At press time, with scheduled talks between representatives of the actors’ unions and the ad industry about to get underway in New York, both sides continued to jockey for leverage as the strike-the longest in entertainment industry history-nears the end of its sixth month.
The Joint Policy Committee (JPC) on Broadcast Talent Union Relations claimed that commercial production has continued at a healthy rate despite the strike. The JPC-which represents the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) at the bargaining table-reported that 1,948 new spots were produced last month, compared to 2,684 in September 1999.
Attorney Ira Shepard, counsel to the JPC, related: "The September 2000 commercial production is 73 percent of the September 1999 non-strike-year production, and when our estimates of unreported production of new commercials made in Canada and abroad are factored in, it is clear that the industry is producing new commercials at virtually the same rate as in non-strike years. … If you turn on the television, you will see a full complement of new and excellent commercials."
The JPC also reported that actor union session fees dropped more than 95 percent-from $13,265,526 during July through September ’99, to $518,230 this past quarter. Non-union session fees increased over 14-fold-to $10,785,030 during July through September 2000, as compared to $632,065 during the comparable three-month span in ’99.
Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have long contended that the quality of commercials using non-union performers has largely been lacking-and that many major advertisers have felt the hit of celebrity spokespeople being unavailable during the strike. Looking to access celebrities and professional union actors, some advertisers have signed interim agreements, the latest version of which contains terms of the proposal that SAG and AFTRA left at the negotiating table when talks broke down late last month.
At last tally, the actors’ unions said they have more than 2,000 interim signatories. Two of the more recent-advertisers Ricoh and T. D. Waterhouse-signed the pacts to secure spokesman Dennis Miller.
SAG and AFTRA also hope to gain leverage from a boycott initiated against Procter & Gamble, which is targeted as a leading advertiser that has shot non-union commercials during the strike. The SAG/AFTRA boycott has received a key endorsement from the AFL-CIO, which represents some 13 million families in the U.S., potentially adding significant clout to the action against three P&G products: Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Ivory soap.
Union activities organized in protest of P&G have already gotten underway, including picketing at a manufacturing plant in Oxnard, Calif., as well as SAG/AFTRA member attendance at a P&G shareholders’ meeting in Cincinnati.
