MCI PARENTS

MCI's shrewd parody of "Joey Called"—an elderly mother sobs not over her son's affection but at her phone bill—was funny and aggressive. "At that time, AT&T had 98 percent of the market," says copywriter Tom Messner, "so we attacked it…. We'd tell the salespeople when the ad was going to run, so they'd be ready. Once calls [to switch to MCI lessened], we took it off the air." But not before winning a Clio.