All language subtitles for The.80s.Top.Ten.S01E03.Commercials.1080p.DSNP.WEB-DL.DD+5.1.H.264-NTb_track4_[eng]

♪ ♪

ROB: Welcome to the
80's Greatest Hits,

a decade that's
celebrated appearance,

projecting an image
and selling yourself.

ROB (off-screen): We're counting
down ten classic commercials

from one classic decade.

MICK: I want my MTV.

ROB (off-screen): When we
weren't being sold products,

we were being sold ourselves.

DMC: The commercials of the
80s psychologically connected

with the audience.

ROB (off-screen): With images
that defined the decade for

better and for worse.

BROOKE: You wanna know
what becomes between me and my Calvins?

JON: Talk about a
sexual innuendo.

ROB (off-screen): TV
commercials sold us the 80s.

CLARA: Hey, where's the beef?

ROB (off-screen): And, we still
buy into their messages today.

KATIE: "Just Do It."
What a great phrase.

ROB (off-screen): But, which
one was the best of the best?

(theme music plays)

ROB: So, where do we start?

How about our fast
talking number ten?

JOHN: Okay, you understand I need to be
in New York on Monday,

LA on Tuesday,
New York on Wednesday,

LA on Thursday,
New York on Friday. Got it.

WOMAN (over phone): Got it.
JOHN: Got it.

I taught myself when I was 12
how to do the fast talking.

Pretty much, told to
shut up for 15 years.

NARRATOR: John Moschitta's
motormouth was tailor made for

a decade consumed
with a need for speed,

and it was American big
business that led the race.

ROBERT: You had the fax
machine coming into offices.

You had computers coming into
offices for the first time,

and so, the pace of
business was accelerating.

NARRATOR:
Ex-Vietnam military pilot,

Fred Smith, takes the hint,
and sets up a fast airborne

delivery service.

But, speed comes
at a cost, and,

in this case, at a loss.

FREDERICK: In the first
couple of years of operation,

we lost a total
of $29 million.

NARRATOR: With his
business on the line,

Fred Smith needs to
get his point across.

You snooze, you lose.

Enter, John Moschitta, who's
record breaking motormouth

delivers a major wake up call.

TV PRESENTER: Get set...

Talk.

JOHN: Friend, either you're
closing your eyes to a situation

you do not
wish to acknowledge.

Or you are not aware of the
caliber of disaster indicated

By the presence of a pool table
in your community

One fine night they leave the pool hall,
heading for the dance at the armory,

libertine men and scarlet women and
rag-time shameless music

that'll grab your son, your daughter,
with the arms of a jungle animal instinct.

Mass-staria. Friends, the idle brain
is the devil's playground. Trouble.

(applause)

Within four days of that show airing
I was booked on every major talk show.

(applause)

NARRATOR: To
harness John's talent,

FedEx's ad agency hires
superstar commercial director,

Joe Sedelmaier, a star
director who's used to

doing things his way.

JOE: (bleep) that's good.

JOHN: He was not all
that anxious to work with me,

and they were, kind of,
making him do it,

and the original concept for
the commercial only had me

saying stuff like, "Thanks
for taking this meeting",

and so, I thought, well, this
is not gonna be very funny,

and I got there and I said,

"You know, I was
thinking about it.

I'd like to talk to
you about the script",

and, all of a sudden,
you could hear,

like, a pin drop,
and he said,

"Oh, really, what would
you like to say?"

And so I said, "I thought I
should say something like,

oh, wonderful,
wonderful wonderful..."

And, in conclusion, Jim, Bill,
Bob, Col, Fred, Abel and Ted...

"Business is business.

In order to get something done,
we've gotta do something..."

In order to do something,
we've gotta get to work.

"So, let's get to work.
Thanks for taking this meeting."

And, he looked at me and says,
"You know, I think that will work better."

(laughs)

Got it.

ROBERT: The theme of the
commercial was what FedEx did.

It was fast.

WOMAN: Can you
wait 15 seconds?

MAN: I'll wait 15 seconds.

BRYAN: It was comedy that we
hadn't seen before, you know?

JOHN: Congratulations
on your deal in Denver, Dave.

I'm putting you down
to deal with Dallas.

Dawn, do we have a deal?
It's a deal. We have a deal.

I've gotta go.
I've got a call coming in."

BRYAN: Like, this guys
is really doing that.

Like, it's not
some special effects.

KATIE: It was
actually a stroke of genius.

JOHN: Dawn, I'm putting
you down to deal with Dick.

Dick, what's the deal with the
deal? Are we dealing?

KEVIN: And, in school, people
would try to imitate him and

talk real fast, and sprain
their tongue in the process.

JOHN: You did a bang up job.

I'm putting you in
charge of Pittsburgh.

I know it's perfect, Peter,
what's why I picked Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh is perfect.
Peter, may I call you Pete?

PETER: Call me Pete.

