1988 · Sport
Penn
Official Ball of the 1988 French Open
Created by Fallon McElligott (Minneapolis) -- art director Houman Pirdavari, copywriter Jarl Olsen -- the ad bends Penn tennis balls into the curve of a croissant and lets the line 'Official Ball of the 1988 French Open' supply the joke's payoff. The single visual pun fuses the most French of pastries with the Paris clay-court major, so an American ball stakes its claim at the tournament without arguing the point. It is frequently cited as a model of surrealist, image-driven advertising.
