As patron saint of advertising St. Bernardine has had a hand in quite a few campaigns of note over the years. His role has been subtle but if you look closely he has always left his mark.

During the 2011 ADDYs presentation we decide to highlight the role he has played in advertising history. I thought it would be fun to share what we discovered here as well. Enjoy!

 

VW Beetle, Think Small Campaign

Now this was a “big” campaign in advertising history. Everyone know the iconic image of the car in a vast field of white space.

The car is so small however that it is really hard to tell who is really behind the wheel. Let me blow it up and show you.

 

Maxell, It’s Worth It

Another iconic image, and another great ad influenced by the saint.

You may be wondering just where the saint is in this image. Well he’s not pictured in this ad of course, but have you ever wondered what music the guy was listening to?

By the way St. “Bernie” was so rocking Olivia Newton-John’s Physical back then.

 

Coca-Cola, Mean Joe Green

Everyone know the famous Superbowl spot where “Mean” Joe Green shows his sensitive side for a bottle of Coke.

Little known fact, the creative director originally wanted to cast a hot blond chick to hold the Coke bottle. The saint intervened since he knew a cute little boy would be much better. If you look closely you can see St. Bernardine working camera three in the background.

 

Burger King, Where’s the Beef?

Another iconic spot inspired by Saint Bernardine. The creative team prayed long and hard on this one.

 

The saint took a tip from his boss on this one, and kept his appearance very subtle. If we look closely though we can see that Saint Bernardine truly does work in mysterious ways.

 

Absolut Vodka

The Absolut team had an icon image on their hands but they didn’t quite now how to get started with the creative.

 

The saint, having tasted the heavenly concoction itself wanted to leave his mark. This ad didn’t run, but one very similar to it did.

 

Burger King, Subservient Chicken

The internet revolution did not catch the saint off-guard. Burger King’s Subservient Chicken was an absolutely brilliant idea.

 

But who do you suppose was actually in that Chicken costume?

 

Apple, iPod

Apples simple illustrations for their iPod product have now become truly iconic. The saint worked on this team as well. His ad never actually ran but it was one of the first in that iconic style.

 

Old Spice, Man your man could smell like

This top campaign from last year had everyone buzzing. It integrated all forms of media perfectly and created a huge buzz for Old Spice.

Ever wonder why the shower is still running in that scene? It’s like someone is still there! Take another look.

 

The saint himself was almost cast in the title role. He decided it was best to let a fresh face get the spotlight in this one though. Also he needs to hit the gym a bit to pull off that look.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little trip through advertising history. Lets all hope that St Bernardine will continue to inspire great campaign in the future!