I have stacks and stacks and stacks of magazines from the 80s and 90s. A fault, perhaps, as any sort of hoarding can be, but within the Arena, GQ, Esquire, Blitz collection are stunning examples of journalism from a time where not everyone could claim to have something to say and then say it. And, also, superb examples of advertising from the era. It seemed liquor, fashion, and cigarettes were the drawcards of the day - or, duh, perhaps those accounts just had the biggest media budgets. But looking back isn’t always better, is it?

Has advertising actually improved in, say, the last thirty years? Or is there so much noise that the really creative examples are simply harder to find? Hmm, but surely the hallmark of a good ad is that it, you know, captures your attention? “I found this outstanding piece of creative…but I really had to go hunting for it,” has got to be an oxymoron of sorts. Good ads grab your attention and then go viral, whatever the vehicle required to do that.

Back then, people shared in the pub about the Carlsberg TV ads, or the Red Rock Cider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hqwBR8jzK4 series featuring Leslie Nielsen from Police Squad - “it’s not red, and it doesn’t have any rocks in it.” Outstanding. Or passed the magazine across the zinc cafe counter, pointing out another smart piece of press, as you contemplated yet another hazelnut latte.

Looking for something else I stumbled across this Jim Beam ad, in the April 1991 issue of Blitz magazine. Blitz was started in 1980 by Carey Labovitch, during the era that ushered in The Face and i-D magazine (and, despite the timing, had nothing to do with the club of the same name that launched the whole “New Romantic” scene.) It was more journalistic than most and like those other iconic publications, captured the explosion of fashion and design that took place as the 80s began.

I just think the Beam ad is fabulous, sharp, and droll all at once. More sophisticated and less US-tinged than most bourbon campaigns, it caught my eye and made me stop to think - so much so, I forgot what I’d gone back to look for in the first place. Now that, surely, is the sign of a good ad.