NARRATOR: FedEx's ad
is a huge success,

and makes them a metaphor
for the high speed of 80s business.

JOHN: Congratulations.
Welcome aboard.

NARRATOR: And, that FedEx guy?

He becomes an
enduring 80's star.

PETER: Yeah, didn't you
do an interview with that

fast-talking FedEx guy?

LOIS: Yeah, I ended up
dating him for three months.

JOHN: That's a
beautiful shade of lipstick.

I bet you enjoy the
music of Men at Work.

You're incredibly foxy, take off
your shirt, take off your pants.

Wow, what a body.
That feels good.

I'll give you a call.
You'd better get tested.

ROB: So, how did
we make our charts?

ROB (off-screen): We recruited
a panel of experts who ranked

our top ten commercials
based on their wow factor...

their importance of time,
and their impact today.

ROB: Our panel's number nine,
a product that revolves around

hair, but, no, it's not
the beloved 80s mullet,

may it rest in peace.

NARRATOR: In the
70's men went back to nature

letting it all
hang and grow out,

but, in the 80s, as business
became slick and cool,

so too did men's faces.

And razor company, Gillette,
jump on that clean cut

bandwagon with a
series of iconic TV spots.

JEREMY: That Gillette
commercial is like 17 movies.

BRIAN: First real cinematic,
thematic commercial we'd ever really seen.

NARRATOR: Gillette gambles
$80 million on a full

Hollywood makeover, making
mini movies celebrating

clean shaven dudes on the front lines
of a grooming revolution.

But, no revolution is complete
without its own anthem.

♪ Oh oh oh Gillette ♪

♪ The best a man can get ♪

♪ Oh, Gillette, now ♪

♪ Oh, the best I say, ♪

♪ the best the man can get ♪

♪ For all a man can be ♪

KATIE: The jingle was
absolutely irresistible.

Fun to sing
along with Gillette.

♪ Gillette ♪

MAN (off-screen): The
best a man can get.

♪ The best a man can get ♪

REGINALD: The
best a man can get,

it was, essentially,
a love song to men.

KATIE: It was written by a
proper singer songwriter, Jake Holmes.

He actually wrote
for Frank Sinatra.

He also wrote
"Dazed and Confused",

which was later made
popular by Led Zeppelin.

BRYAN: That was the
heyday of the epic jingle.

MAN (off-screen): Gillette is
changing the face of shaving.

NARRATOR: Gillette's gamble
helps make clean shaven the

look of the late 80's
male, whatever their age.

KEVIN: I'm in good shape.

(screams)

JEREMY: They
definitely put full throttle,

the whole idea of
men looking good,

and you need to take care
of yourself to look good.

ROB: At number eight, this
80's commercial was so genius

that, in the 90's, we made a
parody of it in Wayne's World.

WAYNE: Pardon me.
Do you have any Grey Poupon?

(laughs)

NARRATOR: Young, urban
professional or yuppie.

Now, that wasn't an
80's catchphrase.

For many, that
was an assignment,

with homework that could be found
inside this tiny glass jar.

LONI: Like, first of
all, what is Grey Poupon?

ROBERT: Grey Poupon
was an unknown product.

NARRATOR: Looking to make
inroads into the US market,

Grey Poupon cast their eye on
the growing yuppie trend for

culinary sophistication.

The trouble is,
for most people,

mustard still means hot
dogs on street corners.

Grey Poupon need ad
man, Stephan Kaplan,

to come up with a commercial
that can sell old world class

to a new mass market.

STEPHEN: It was myself
and my writing partner,

Larry Elegant, sitting
around with the jar of mustard between us,

and the first
thing that Larry said was,

"What can we do
with a Rolls Royce?"

KANE: Thought we might have
a picnic tomorrow, Susan.

STEPHEN: I remember a
scene in Citizen Kane,

and their idea of a picnic was
to have these amazingly rich

cars follow each other
out to the picnic area.

That triggered a
thought in my mind that to,

literally, have another Rolls
pull up and ask for a jar of

Grey Poupon as if they were
asking for a cup of sugar.

MAN: Pardon me?

Would you have
any Grey Poupon?

MAN: But, of course.

MAN (off-screen): Grey Poupon.
It even has wine.

NARRATOR: Stephen Kaplan
knew he was taking a big risk.

If he got it wrong, he could
alienate both ends of the

market simultaneously.

But Stephen managed to bowl
right down the proverbial

middle lane by serving up
two of the key 80's ad

food groups,
aspiration and humor.

ROBERT: Personal
refinement and accomplishment,

for the price of
a jar of mustard.

It elevated a condiment to
something that was indicative

of your status in life.

BRYAN: They elevated it but it didn't take
itself too seriously.

LONI: It's just something that
you instantly remember the

minute you say, "Grey Poupon",
you think of those two men in

the car passing that.

JEN: It was like the Downton
Abbey of 80's commercials.

