ENERGIZER ESCAPE OF THE BUNNY

He's kept going and going for eight years and almost 100 spots. He has an annual budget of $50 million, survived a backlash (David Letterman attacked him with a baseball bat), and has become a cultural cliche (he's been compared to everything from Saddam Hussein to the Oscars). He had a resurgence with last year's hilarious  Twister  spoof. ("He's out there," says agency creative head Lee Clow. "People believe in him.") But the second Energizer Bunny spot is still the most inspired: The relentless, shades-bedecked pink pitchman leaves his own ad and rudely drums his way through three others — parodies of coffee, sinus remedy, and wine spots. Jolting us awake from our sponsor-induced coma, this was literally breakthrough advertising — and helped separate Energizer from the battery pack.