Qantas Airlines' commercial named Best of Show for broadcast.
By Kathy DeSalvo
An Australian Qantas Airlines spot, titled "Spirit," was awarded Best of Show in the broadcast division at the 29th annual Mobius Advertising Awards, held at the Chicago Cultural Center on Feb. 9.
"Spirit" was created by Sydney-based agency Singleton Ogilvy & Mather and directed by Iain Mackenzie of Surrey Hills, Australia-based Windows Productions. (Mackenzie is repped in the U.S. by Piper Productions, New York.) The spot also was honored in the travel & transportation services product category.
In the technique categories, Eric Saarinen of Plum Productions, Santa Monica, won several awards for direction. One was given for his Fiat spot—"Animals"—via Leo Burnett Co./ Milan; the ad was jointly produced by Plum and Milan-based Harold s.r.1. "Animals" was also honored for overall production.
The Saarinen-helmed campaign for Chevrolet Motor Division, which consisted of the spots "Lifeboat," "Bathtub" and "Lighthouse," out of Warren, Mich.-based Campbell-Ewald Advertising, was also honored for direction, and won in the computer animation category. Visual effects and computer animation were done by Sight Effects, Venice, Calif.
The other winner in the direction category was Robert Logevall of Hollywood-based Bruce Dowad Associates, who earned the prize for an Audi campaign consisting of spots "Father," "Woman," "Man/Lawn Chairs," "Lives" and "Dog." Agency was Raleigh, N.C.-based McKinney & Silver.
Other technique winners in the computer animation category included "Big Adventure" for Target, via Martin/Williams, Minneapolis, which was animated by Harrison, N.Y.-based Blue Sky Studios. Honored for animation-computer and non-computer was "Launch" for First Union Bank, via Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco, and directed by Steve Beck of Industrial Light + Magic Commercial Productions, San Rafael and Los Angeles. Another Beck-helmed spot in that First Union Bank campaign, "Noise," was honored in the animation-computer and special effects categories.
Additionally, the Mountain Dew spot "Skyscraper," via BBDO New York, won for special effects. It was directed by Samuel Bayer of bicoastal Mars Media, and the effects were produced by Sight Effects.
In the original music category, the winner was "As Good As It Gets" for the Slazenger Golf Company, via J. Walter Thompson, Atlanta, directed and shot by Steve Colby through Means Street Productions, Atlanta. (Colby has since launched his own Atlanta-based company, Pogo Pictures.) The music composer was John Adair of Admusic, Santa Monica. That spot was also honored in the photography category.
Under copywriting, the winner was the direct-response spot "Let’s Light This Candle" for Ameritrade, via OgilvyOne, New York. It was written by Todd Heyman and Bruce Lee, and directed by Dewey Nicks of bicoastal Epoch Films.
Overall in the broadcast division, directors who won multiple awards included Bob Ebel, who directed three winning entries. They are "Wishin’ & Hopin’ " for Oscar Mayer, via J. Walter Thompson, Chicago; "Break the Cycle," a PSA for the Juvenile Protection Association via Young & Rubicam, Chicago; and "Kids Talk" for Quaker Oats, via Foote, Cone & Belding, Chicago.
Director Bruce Dowad, of Bruce Dowad Associates, earned two honors. One went to the spot "They Invented" for Mercedes-Benz USA via Merkley Newman Harty, New York; another was for the PSA "Traffic Baby" for the March of Dimes via The Lord Group, New York.
Director Buddy Cone of Los Angeles-based Palomar Pictures was also credited with two wins: an Ad Council safety belt PSA "Cruisin,’" and Maytag spot "The Great Mediator," both out of Leo Burnett Co., Chicago. In addition to his aforementioned win for Audi, Logevall also directed the winning campaign of "Tiara" and "Door Handle" for GTE Directories, via Ogilvy & Mather, Dallas.
Franklin Leonard and The Black List To Receive 2024 Gotham Awards Anniversary Tribute
Franklin Leonard and his company, the Black List, the platform dedicated to nurturing written storytelling and empowering writers to maximize their professional potential, will receive The Gotham Anniversary Tribute at the 34th annual Gotham Awards ceremony, taking place on Monday, December 2, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
The Anniversary Tribute was created by The Gotham Film & Media Institute in order to recognize the major milestones and storied commitments of entertainment’s most influential individuals. With the Anniversary Tribute, The Gotham will honor the 20th anniversary of the Black List, which has been dedicated to identifying and celebrating exceptional storytelling since it was first established by Leonard in 2005. Most recently, Mariska Hargitay received the Anniversary Tribute at the inaugural Gotham TV awards for her outstanding run on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
“With the Black List, Franklin Leonard has undeniably reshaped Hollywood by elevating talented writers and remarkable projects. His commitment to nurturing emerging screenwriters and lowering barriers to entry for talent is one that resonates deeply with The Gotham and our values,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “So many of Hollywood’s most beloved films, such as Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, and The King’s Speech, were all given a singular platform by the annual Black List that helped them get made. We are honored to present Franklin and the Black List with the Anniversary Tribute.”
First established as an annual survey of Hollywood’s most-liked unproduced screenplays, the Black List has since grown into a comprehensive resource for the film, TV,... Read More