It then became something that
you would say to the point

that you would annoy everyone
if you wanted mustard or

any kind of condiment.

"Do you have any Grey Poupon?"

NARRATOR: When the ad
is tested in Seattle,

sales increase by 100%.

Somehow, they managed to
capture the 80's lightning of

class into a tiny jar.

LONI: I was, like, if I eat
that, that'll make me rich.

ROBERT: I bugged my mother
to buy Grey Poupon for us,

and it was
considered sophisticated.

REGINALD: My mother fiercely
led our family from

working class to
lower middle class.

That was her mission, and
all I had to do was say,

"Rich people eat
that mustard, Mamma",

it was on the list.

(laughs)

NARRATOR: Soon, many
mammas put their wallets where

their son's mouths were, which
helped lock Grey Poupon down

as our number eight.

But, seven more
commercials are in bound.

For instance, a dog
in a sex scandal.

Really?

ROB: Now, there are bad
business decisions and there

are ba-ad business decisions.

New Coke was terrible, but it was a great
opportunity for an iconic 80s character,

a fusion of special effects
and an out of work actor.

Our number seven.

NARRATOR: The 80s was marked
by growing tensions between

two superpowers, both dedicated to each
other's obliteration.

BROKAW: What is heating up is
the cola war between Coke and

Pepsi for dominance of
the soft drink business.

JEREMY: The cola wars.

I mean, there was
no way around it.

That was a big deal.

Who cares about the
Berlin Wall falling down?

It's about Coke versus Pepsi.

NARRATOR: The two cola giants
are in a bitter fight for

America's taste buds.

After blind taste tests
indicate that 80s cola fans

increasingly prefer sweeter drinks,

Coca Cola goes for
the nuclear option.

They change Coke's revered
recipe to be more like Pepsi's

sweeter flavor.

They call it, New Coke, and
match the theme by enlisting

a revolutionary flag
bearer for the brand.

MAX: Max, Max
Cornelius Headroom here,

and I'm looking
for some atmosphere.

DMC: Max Headroom was a huge
star in the 80s, like, a star.

JEREMY: I was
obsessed with Max Headroom.

- M,M,M,M,
- Max,
- H,H,Headroom,
- Headroom.

MAX: Max.
Max Headroom.

NARRATOR: Max first
materializes in a cyber punk

TV film made for
British television.

Then, he gets his
own spinoff TV series.

MAX: I was created
because there was a gap in the

entertainment market for something,

I suppose you
could call, swagger.

NARRATOR: Cinemax runs
Max's shows in America,

and he quickly gains cult
status as the smart talking

computer generated
face of the future.

DMC: So, I guess,
Coke figured,

if anybody could sell
new Coke to the public,

it could be Max Headroom.

MAX: The network
where two's coming in,

three's an audience.

NARRATOR: Coke believed that
they've backed a winner in

attracting the youth market.

They double down by
hiring Ridley Scott,

an A list director whose
movie, Blade Runner,

gave a starring role
to artificial humans called replicants.

RACHAEL: Mr Deckard,
Dr Eldon Tyrell.

RICK: I don't
get it, Tyrell.

JOE: Commerce is our
goal, here at Tyrell.

More human than
human is our motto.

- MAX: M,M,M,
- Max Headroom.

Hi.

BOY: Hi.

MAX: Ah, our new...

NARRATOR: But, Ridley
soon discovers that

there's more to the
mighty Max than meets the eye.

MAX: OK.
It's great.

RIDLEY: He seemed to
be a bio mechanoid.

I said, "I think
it's extraordinary.

Who is this man, machine?"

He said, "Well,
actually, he's just outside."

So, they brought him
in and there he was.

NARRATOR: Like Ridley,
most people assumed Max was a

computer generated replicant.

But, in fact, he was brought
to life by actor, Matt Frewer.

MATT: I would say
Max is charming.

He's goofy.

He's very slick,
very good at his job.

He stutters a lot
when he gets fussed.

MAX: Live and live and direct.

MATT: On the whole, I
would say he's a fairly

disconcerting prospect.

NARRATOR: Adding to
the disconcerting vibe,

is Max's unusual face, now enhanced
by old school cosmetics.

MATT: There's a lot of prosthetics rubber
makeup involved.

It's a very
grueling make up session.

HUMPHREYS: This is a
piece of Max Headroom.

It's just foam latex,
not silicone like they use these days.

It would have fitted
on something like this.

I was getting people
ringing me up saying,

"You're gonna be out of
business soon because look at

these computer graphics
that we've..."

(laughs)

MAX: T, T, tune
into Network 23.

RIDLEY: But, actually,
he could do that stuff.

He could sit here and computer
generate like it was a,

he could act it out.

HUMPHREYS: It
looked, in the studio,

like he was in a different
dimension to ourselves.

It looked like something else.

KID: I like him.
MAX: Join the club.

