Was it a year to forget for advertisers. Industry insiders name their favourite 2002 campaigns, and how the sector is faring.

Gary Lowe, joint creative director of Euro RSCG

"I think it's fair to say that this year has not seen any great Irish TV commercials. As a judge at the recent Institute of Creative Advertising and Design (ICAD) awards, I sat through all that was on offer, and while nothing jumped out as outstandingly creative, there was one campaign that really stood out, namely the AIB Sliding Doors (four executions) commercials from McConnells.

"It successfully communicated a complex storyline of multiple `what if?' scenarios, which could have easily ended up as a confusing mass of meaningless pictures.

"The combined elements of these commercials make them work so well. They include the direction of Tom Merilion of Speers Films and a great piece of music that mirrors the theme.

"Most important of all is the superb editing. In my opinion this is the main factor in bringing the ads to life. I counted 55 edits in the 40-second duration, and yet they flow so smoothly.

"Bold? Striking? Imaginative? Creative?

"The Guinness Hurling Giants 48-sheet poster of the sliothar crashing through the house has them all.

"The original campaign was created by HHCL in Britain, but this follow-on advertising by Irish International (five executions) is a good example of what makes a great poster -- a powerful image that combines a strong copy line to provide clear and immediate communication."

Jonathan Stanistreet, creative director of McCann Erickson

"Despite clear evidence that audiences turn blind eyes and deaf ears to witless and mediocre advertising, the majority of Irish advertising remains charmless and forgettable (or memorable for all the wrong reasons, whichever way you want to look at it).

"Between 80 and 90 per cent of our advertising remains inane.

"If the next tier of ads isn't quite so bad, they're only average. The problem is that they have neat production values . . . but can be bloated or lacking a creative idea.

"On the flip side, some commercials this year had nice ideas but little or no money to produce them properly.

"There are exceptions. Carlsberg saved the year with Jason's Dream and Nightclub (Owens DDB). Perhaps most telling about the state of Irish advertising is the fact that whilst these executions were conceived here, the creative strategy was imported.

"If that sounds begrudging, it's not meant to be. It's great work, no doubt.

"It would just be sweeter if we produced outstanding work based on our own creative platforms.

"Sad to say, the print medium has had an equally thin year. Coca-Cola ran a strong outdoor campaign (created by Universal McCann) that used the medium well.

"The Volkswagen Bora campaign was also good. Again, the creative strategy, `Any Excuse' was imported.

"If poor or lacklustre advertising turns off audiences, why spend all that media cash on something no one wants to watch or read?

"Half a billion euro spent? From a creative viewpoint I reckon about €500,000 spent well."

Paul Moran, managing director of Mediaworks

"My favourite broadcast ad has to be the Jason McAteer World Cup ad for Carlsberg, or the Dream campaign, which was created by Owens DDB. It really caught the imagination and got people talking.

"As a close second, I really like the various outdoor executions for the National Lottery. McConnells, the ad agency involved, has consistently delivered for the National Lottery with good commercials that have broad appeal across all age groups.

"One of the more recent executions involves a girl trying to buy a cloud. In another TV execution, a family build a conservatory onto a dog kennel. The gentle humour is great and the message is clear -- anything is possible.

"My favourite broadcast commercial was the radio execution for Volkswagen Bora, also created by McConnells. In this, a mother-in-law berates her son-in-law for just about everything under the sun. Yet when she decides to head home, he offers to drive. It carries the tagline `Any excuse to drive the Bora'. It's a witty interpretation, and I really enjoyed it.

"Regarding the overall quality of creative work in 2002, compared to previous years, I would not have seen any dramatic difference.

"My only concern is the increased number of companies now relying on globally-produced commercials, as opposed to domestically-produced commercials."

Richard Law, managing director of Mediavest

"I have racked my brains and have tried not to be partisan. My unprompted advertising awareness is very low, so there may well have been other campaigns out there that made more of an impact -- I simply cannot remember them.

"One of my favourite campaigns is the Smirnoff Black Ice done in ultraviolet paint (DDFH&B). It is fantastic, as it uses the medium very well. It gets darker a lot earlier at this time of year, and the ultraviolet really stands out.

"It understands that the drinks sector advertises heavily at this time of year and has used what is a relatively simple device to make it stand out.

"I doubt it is the heaviest campaign out there at the moment, but it is certainly the one that I remember.

"I like a couple of different television campaigns. One is the global campaign for Malibu, which is humorous.

"When it comes to campaigns produced in Ireland, one that I remember is the McCain home fries chip ad, which features a father and son making chip butties (QMP D'Arcy).

"It is very human, and doesn't try to be too funny. The campaign is part of an international strategy that was tweaked for Ireland. That can be very difficult to get right, as the tendency sometimes is to use colloquial phrases."

Michael Patten, president, IPRI

"I don't think it was a particularly exceptional year. If you stand back and think of the ads that actually made an impact on you, it is quite difficult.

"It is sometimes hard to recall the brand associated with some of the ads that do come to mind, which leaves you questioning how effective they were in the first place.

"That said, we are all bombarded with so much media that our ability to retain the messages is diluted.

"One of the most enjoyable campaigns was the Carlsberg Dream series. I particularly liked the nightclub execution, around the theme `Carlsberg don't do nightclubs, but if we did it would be the best nightclub in the world'.

"It featured two guys in a nightclub that was filled with stunning women. The whole series was superb -- hats off to McConnells.

"In terms of production value, the Guinness campaign that featured the Shackleton ad was wonderful. However, I think the campaign may have been just a little bit too highbrow.

"I also really liked the Bank of Ireland football championship campaign 'Ask not what your county can do for you'. The execution was really good, and it really stood out for me."

Thanks to those who helped compile this piece, and apologies to those we had to omit for reasons of space.

A Happy New Year to all from the Media & Marketing section. These pages take a break next week, but will be back on January 12.

Messages should be left for Susan Mitchell at susan@sbpost.ie