After an appearance in the 1989 Super Bowl ("Think I Look Good?"), Van Heusen stayed away from the big game for an interval, only to return with "A Man's Walk," one of two ads from parent company Phillips-Van Heusen in Super Bowl XLI. It depicts a man's day in reverse, with close-ups of Van Heusen clothing as the protagonist works his way backward from evening to getting out of bed -- sort of like a "Memento" where the guy completely understands what's happening.
Phillips-Van Heusen followed up the third-quarter spot with one in the fourth for Izod ("In the Snow"). Both commercials were part of a bid to break through on day when rivals were nowhere to be seen (in contrast, say, to the auto category). Although the ads, created internally, achieved that goal, Izod and Van Heusen did not repeat the play.
BRAND: Van Heusen
YEAR: 2007
AGENCY: internal
SUPERBOWL: XLI
QUARTER AIRED: Q3