NARRATOR: Here's
where the good news,

bad news part of the
Coke wars comes in.

Good news.

In market testing 76% of
American youth can identify

Max from the commercial.

But, bad news.

That same 76% don't like
the new sweeter flavor.

WOMAN: I hate the new coke.

ROBERT: New Coke was
a colossal mistake.

It is taught in business
schools to this day as

the way to introduce a flop.

NARRATOR: Coke
retires Max in 1988,

and his alter ego,
Matt Frewer,

trades in his prosthetics for
the quieter life of a character actor.

MAX: No.
Catch me now.

MATT: I don't have a laptop,
and I actually live out in the woods now.

MAX: Thanks to
Max Headroom, who,

basically, told us
all to go digital.

NARRATOR: 20 years
later, an older,

if not wiser Max
comes out of retirement,

starring in a British spot
promoting the switch from

analog TV to digital.

Max truly remains in
his own head space.

MAX: No, not the face.

ROB: Some days I kinda miss
the fruity bouquet of New Coke.

But, one beverage which is
very much still around brings

us to our next contender in
the commercials hit parade.

The drink may still be here,
but it's iconic 80s spokesman

has passed into
commercial legend.

♪ Oh Oh Oh ♪ ♪

WOMAN: Look, here he comes.

♪ There's a
super party animal ♪

♪ His name is Spuds Mackenzie ♪

NARRATOR: By the late 80s,
young women are drinking more

beer than ever before, and
Budweiser spies the perfect

opportunity to sell their new
light calorie beer to

young people of both genders.

MAN (off-screen): Party animal.

WOMAN: That's
Spuds, he is the party.

NARRATOR: As they redefine
the phrase, party animal.

Hey, it's the 80s.

CRISTELA: A dog
knows how to party.

I look at a dog and I'm, like, I need to
hang out with that guy.

JEN: It looks like an
SNL sketch, and it's not.

Like, it's an actual,
legitimate commercial.

MAN (off-screen):
He's Spuds McKenzie,

one party loving
happening dude.

NARRATOR: And,
to turn a cheap,

low cal beer into a symbol
of fun loving 80s youth and

success, they give it an
ironic makeover by borrowing

the very loud
voice of Robin Leach,

the host of Lifestyles
of the Rich and Famous.

MAN (off-screen):
It's just the life.

WOMAN: So, go, Spuds, go.

WOMAN: Spuds gives
motion to the ocean.

BRYAN: Spuds
Mackenzie just said,

"We're not taking this
whole thing seriously."

KEVIN: I think it's, like,
a self awareness with a sense of irony.

It goes down a bit
smoother for the consumer.

NARRATOR: Within weeks, Spuds
makes the talk show rounds.

MAN: You're a major star, Spuds.

You've been around the world.

(laughs)

MAN: You've gone everywhere.

What does it all
smell like to you, Spuds?

(laughs)

NARRATOR: His
canine star was rising,

but then, at the
height of his fame,

he's hit by, yes, a
career near ending scandal.

Say it ain't so, Spuds?

NARRATOR: In 1987 Spuds
McKenzie is the high rolling

brand ambassador
for Bud Light,

but, like so many
iconic superstars,

Spuds is discovered
living a double life.

CRISTELA: Wait a minute. Hold on.

Wait a minute.

KATIE: Gender bender.

He was a she, and it turned out that Spuds
was really a girl dog.

CRISTELA: Like, you just
told me that Spuds was a girl?

It's like you just told me that we
really didn't land on the moon.

NARRATOR: Spuds, AKA Evie,
rides out the scandal,

but that was small potatoes

compared to Spuds'
next fall from grace.

CRISTELA: Kids can't
drink, but, guess what?

They love stuffed animals.

STROM: To put these toys,
advertising beer on them,

is absolutely against
the public interest.

LARRY: Marketing may have
gone one step too far where

a nine, ten, 11 year old, was
collecting merchandise for

things related to
beer and cigarettes,

might be a little
too early for that.

NARRATOR: Politics and
pressure groups turn a parody

pooch into a scapegoat.

And, by the end of the '80s,
Spuds becomes an early victim

of what we now call,
cancel culture.

He, or she, is put into
the doghouse, permanently.

ROB: So, Spud's, Fast
Talking Guy and Max Headroom,

were all memorable characters
who defined the products that

they pitched.

But there's another way
commercials get inside your brain,

and that's
through catchphrase.

Number five features one
that, try as we might,

us '80s survivors
will never forget.

CLARA: Where's the beef?

JOHN: Where's the beef?

TIFFANI: I remember
saying that slogan.

JON: Where's the beef?
She was a cranky lady.

NARRATOR: Now the '80s
were supposed to be all about

living the dream
and living it large,

but in reality, that dream
was mostly a fantasy unless,

of course, your name
was, Clara Peller.

JOHN: She worked
in a nail salon,

and she was just
one of those faces.

