Last month, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) bestowed the Emmy Award for best primetime commercial to the Public Broadcasting System’s (PBS) "Fish," directed by Alfonso Cuarón of Independent Media, Santa Monica, out of Fallon, Minneapolis. Joining "Fish" in the nominees circle were: Nike’s "Angry Chicken," directed by Traktor of bicoastal/international Partizan, out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.; Pepsi Twist’s "The Osbournes," helmed by Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man for BBDO New York; Visa’s "Sheens," also out of BBDO, and directed by Allen Coulter of Hungry Man; and Volkswagen’s "Squares," directed by Malcolm Venville of bicoastal Anonymous Content for Arnold Worldwide, Boston.
While the nominated spots all differ in style, what they do have in common are outstanding concepts, perfectly executed. Below is a look at how three of the Emmy-nominated directors brought those concepts to life.
Bryan Buckley
When Buckley was directing "The Osbournes," the atmosphere on the set was far from normal; the spot features rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, his kids, Donny and Marie Osmond, and Brady Bunch mom Florence Henderson.
A number of Pepsi executives were in attendance—the high-profile spot would later debut during the 2003 Super Bowl broadcast. Additionally, a crew from the MTV series The Osbournes was filming the commercial shoot, which took place at the Osbournes’ home in Beverly Hills, Calif. "As [we were] shooting this thing, [we] were witnessing the epicenter of pop culture," notes Buckley.
"The Osbournes" humorously depicts a meeting of pop culture opposites. The ad opens on Ozzy awkwardly struggling with a trash container. His kids, Kelly and Jack, each holding a can of Pepsi, walk into the kitchen. They interrupt their bumbling dad to show him something: they "unzip" the Pepsi cans to reveal Pepsi Twists. Ozzy is dazzled. Then the kids say, "We’re not the Osbournes," and "unzip" themselves to reveal that they’re actually Donny and Marie, who exclaim, "We’re the Osmonds!" Ozzy, horrified, screams out for his wife Sharon. Cut to Ozzy waking up from his nightmare. But instead of waking up next to his wife, he finds himself lying beside another matriarchal icon: Florence Henderson.
"We wanted it to feel like you’re watching a show or documentary and you’re not thinking this is going to turn into something outlandish," says Buckley. "[We wanted] to keep it down and dirty-looking from the get-go, and all of a sudden you’re surprised by the fact that this is actually a funny, effects-driven spot."
Buckley says it was truly strange to witness the Osmonds in the Osbournes’ abode. "Donny and Marie had never met Ozzy," he reports. "They had lived in parallel universes in the seventies. Watching [the Osmonds] in this house, talking to [Ozzy], was bizarre."
They weren’t the only ones who’d never met. "Ozzy didn’t really know who [Florence Henderson] was," says Buckley. "I don’t think he ever watched the Brady Bunch in the seventies. Tuning into the Brady Bunch was not exactly a part of his world. I was really enjoying the surrealness of every moment. [It wasn’t] just another shoot, it was like stepping into The Twilight Zone."
Asked why he thinks the spot was nominated, Buckley says, "The series of twists that take place in that spot are very unexpected. That ride is really fun. In the seventies, the Osmonds were what the Osbournes are today. This spot was a celebration of pop culture, and that is what the Emmys and America responded to."
Allen Coulter
While Coulter was in the midst of directing "Sheens," he knew he was working on a solid commercial. "The basic material was really flawless," he says. "And once I met Charlie and Martin [Sheen, who both appear in the ad]—they were extremely smart as actors and they both have a great sense of humor—and saw that they got it, I realized at the very least, the spot was going to work. How well, and how well it would be received, I had no idea."
In the spot promoting the Visa Check Card, Charlie Sheen attempts to pay for some videos with a check, and has to endure an identification verification process. During his wait, he watches videos, dozes off, and flirts with a customer, who ignores him. Finally, the clerk compares Charlie’s photo ID to the actor, saying, "This doesn’t look like you." That’s because Charlie has waited so long he’s aged into his father, Martin. The older Sheen grumbles, "It did when I came in here." A voiceover announces, "Next time, use the Visa Check Card instead of checks. It’ll get you in, out, and on with life." At the close of the spot, Martin Sheen flirts with a female customer, and gets the same results as his son.
