Brian Billow of O Positive directed a pair of tongue-in-cheek comedy shorts–including this piece titled “Museum-Worthy”–to promote the extended entry deadline for the AICP Awards.
In “Museum-Worthy,” we open on Vincent Van Gogh working in his studio as two account people, dressed in period clothes but spouting contemporary marketing-speak, bring unwelcome feedback on his classic “Starry Night” painting. “The client loved the painting,” says one. “They just found it a little, um, dark.” Similarly, account folks in 1930s-era garb approach Frida Kahlo to tell her that one of the junior clients found elements of “Self Portrait with Monkey” a bit “confrontational and distracting.”
Neither master takes the criticism well, underscoring a supered message which reads, “It’s hard to make museum-worthy art. It’s harder to make museum-worth ads.”
But if you want your work to be recognized (despite all the challenges) and ultimately reside in the film archive at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), you need to enter the AICP Awards by March 12, the extended entry deadline.
The campaign sprung from creative concepts and consultation by creatives from BBDO, led by Chris Beresford-Hill, chief creative officer of the Americas, and editorial from Cutters.
The AICP Awards comprises three competitions – The AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial, The AICP Next Awards, and the AICP Post Awards. To be eligible, work must have first aired or launched between March 13, 2023 and March 11, 2024.
The results of each show will debut during AICP Week in New York, from June 4-6, and be featured at a gala celebration at MoMA on June 6. All winning work in each AICP show in the AICP Awards Suite becomes a part of the archives of The Department of Film at MoMA in New York, where it can be studied by future generations and is available for use or exhibition by the museum’s curators.
CreditsClient AICP Awards Creative Concepts & Consulting BBDO Chris Beresford-Hill, chief creative officer of the Americas; Marcelo Nogueira, Peter Kain, executive creative directors, writers; Dan Oliva, Scott Mahoney, sr. creative directors, writers. Production Company O Positive Brian Billow, director; Ralph Laucella, Marc Grill, Ken Licata, exec producers; Grayson Bithell, producer; Bob Yeoman, DP; Devon Clark, head of production; Deryck Highbridge, Ivan Zigas, production supervisors; Paul Norman, 1st AD; Maia Javan, production designer. Editorial Cutters John Dingfield, Aaron Kiser, editors; Benjamin Porter, editorial assistant; Craig Duncan, managing director; Heather Richardson, exec producer. Color Company 3 Jenny Montgomery, colorist; Blake Rice, head of production; Nick Krasnic, producer. Finish Flavor Ryan Esboldt, Rob Churchill, finish; Neal Cohen, managing director; Kate Smith, exec producer; Brittany Maddock, producer. Audio/Mix Another Country Logan Vines, sound designer/mixer; Nora Strickstein, audio assistant; Tim Konn, managing director; Louise Rider, exec producer; Josh Hunnicutt, producer.
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
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