NARRATOR: Clara is propelled
to instant celebrity when she

stars in an ad spot for,
Wendy's Bigger Burger.

ROBERT: Wendy's understood
what made Wendy's different.

If you come to Wendy's, you'll
get more beef in your burger.

WOMAN: It certainly
is a big bun.

WOMAN 2: It's a very big bun.

WOMAN: Big fluffy bun.

BRONSON: They gave her the
competitor's burger and

she said in this unexpectedly
deep, gruff voice.

CLARA: Where's the beef?

MAN (off-screen): Some hamburger
places give you a lot less beef

and a lot of bun.

JOHN: Since Clara
was practically deaf,

when it was time for her to
talk they had someone laying

on the floor that
would pull on her leg and,

when they'd pull on
her leg she'd go,

"Where's the beef?"

NARRATOR: And three words
and one little old lady conquered America.

TIFFANI: Where's
the beef was huge.

LONI: I could just remember
going into my Wendy's going,

"Where's that beef?"

NARRATOR: The spot helps the
company take a much bigger bite

from the $15
billion burger business.

Over two years, their
sales increase by a third.

MAN: It's become a
universal one liner.

CLARA: Where's the beef?

NARRATOR: And that universal
one-liner is soon weaponized

by wannabe
President, Walter Mondale,

as he faces off with Gary Hart
for the Democratic nomination

in the 1984 race
for the White House.

WALTER: When I
hear your new ideas,

I'm reminded of that ad,
Where's the beef?

NARRATOR: Walter Mondale
ends up using the catchphrase

almost as often as Clara.

WALTER: Where's the beef?

Where's the beef?

NARRATOR: But strangely, the
catchphrase isn't powerful enough

to unseat
the invincible Reagan,

and, when Clara tries
to run out the clock on her

15 minutes of fame, by
endorsing Prego pasta sauce.

CLARA: I found it.

NARRATOR: Wendy's takes their beef out
by cancelling her contract.

But Clara gets the last laugh.

CLARA: Where's the bags?

MAN: Right here, ma'am.

NARRATOR: With a host of
cameo roles in movies and TV,

as well as public appearances

with the likes of
New York's mayor.

REPORTER: Clara Peller,
the 4 foot 10,

silver haired little
lady with the big voice,

made a courtesy call on
Major Koch at City Hall.

NARRATOR: And pioneers
a by now familiar path,

of cashing in on her celebrity
status until the day she dies.

CLARA: Where's the beef?

ROBERT: A very memorable
character and a very funny line

it just made it
one of the best ads ever.

NARRATOR: Wendy's meaty
"Where's the Beef?" Campaign,

muscles its way to
number five in our charts,

by transcending
from catchphrase,

to part of our language.

But, there were some '80s ads
that many would rather forget entirely..

BROOKE: Do you wanna know
what comes between me and my Calvin's?

ROB: The competition
is getting fierce,

as we move into the
top four, but, so far,

we've left out one vital
component of '80s advertising

that has aged very badly.

In short, sex sells.

NARRATOR: The '60s may
have introduced the idea of free love,

but the '80s did their
best to cash in on it.

KATIE: Once we got into the
'80s there was a new awareness

that nothing sells like sex.

NARRATOR: And '80s advertisers
went for that sell in ways

that raised eyebrows then,

but would cause
jaws to drop today.

LONI: It was just crazy what
was happening in the '80s,

as far as when it comes to
commercials and women and how

they were being sexualized
and objectified so much.

TONY: There's stuff happening
ten years ago that wouldn't

fly today but, but
especially in the '80s.

JASON: The '80s was this time
when people realized that you

could be provocative and you
could be controversial in a

way that could
launch you as a brand.

NARRATOR: And no-one
was more controversial than Calvin Klein.

CALVIN: Does sex sell?
Absolutely it sells.

We still like sex.

NARRATOR: In 1980, the fashion
guru had a new range of

skin tight jeans to promote.

For maximum impact and buzz,

he signs model and
movie star, Brooke Shields.

KATIE: She had already had pretty much,

a lifetime career as a, a
child model and actress.

Very controversially, she
started when she was 12 in,

Pretty Baby, about
a child prostitute.

MAN (off-screen): This
is Brooke Shields,

breathtaking in
her screen debut,

constantly changing,
always surprising.

Like the image of
an adult world,

reflected in a child's eye.

NARRATOR: When
Klein takes her on,

Brooke Shields is
just 15 years old,

but that doesn't stop him from
creating an ad campaign that

overtly sexualizes her.

(whistling)

KATIE: The camera is just
crawling up her long, long, long legs.

(whistling)

JASON: It was really shocking,
my mother said, you know,

"Turn the channel,
don't watch that."

KATIE: The fact that
she was 15 years old,

that made
people's heads explode.

NARRATOR: Now, it wasn't only
the pictures that detonated,

Klein's collaborator, Doon Arbus,

came up with a tagline that
was true cultural dynamite.

