As you will soon be alerted, call for entries for the Milwaukee 99 awards show will be coming soon. In the spirit of the show, we recently sat down with last year’s Best In Show winners to pick their brains on how their team’s quiet little trade ad won the respect and admiration of the panel of national judges last year. Dave Hanneken, ECD at Laughlin Constable and Rich Kohnke, ECD at BVK were kind enough to share their insights on how the team’s winning ad became a winning ad, and perhaps give some advice for this year’s entrants.
UA: As last year’s Milwaukee 99 winner, you have probably had to use the Big Wrench to beating back art directors and writers wanting to work with you (for those of you new to the market, Big Wrench is not a euphemism, it’s the Best In Show trophy). With the influx of books I’m sure you received days after the show, what was the most transparent compliment given in regards to your win?
Dave: I had someone ask if Steelcase was a mini-client.
Rich: The only book I received was a copy of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. Not sure what that means.
UA: When you’re not using it to open fire hydrants for the kids in the neighborhood, where does the Big Wrench reside?
Dave: Rich, do you have it?
Rich: I thought you had it.
UA: You’ve come a long way since writing Mentos television spots in Germany. What was the brief for the Nurture project and what brought you and your team to the final creative?
Dave: It was very research-driven, in the pre-concepting stages. The client discovered that hospital patients and their families want to keep things private.
Rich: Yeah, but they still give you gowns with open backs. Go figure.
UA: What were some of the rejected ideas?
Dave: That was the rejected idea.
Rich: That was the only idea. Either we really suck or we’re very confident.
UA: It’s also nice to see your work on Rosen Nissan still coming off fresh. Any advice for the young creatives out there aspiring to “break through the clutter”?
Dave: Work your asses off, stop complaining and be content making $12-5 in the first year.
Rich: That, and make a Starbucks run for me around 3:30 PM each day. You buy, too.
UA: Seriously, we all have skeletons in our closets. Who was the ugliest girl you ever bagged? Er…, I mean, what’s the most embarrassing ad you’ve ever had produced?
Dave: A long, long time ago I did an ad for Cross Pens once and the headline read: “The Write Stuff.”
Rich: He made me art direct it. And for clarification, that was last month.
UA: More often than not, a broadcast piece takes this top honor. If you were in the judges’ heads ala the film Being John Malkovich, what would you have said to them to get them to choose this piece above all the other great creative present? 
Dave: Keep the idea simple.
Rich: And make all the retouching complicated.
UA: The Milwaukee 99 has never had a back-to-back Best in Show winner. How are you feeling about making room for another Wrench this year?
Dave: How would the Adworkers feel about making two of them?
Rich: Are you ripping me?
UA: There’s an interesting book out now (I can’t remember the name) with examples of people’s self-written six-word eulogies. What would yours say, keeping in mind “Sure he’s cute, can he type?” is already taken.
Dave: Here lies Dave, a man who
Rich: This type better be kerned properly.
UA: As a Milwaukee 99 Best In Show winner, is there any way you could help stop overweight shirtless guys from dancing in ads?
Dave: Never repeal the Second Amendment.
Rich: Hey, I got paid double-scale for that gig.
Tags: Dave Hanneken, Milwaukee 99, Rich Kohnke