Youth is wasted on the young.

The best position I’ve held has to be Account Executive on the Bud Light account At DDBNeedham Chicago. I was too naive to realize my good fortune at the time. I worked with a group of guys (I was the only gal on the team) led by Bob Scarpelli, who became a super hero at DDB. We launched a brand to compete with Miller Lite, the product that invented and owned the light beer category. The agency created over 150 "funny light" commercials as "Give me a light. Bud Light" became one of the most effective campaigns for one of the most successful product launches of all time.

We also developed a young adult campaign. The idea was spurred by a popular college poster called “Delta Omega Gamma (DOG): The Original Party Animal” featuring a black-eyed bull terrier. We put that dog in front of a camera and shot a series of Spuds MacKenzie commercials that attracted a cult-like following. All told, we shot over 25 of those silly commercials in the pre-digital days – strapping Spuds to a horse, sending him speeding down a ski jump and vaulting over a pole – providing some of the funniest production moments in my life. I also had the unusual task of managing Mr. MacKenzie’s calendar of appearances. We booked Spuds and the Spudettes for three years solid at baseball games, parades, you name it; they were nationwide. I still wonder what would have happened if I’d chucked it all then and there to become a Spudette.

DDB still manages the account, more than 25 years later. Today Bud Light is the number one selling beer in the US, outselling even its namesake Budweiser. And our old advertising ideas live on: Geico co-opted the Caveman while Target borrowed the black-eyed bull terrier.

See some Spuds spots:

... and one of his many personal appearances: