TOP PERFORMERS OF 2002: Campaign of the Year - John Smith's.(by TBWA London)

TBWA London gave John Smith's a 'real' face by using the comedian Peter Kay to hilarious effect. Other contenders were BBH's Xbox work and Saatchis' NSPCC ads.

The pressure to come up with a replacement for John Smith's cardboard cut-out man must have been immense but TBWA/London did the business in spades with the Campaign of the Year to relaunch John Smith's using the comedian Peter Kay.

Like him or loathe him, the decision to dump the 'no-nonsense man' was a brave move. As the face of a marketing campaign spanning TV, poster and retail advertising since 1997, he had been responsible for pushing John Smith's into top spot in the ale market.

But when the two campaigns are compared, it is hard to imagine them as anything near equal. The cardboard cut-out ads felt two-dimensional and creatively tame, whereas the personable everyman Kay adds life, straight-talking reality and a certain spark.

The TV ads - there were five of them last year from the launch in May - have entered people's everyday lives and the common lexicon. There is barely a person in the country unfamiliar with the ads' straplines, such as 'top bombing' and ''ave it'. Everyone from David Beckham to Davina McCall has been captured in the media shouting lines from the commercials.

That has contributed to an estimated pounds 1 million worth of publicity.

For the relaunch, the John Smith's brand director, John Botia, wanted to keep the core 'no nonsense' idea but refresh the brand values in a way consumers could relate to. Paul Silburn, now the senior creative partner at TBWA/London, came up with the whole campaign concept.