesn't hold up very well) - this Employee Image Ad titled 'Mud' is by far my favorite.
Looking back, my other favorite McDonald's moment while at DDB was casting Liam K. Sullivan in this Monopoly commercial (h/t to Liz Paulsen).
If he looks familiar, it's because a few years later, he rocketed to 'internet stardom' with his own hit 'Kelly's Shoes'.