BROOKE: You wanna know
what comes between me and my Calvin's?

Nothing.

MAN (off-screen):
Calvin Klein jeans.

LONI: I'm, like, girl,
you going commando?

Really?

TIFFANI: It definitely
was way too risqué for a 15 year old girl.

ROBERT: Greasy, with a whiff
of scandal and I would argue,

that's probably exactly what
Calvin Klein wanted it to be.

CALVIN: I will take chances with,

with advertising and I
will maybe sometimes,

step beyond what is
considered to be good taste.

NARRATOR: And while Klein delighted in
being a provocateur,

his young star also got dragged
into the growing scandal.

BROOKE: The
commercial sold jeans,

and when I made the
commercials I had no idea

that the controversy
would be as it was.

ROBERT: It was a highly
suggestive ad with an underage actress,

and CBS and ABC
were not happy at all.

REPORTER: "What comes
between me and my Calvin's?"

Well, if you didn't see it,
you won't be seeing it on

some television stations.

The CBS network
and Channel seven,

here in New York, say they
won't show the ad because they

don't like the
answer to that question.

ROBERT: They
banned the ad outright.

Was he happy that
his ad was banned?

My guess is, probably.

NARRATOR: Despite the ban,
or perhaps because of it,

Calvin Klein sells
400,000 pairs of jeans a week

throughout the next year.

ROBERT: Scarcity
creates desire.

When the Calvin Klein
ad was banned,

it just created an enormous
amount of curiosity for

what the ad was.

TIFFANI: It's definitely
something I know my mother

would not be
okay with me doing.

And I think it brought
a huge conversation up,

especially during that time,
about what's right and what's

not right, possibly, for that age.

NARRATOR: Today, our
number four would probably get

someone fired for
just suggesting it,

and the catchphrase
behind our number three,

also had a twisted past
that almost nobody knew about,

until now that is.

ROB: Well now we're down to a
Budweiser Clydesdale horse race,

remember those guys?

The last three spots that our panel
had a very hard time ranking.

You'll see why.

Number three has
all the moving parts;

zeitgeisty brand, incredible
production values and yeah,

the ultimate catchphrase.

NARRATOR: In the '80s, it's not just
Coke and Pepsi who are at war;

in 1988, a new conflict
breaks out for the

hearts, minds and feet
of American consumers.

MAN: It has become
the sneaker wars.

NARRATOR: Boldly channeling
the can-do attitude of the

Reagan era, Nike comes up with
a catchphrase that goes far

beyond the world of sneakers,

to become an era
defining mantra.

WOMAN: Just do it.

Just do it.

ROBERT: What they needed was a
tagline that would appeal to

jocks and to athletes,
to soccer moms,

high school kids, anybody.

BOY: Just do it.

KATIE: Just do it,
what a great phrase.

It's so positive.

BRYAN: An anthem that
we all can live by and a very simple line.

ROBERT: It's one of the most
famous taglines in history.

BOY: Just do it.

LONI: Like 30 seconds of
inspiration, you know?

Just do it.

BRYAN: Like, how
did they create that?

Like, how did that happen?

NARRATOR: Now, be
careful what you ask for,

because the
phrase, "just do it"

emerged from a very dark place.

KATIE: The inspiration for
it came from the killer,

Gary Gilmore, who
was on death row,

just before he was about to
be killed by firing squad;

his last words
were, "Let's do it."

And, for some reason, it
stuck in the ad writer's mind.

NARRATOR: Nike hit home their
new catchphrase with another

stroke of genius.

Over a series of ad spots,
they champion inclusivity and

diversity in a way never before
seen in the go-getter '80s.

GIRL: I like to feel hyper.

BOY: Do it.

NARRATOR: Their most memorable
star is an athlete

from an age group long
overlooked by Nike's rivals.

WALT: I run 17 miles
every morning.

ROBERT: An athletic wear
company, prior to Nike,

hadn't bothered to reach
out to older Americans,

or differently abled Americans.

WALT: People ask me how I keep
my teeth from chattering in

the wintertime.

I leave 'em in my locker.

JASON: It was the idea that didn't matter
if you were an old man,

it doesn't
matter if you're a child,

that anybody can wear Nike.

It didn't matter if you
were an athlete or not.

NARRATOR: Nike's inclusive
campaign is a runaway success,

and Walter Stack?

He kept on running.

By the time of
his death in 1995,

he's estimated to have run
a total of 62,000 miles.

How's that for just doing it?

ROB: It's rare that you can
remember where you were the

first time you
saw a commercial,

but I bet you can
remember our number two.

I can pretty much guess you
were sitting on your couch,

surrounded by unhealthy
snack items and an alcoholic beverage

and I bet it was
on a Sunday in January,

when this
masterpiece happened.

MAN (off-screen): The day we
celebrate the first glorious

anniversary of the
information purification.

