Apple Computers  

image courtesy of isd.net   

                While Apple’s 1984 commercial is probably Clow’s best known and most admired piece of work it would be a long shot to say it was his only memorable campaign.  In fact, Apple’s newer “Think Different” campaign was also the brain child of Clow who hoped to covey the message that a personal computer should be a tool to help its user think more productively.  This masterpiece of Clow’s is discussed, in some detail, in another section of this website labeled:  Lee Clow: His Masterpiece. 

Energizer Batteries

image courtesy of adage.com

                One of the longest running and most recognized campaigns out there just happened to come from the pen of Clow.  That campaign is the Energizer Bunny.  This fuzzy icon for Energizer Batteries received his battery back in 1989 and has since been seen banging his drum and twirling his sticks through over 115 commercials.  This sunglass wearing pink bunny has been ranked among the top 5 advertising icons of all time and can still be seen, 13 years later, wriggling around inside of a metallic Energizer E² battery.

Taco Bell

image courtesy of everwonder.com

                More recently Taco Bell acquired a new mascot thanks to Lee Clow.  The talking Chihuahua who craves food from Taco Bell has been seen, not only the commercials, but in the shape of stuffed animals, bobble-headed dashboard characters and even in a cameo appearance on a Geico commercial.  This Chihuahua has been such an influence on American culture it caused one author to claim that his famous saying, “Yo Quiero Taco Bell,” Has become the only Spanish some people know.  Don’t believe me?  This fan site will change your mind: Click Here

ABC Television

                ABC television network trusted their advertising in 1997 to Lee Clow and his team.  Station ID, upcoming show schedules and other little things viewers see pop up between their favorite television shows are a few of the things that have been designed by Clow.  The famous “Yellow” campaign that ran during the 1998-1999 season is probably the most recognized.  Yellow backgrounds with black lettering claiming “TV is good” and urging viewers to watch more TV while playing eclectic music in the background received heavy criticism.  CNN even quoted Henry Labalme, director of TV-Free America, saying "It's a little as if a cigarette company were to launch an ad campaign wherein they said, “Hey, the surgeon general's got it all wrong. Cigarettes are great. Everybody should smoke” (Okwu, 1997).  ABC of course disagreed claiming it was all about creating an image of fun.  They thought that with Clow’s new campaign they would be able to lure the crucial 18-49 year old market in with their new irreverent humor (Okwu, 1997).  Even with the bad press, the shear buzz of the entire debate helped ABC boost sagging ratings that year.

Nissan

image courtesy of Nissanusa.com

    Probably the most recent and as I believe one of Clow’s more powerful inventions is the Nissan “Shift” campaign.  After dumping their long-time one word tagline of “Driven,” which itself wasn’t too shabby, Clow moved to the new tagline of “Shift ___.”  The “___” of course allows the company to put different words into tag and indeed change through as many as 10 or so per commercial as the second word changes from words like “perception” to “expectations.”  These new ads urge the consumer to shift their views not only on life but in what they should expect from a car company and ultimately the car they buy. 

    Other clients Lee Clow is involved with include the following list that is also linked to the various companies’ websites: