Patron Virgin Radio Radio advertising announced itself at the D&AD Awards in the seventies with memorable spots such as the EMI campaign. But the real breakthrough came in 1984 when a humorous campaign for Philips ('Firips') featuring Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith showed what the medium could do. Since then, radio ads have veered between the brilliant and the banal. Currently the discipline is enjoying a creative renaissance, especially in the area of charity and public service radio ads.