For the first time in the 41-year history of the International Broadcasting Awards (IBA), two commercials tied for the TV sweepstakes, best-of-show honor. Sharing the kudo were Hallmark’s "Kiss," directed by Annabel Jankel via Toronto-based New New Films for Leo Burnett Co., Toronto; and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.’s "The Light of 21st Century," helmed by Shinya Nakajima of Tokyo-based Tohokushinsha Film Corp. for agency Hakuhodo in Osaka, Japan.
IBA judges also named "The Light of 21st Century" the best spot promoting environmental awareness. Featuring ethereal animation to promote a metaphoric message of corporate responsibility, the commercial begins with the dark days of Japan in 1945, when a tiny light was everything. The ad then juxtaposes that with the omnipresence of electric light in contemporary society. The message is simply that "brightness alone cannot illuminate our future—with today’s energy demands, we need to teach our children the value of even a single light."
Meanwhile, Hallmark’s "Kiss" additionally topped the IBA category for live-action, English-language :30 produced outside the U.S. The spot depicts the short-lived epiphany of an adolescent boy. After reciting a Hallmark poem to the first girl he meets, he is kissed by her. With this newly found wisdom, he tries the same routine on the playground’s cutest girl, with not quite the same results.
"Kiss" director Jankel is well known in the U.S. ad market, as a founding partner of Los Angeles-headquartered production house Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ). She and her husband, Rocky Morton, originally directed as a team. In recent years, they have been individually helming spots, with Morton receiving Directors Guild of America nominations as best commercial director of 1998 and ’99.
Another Jankel-directed Hallmark spot for Leo Burnett, Toronto—"Fight"—tied for first in the IBA foreign humor category with Whitehall Robins’ "The Meeting." The latter was helmed by Kyle Bergersen of The Partners’ Film Company, Toronto, for Young & Rubicam, Toronto. Bergersen’s U.S. home is Santa Monica-based November Films.
Topping the U.S. humor TV category was TiVo’s "Golf," starring pro football greats Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott. The spot was directed by Traktor of bicoastal/international Partizan for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
The directing collective Traktor also scored twice more—first with "China," "India" and "Turkey," a package of commercials promoting FOX Sports Regional Sports Reports for Cliff Freeman and Partners, New York. The three ads combined to earn IBA distinction as the best series of commercials. And "Turkey" individually topped the broadcast/cable entertainment promotion category.
Copping the best direction category was Floria Sigismondi for Sears Canada’s "Big Finish, produced by The Partners’ Film Company for Ammirati Puris, Toronto. Sigismondi is repped in the U.S. by bicoastal Believe Media.
Taking the TV trophy as best live action, English-language :60 produced in the U.S. was "CNBC Ticker: Anthem," directed by Elma Garcia of Elma Garcia Films, Woodacre, Calif., for The NBC Agency, Burbank. The top live action, English-language :60 produced outside the U.S. was "Shame" for the National Safety Council, Republic of Ireland, and the Department of Environment, Northern Ireland. The spot was directed by Syd Macartney of Rawi Macartney, London, for McCann-Erickson, Belfast.
Gen Sekiguchi of Dentsu Tec, Tokyo, directed the best live action, non-English language :60: Japan Satellite Broadcasting’s "The Running Woman" for Dentsu, Tokyo.
Footlocker’s "Human Seal"—directed by Mark Tiedemann of New York-based Celsius Films for AKA Advertising, New York—was named best live action, English-language :30 produced in the U.S. Deemed the top live action, non-English-language :30 was SSK’s "Ball Relay," directed by Masaya Yamamoto of Osaka-based production house Koei Kikkaku for Dentsu, Osaka.
Topping the category for short format spots, 20 seconds or fewer, was Nippon Athletic Service’s "100M Final," helmed by Miki Matsui of Nakahata Company, Tokyo, for agency Hakuhodo, Tokyo.
Named best combination spot was ONSTAR’s "Batcave," directed by Andrew Davis via Millennium Pictures, Southfield, Mich., for Campbell-Ewald Advertising, Warren, Mich.
Winning the animation category was Covad’s "Hamster Taxidermy," which was created and produced in-house by Young & Rubicam, San Francisco. The agency team included animators Sez Giulian and Dino Reyes, editor Kia Simon, creative director Stephen Creet, executive producer Roger Harris, producer Wendy Noll, copywriter Katie Barni and art director Mark Bell.
Tied for first in the public service category were: VAIO Net’s "Sweatshop," directed by Katsuyuki Iwai of Tokyo-based Mothers Inc. for Dentsu, Tokyo; and the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s "Fritz and John," directed by Brian Aldrich of bicoastal Coppos Films for Bates Worldwide, New York.
And rounding out the field of IBA TV winners was Experience Music Project’s "Participate," which was named the best local (one market) spot. Simon Dixon of Attik Design, San Francisco, directed the job for McCann-Erickson, Seattle.
For the second consecutive year, the IBA ceremony was held at the annual convention of the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE). The awards gala took place earlier this week (1/22), during the NATPE confab in Las Vegas.
The IBA competition is sponsored by the Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS). Winners in each category—for TV and radio—receive the Ollie trophy, named after late HRTS executive director Oliver Crawford.