Coulter, a veteran television director who has helmed episodes of The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and Six Feet Under, felt a certain comfort level in working with the father-and-son team. "I think [the agency] wanted a very natural but humorous approach," he says. "I think they were hoping, because of my work with actors in the world of drama, that I would be comfortable working with actors who were not primarily commercial actors."
Collaborating with the Sheens was a pleasure for Coulter. "These guys are such consummate pros that it made it very easy to work," he relates. "You don’t have to say much to guys like this. The more succinct you are, the better, because they get it so quickly."
Coulter notes that it was his idea to riff on Charlie’s public image as a playboy. "I came up with this idea of adding a young woman to the spot," he recalls. "I knew Charlie had been preceded by a bit of a reputation from years ago, so I thought it would be fun to send that up, and he was very game. The notion of this young woman added an element of humor and interest while he’s waiting."
Why does Coulter think the spot was nominated? "First, that twist at the end catches everybody by surprise," he says. "Secondly, I think people like [seeing] these guys parodying themselves. Introducing the girl allows famous people to be on the losing end of the stick. I think people like that. As suave as Charlie is, he strikes out, and as he gets older and turns into Martin, he still strikes out in exactly the same way. I think people like the idea that celebrities can recognize their own reputation and make fun of it."
Coulter has received two Emmy nominations—one for his series work and one for his spot work—in the past. He was nominated for directing "Knights in White Satin Armor" (an episode of The Sopranos), and Budweiser’s "Out of Towner," via DDB Chicago, but he’s never won the award. "I have a perfect record in not winning these things," he laughs.
Malcolm Venville
"On paper, it was the simplest spot I’ve ever seen in my life," says Venville of "Squares." "It reminded me of Picasso’s remark, ‘I’ve spent my whole life learning to see like a child.’ I’ve never seen a script of such purity on my desk before."
"Squares" shows a series of four-sided objects—a clock, a slice of toast, a building, a fish tank, etc.—that gives way to the sleekly rounded contours of a Volkswagen Beetle. The spot’s spare score, composed by Joshua Ralph of J. Ralph, New York, helps to give the mostly static images a sense of momentum.
A couple of the objects depicted in the original storyboard were realized in the ad, but "everything else was a process of collecting squares," says Venville. "Certain squares worked, certain squares didn’t. My input was, ‘Let’s give the images graphic simplicity and let’s shoot it on standard 16mm.’ I did a lot of stuff on a clockwork camera because I just wanted to walk around with a camera and find squares and shoot them without having all the burden of grip trucks."
Venville, who began his career as a still photographer, says he shot with 16mm film as opposed to 35mm because "35mm can be too clean, too photographic. I wanted something that had a bit of texture," he says. "In that texture resides the emotion of the spot."
The relationship between the images and the music in the spot helped make it a success, notes Venville. "I’ve always regarded music as the main player in a commercial," he says. "Here, the great thing about the music is that it was elliptical, rhythmic and abstract. It was minimal enough that it didn’t interfere with the visual comprehension."
Venville worked closely with editor Andre Betz of Bug Editorial, New York, on "Squares." "I’ve cut with him a lot," notes the director. "He’s a really disciplined editor, and he’s actually quite [fearless]. He wants the best, and he doesn’t care how he gets it. That’s what I love about him."
When asked if he thinks "Squares" has a chance to win an Emmy, Venville humorously replies, "I thought the Emmys for commercials were the stuff they showed to the stars afterwards to amuse them. Actually, I’m very flattered it’s been nominated."
What made the ad stand out? "It transgressed the boundaries of most commercials," he says. "Instead of simply being advertising, it became more than that. It had integrity in its intention, and it didn’t treat the viewer like a moron."
Venville says that a strong agency/client relationship made his job easy. "Most agencies set out with the intention of making really great work," he relates, "but usually at the very last minute all the compromises are made. The great thing about this agency is that they have a great relationship with the client, so they have the confidence to carry their vision through the whole process. All the groundwork for a good ad was set before I came in."