NARRATOR: It's 1984, no-one
has even thought of the iPod,

or the iPhone, or
really, the I anything.

And Apple is almost broke.

An also-ran facing
big competition.

But Apple boss, Steve Jobs,
is a revolutionary who's

convinced his time has come.

STEVE: We've been working on
this thing for over two years now

and those of us that have
been really close to it

will all tell you, it is insanely great.

The message that we
have with Macintosh is,

that it's the
computer for the rest of us.

NARRATOR: So convinced is
Jobs that his user friendly

computer will be the next big thing,

he manages to convince Apple's
corporate board to commission

a commercial that will air
only once on national TV,

during Superbowl 18.

ROBERT: In 1984, there were
78 million Americans

that tuned into the Superbowl.

NARRATOR: The ad agency hires
one of the best directors

in the business and yep,
we've met him before,

Max Headroom's big
brother, Ridley Scott.

A man with not one, but two
commercials on our hit list.

RIDLEY: The commercial had
an opportunity to be epic.

They sent me one sheet of paper
referring to George Orwell.

You know, when you get a
vision, you go for it.

NARRATOR: The pitch is
revolutionary:

break the first rule of advertising,
and don't even talk about the product.

RIDLEY: Nothing.
Didn't talk about anything.

Didn't mention a
computer or anything.

In a way, this was the
best form of advertising,

'cause I'm dangling a
little jewel, saying

"Guess what this is?"

NARRATOR: They want Scott to
blend the dystopian vision of

Bladerunner with
the menace of Alien,

but there's one catch:

it has to be shot on
a reduced TV budget.

To keep costs down, Scott
decides to film it in England,

and hires an inexpensive
but toxic bunch of extras:

white supremacists.

RIDLEY: I knew there was a
group called National Front.

So we contacted the
Bovver Boys Society,

and about 200 turned up
with shaved heads looking

the cat's whiskers.

BRYAN: He filled the room
with guys that could, like,

completely rip that room
down and kill people, right.

The reason being is that he knew
when that camera moves over them,

that those faces, you're
going to see the details,

in those details you're gonna
see there's a threat.

NARRATOR: But Scott and his
production team would soon

reap what they had sown,
and during the shoot at

Shepperton Studios,
life imitates art.

RIDLEY: They got a
hold of the first AD,

who had long hair, and
they shaved his head

and his testicles at lunchtime.

So, he was
hairless and went home.

MAN (off-screen): A garden
of pure ideology.

NARRATOR: The commercial
channels Orwell's dystopian 1984,

to cast aspersion on
Apple's mainstream competitor,

IBM, also known as Big Blue.

STEVE: Will Big Blue dominate
the entire computer industry,

the entire information age?

Was George Orwell right?

SETH: All of those
other computers,

all those other
things out there,

they're just like
tools of the conformist.

NARRATOR: And Scott decides
to hammer the point home.

RIDLEY: I said, "OK,
she's gonna hurl the hammer,

the hammer's
gonna hit the screen.

The screen's gonna explode
like an atomic explosion.

WOMAN: Argh!

MAN: We shall prevail.

RIDLEY: At that moment, I'm
gonna have a lot of buckets of

talcum powder and
these big fans,

and I'm gonna
blow it all over ya.

I want you all to go, "Bah."

And they went, "Alright."

NARRATOR: It's everything
Steve Jobs asked for,

but, and why is
this not surprising,

once the Apple board
see it, they hate it,

and try to block the
commercial from airing.

ROBERT: Steve Jobs liked it so much that,
reportedly, he said,

"I'll pay for this myself
if the company doesn't want to."

NARRATOR: The
board backs down,

and the commercial airs during
the Super Bowl of January '84.

MAN: We are one
people, with one will,

one resolve, one cause.

ROBERT: That ad embodies
the kind of risk taking, the nerviness,

the confidence that we now
associate with Steve Jobs.

NARRATOR: Millions
watch, entranced,

with no hint about
what the product is,

until the very end.

BRIAN: It's one of those that really
sort of rocks you back in your seat.

And you've just seen
something incredible,

and then they tell you.

MAN (off-screen):
On January 24th,

Apple Computer will
introduce Macintosh,

and you'll see why 1984
won't be like "1984."

RIDLEY: Buster!

A genius piece of
advertising, if I may say so.

NARRATOR: Super Bowl advertisin
will never be the same.

After the commercial airs,

Apple sells 72,000
computers in 100 days;

50% more than its most
optimistic sales predictions.

And that was only the beginning.

Today, we're all living
inside Steve Jobs's I-world.

SETH: The 1984 Macintosh
Super Bowl ad is one of the most famous,

the most important, the most influential
pieces of advertising

that has ever been and
will ever be created.

WOMAN: Argh!

MAN: We shall prevail.

ROB: How is it possible to top that?

(laughs)

I don't think you can.

But our number one does have
its own kind of revolution baked in,

as you'll see after the break.

