Tom Ewart Goes Back to the 90s

What are your memories of the 1990s? Whether it’s bopping along to the Spice Girls or getting creative with WordArt on your PC, you’re sure to find some of them in UK creative agency The Corner London’s new spot The ‘90s: The Decade That Connected Us.

The ad was made to promote National Geographic Channels International’s mini-series of the same name. It also follows on the heels of last year’s award winning Rubik’s cube creative for the channel’s previous series The ‘80s: The Decade That Made Us.

The new spot (above) centres around the features of a 90s desktop computer and all its retro programmes, including Sim City, as well as the political, cultural and technological events that shaped the decade. The campaign is now live in the UK on Sky and FOX and is due to roll out internationally on National Geographic in 170 countries.

Reinforcing the TV campaign is a print execution from artist James Murray, known as ‘Jim’ll paint it’, who used Microsoft Paint to create a 90s rave featuring the likes of President Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Vanilla Ice.

Below, executive creative director Tom Ewart, provides an insight into making the TV ad and shares his personal memories from the epic 1990s decade.

What appealed to you about this film and why was it the right project for you?

We had a lot of fun working on the 80s project with National Geographic Channel last year and were excited to see what we could do together on this decade. NGC have access to some unique content and we get to work with footage that would be hard to get at otherwise. 

What were your favourite moments in the creative process?

Like our previous trailer using a Rubik's cube to narrate our story, I loved working with the creative team to weave the narrative of the 90s together in an interesting and exciting way. Finding the connections between the events and trying to put surprise and delight around every corner. 

How long did the ad take to make?

A pretty intensive six weeks!

What made Borja Peña the right director for the project?

Stylistically he just nailed it. From a narrative point of view, the script was pretty locked down when we approached Borja Peña, but he had some great ideas to bring it to life and make the story flow. Really staying faithful to that whole Windows 95 vibe, but giving it some energy and quirk that lifted it off the desktop. 

What feeling do you want viewers to come away with after watching the ad?

I hope it makes people want to watch the series (it's a great show) and reminds them of all the crazy, amazing, culture shocks that defined that decade. Maybe they’ll laugh too... the Bill Clinton moment is pretty funny. 

How challenging was it to recreate the graphics of a 90s desktop computer? How did the team go about this?

This was where our design team, led by Will Chak, and the creatives, worked really collaboratively with Borja Peña to find the essence of that 90s desktop look, but also give it an energy and character that was more than just a pixel-perfect replica. Our aim was to show Windows 95 how you remember it, rather than how it really looked. 

There are lots of big things that happened in the 90s. How did you choose what to include? And did you manage to show everything you wanted?

That's true. It was a bumper-packed decade. But we wanted to create a narrative that took you on a journey through that decade - highs, lows, happy, sad, monumental and trivial, and connect them together in a way that was satisfying to watch. I think we got everything we wanted in the final film, although I'd love to have had the Bill Clinton sound bite: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" in there…but, hey, he's got good lawyers. 

How did working on this film compare to The ‘80s: The Decade That Made Us? Was it a challenge to come up with something fresh for a new decade?

There's always a slight fear of the 'second album syndrome' whenever you try to follow something that has been so well received, but we knew we wanted to tell the cultural narrative of the 90s, like we did for the 80s, but in a way that was true to the decade. So once we landed on the desktop idea, it quickly unlocked the same visual storytelling potential as the Rubik's cube, and we were off.  

Can you tell us a bit about the ‘Jim’ll paint it’ print campaign which runs alongside the TV ad?

Jim'll Paint It creates images using the classic 90s programme Microsoft Paint. In fact, his website says: "Got something in your brain that you'd really like to see with your eyes? Just ask and if I like the sound of it I'll paint it for you." So we did. We asked him to paint us a crowd of iconic 90s personalities raving. Pamela, the Hoff, Tupac, Clinton etc. He did, and it looks great. So we made it into a press ad for the show.

What were you like in the 90s? And what were the highlights of the decade for you?

I was like a 15 to 25 year old. Public Enemy. Massive Attack. Passing my driving test. Labyrinth. Ratpack. Rhubarb and custards. Leaving home. Stoke Newington. Angel. First job in advertising. D&AD. New York. Millennium party.