News eclipsed commercials in 2008

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: Queen Elizabeth II described 1992 as “an annus horribilis” for her and the royal family. This annus may have not been that horribilis for Madison Avenue, but it came pretty close. The biggest problem was that most advertising was overtaken by events as the year wore on. The best-laid marketing plans of mice and men—or “Mad Men” with mice—proved no match for a historic presidential race and an enormous financial crisis. That cut both ways for marketers: overshadowing the best ads, but also drawing attention away from the worst. So half the industry is ending the year cursing its poor timing while the other half is breathing a loud sigh of relief. Here is a recap of some high and low points of 2008.

After the success of the audacious “Whopper Freakout” campaign, which began in 2007, Burger King Holdings kept the heat on its rivals in the fast-food category, with mixed results. Stunts like selling Flame, a meat-scented body spray for men, were viral-marketing hits; the scent and its website (firemeetsdesire.com) made more news than if a vegan like Paul McCartney had turned up in a commercial dressed as the chain’s King character. But a campaign called “Whopper Virgins”, asking residents of places such as Greenland and Romania to take part in taste tests, which pitted the Whopper against the Big Mac—was off-putting; the premise came off like cultural imperialism.

A Super Bowl commercial for the Coca-Cola Classic brand sold by the Coca-Cola Co was a warm and fuzzy winner in the spirit of Coke classics like “Hilltop” and “Mean Joe Greene.” Over the skies of Manhattan, two breakaway balloons from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade battle for a balloon bottle of Coke, only to that lovable loser, Charlie Brown.

After years of enduring a mocking campaign from Apple that turned the phrase “I’m a PC” into a punch line, the Microsoft Corp struck back with ads that surprisingly appropriated the phrase and effectively repurposed it as a rallying cry. Teaser spots that preceded the Microsoft counterattack, featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld as a talkative odd couple, were less successful. But they generated almost as much publicity as if the pair had plighted their troth as an actual couple.