Jeff, with Fallon McElligott, created a series of humorous print ads featuring the basset hound, calmly handling any situation.  But when a series of 15-second TV spots directed by Rick Dublin (his first) aired, the media as well as the public sat up and noticed.

The campaign was a commercial and critical success.  Product placements rose as retailers promoted the stock line.  TV sets in store windows featured the spots.  The "Ventilated Hush Puppies" spot (featuring a spring sandal line) went on to win the Gold Lion award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.  And nearly a decade after the ads first ran, Entertainment Weekly named the spot one of "The 50 Greatest Commercials of All Time!"

The spot was fun and memorable.

It was true to brand values.  But even more importantly, it erased a decade of misconceptions and bad perceptions of Hush Puppies from the consumer's mind.  Jeff and the creative team proved you can not only teach an old dog new tricks, sometimes you can change his spots as well.