ROB: We've 'Just Did It'
and absolutely positively

delivered the beef on nine
iconic '80s commercials.

ROB (off-screen): We've gone from
the cutting edge of a shaving campaign,

to a bitter battle for our taste buds,

and the start of a digital revolution.

But who will claim our top spot?

Here's our number one.

An entire TV network, that
was actually an immersive,

wildly entertaining ad
for its own programming.

MARK: This is it.

Welcome to MTV music television,

the world's first 24-hour
stereo video music channel.

NARRATOR: When MTV
goes on the air in 1981,

the revolution was
indeed televised.

User-friendly videos and
user-even-friendlier hosts,

spoke to teenagers in a secret
language that would become the

rallying cry for a
whole generation,

setting the stage for today's explosion
of social media platforms,

from YouTube and Instagram
to Snapchat and TikTok.

And this big bang
all began with a song.

♪ Video killed the radio star ♪

♪ Video killed the radio star ♪

DMC: It was a beautiful thing.

It allowed the poor kid in
the hood to be touched and

inspired and entertained
the same way the little kids

in Beverley Hills were.

LONI: You know, once MTV
came with those videos,

'cause we didn't have YouTube,
we didn't have Google,

we didn't have videos
that you could...

We didn't even have
phones back then, OK?

CRISTELA: MTV.
I was so obsessed with MTV.

♪ Video killed the radio star ♪

DEE: Anybody who
was cool was down with MTV,

and you had to have MTV
or you wouldn't be cool.

LONI: That's where you got
your fashion sense from.

That's where you got
your music sense from.

ARMSTRONG (over radio): It's
one small step for man.

NARRATOR: But
what many forget,

four decades on, was that MTV's
success was no sure thing,

and this revolution
came very, very close

to not being televised.

BRIAN: When MTV
first started in 1981,

a lot of cable
providers wouldn't carry it.

KATIE: It seemed like a pretty
flimsy idea for an entire

television network to be
based on pop music videos.

PRESENTER: The music will continue
non-stop on MTV Music Television,

the newest component
of your stereo system.

NARRATOR: To survive, MTV
needs to persuade more cable companies

to carry their upstart channel.

Their secret weapon is a
maverick from the good old

Mad Men days.

His name: George Lois.

And George Lois is a zen
master of the catchphrase.

MARK: The guy who
wrote I want my Maypo.

CHILD: I want my Maypo.

MARK: They just tailored it,
call up your cable company and

say, "I want my MTV"

JEN: The whole idea
of I want my MTV,

there were a lot of people who
just didn't have access to it.

Turning it into this sort of
generational rallying cry was so, so smart

NARRATOR: But MTV knows that
a slogan won't be enough,

it needs a heavyweight
to land a knockout.

An MTV exec, Les Garland,
tries to tempt Mick Jagger into the ring.

MARK: Literally, it was like,
"We want to get Mick."

"OK, I'm going to get on a plane
and I'm gonna go there and get Mick."

And he was a little hesitant,

but Les Garland
is very convincing.

NARRATOR: Money talks,
and when Mick Jagger asks for payment,

Garland theatrically
reaches for his wallet.

MARK: "Here's a dollar. Come on."

And that was it. Mick loved that.

And once Mick was in, of
course other artists would

wanna get involved.

TIFFANI: They got tons of different people
to say "I want my MTV"

MARK: We got these incredible
artists to shill for us.

MICK: I want my MTV.

BOWIE: I want my MTV.

PAT: I want my MTV.

THE POLICE: I want my MTV.

NARRATOR: MTV has to go
for broke in order to not go broke,

and they gamble
on a nationwide campaign.

Soon, America's bored youth
hears the clarion call.

BRIAN: "It's Uncle Sam.

I want you to call your cable provider
and tell them I want my MTV."

Brilliant.

DMC: You wanted your MTV badly.

AMBER: I remember my dad
he worked at Pacific Bell.

They would get calls at their
cable station and be like,

"I want my MTV."

TIFFANI: I called and said,
"I have to have MTV."

DEE: You know, and then their
parents would find out later,

"Why did we get
this frickin' MTV on here?"

you know, because the
kids had made the call.

BOWIE: America,
demand your MTV

PETE: I want my MTV

NARRATOR: The
impact is irresistible.

One by one the cable
companies bow to the pressure.

TIFFANI: I was a
kid that loved music,

so to be able to
have music on TV was,

like, mind-blowing.

RIC: I want my MTV.

NARRATOR: I want my MTV tops
our charts because it truly

empowered '80's youth,
not just to buy something,

but to demand something.

KISS: I want my MTV.

CRISTELA: It was this thing
that was unlike anything else.

JACKIE: It was
like a movement.

People were really
pumped, you know.

It would get you excited
because something everybody

really wanted and
you had to have it.

I loved it.

MAN: I want my MTV, MTV, MTV!

BOWIE: Too much is never enough.