Nike’s "The Morning After"—directed by Spike Jonze of bicoastal/international Satellite for Wieden+Kennedy (W+K), Portland, Ore.—has won the fourth annual primetime Emmy Award for best commercial. The honor was announced and presented during the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ (ATAS) Creative Arts Awards ceremony, held this past weekend (8/26), in Pasadena.
The win came as a bit of a surprise in that the odds-on favorite going into the competition was Budweiser’s "Whassup/True," directed by Charles Stone of C&C Films/Storm Films, New York, for DDB Chicago. "Whassup/ True" has scored at every major awards show, copping the Grand Prix at Cannes, the Grand Clio and recognition in the humor category of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show.
Acknowledgement that the Emmy was unexpected came from an unidentified W+K staffer who came on stage to pick up the statuette. "This is kind of unlikely," she said. "It’s so unlikely that they sent the account person to accept the award."
Nonetheless, "The Morning After" is a worthy recipient, having collected its own mantleful of accolades over the past several months. The Emmy goes alongside, for example, a Cannes Gold Lion, as well as honors in the production and advertising excellence/single commercial categories of the AICP Show.
The spot, which debuted in late ’99, presents a what-if? scenario in which New Year’s Day 2000 marks the demise of our society’s infrastructure. However, the protagonist, a determined Nike sneakers-wearing jogger, is oblivious to the chaos all around him, ranging from an army tank rumbling down the street to helicopters filling a smoky sky, assorted electrical and computer malfunctions, a missile careening out of control, people rioting and fighting over money being spewed out by an ATM bank machine, and a giraffe which has escaped from the zoo. His first recognition of the world around him comes as he passes another jogger; each man says hi to the other and continues his "peaceful" morning workout. All the action unfolds to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne," done in a comical burlesque rendition.
W+K’s creative contingent consisted of executive creative directors Dan Wieden and Jim Riswold, creative director/copywriter Chuck McBride (who has since moved on to TBWA/Chiat/ Day, San Francisco), creative director/art director Hal Curtis and producer Robyn Boardman.
Jonze’s support team included executive producer Matthew Pomerans and producer Vincent Landay. The spot was shot on location in Los Angeles, by DP Lance Acord.
"The Morning After" was edited by Angus Wall of Rock Paper Scissors, Los Angeles. Stefan Sonnenfeld and Noel Castley-Wright of Company 3, Santa Monica, served as colorist and Infinity artist/online editor, respectively. Audio mixer was Loren Silber of POP Sound, Santa Monica.
Visual effects were produced by Gray Matter, Venice, Calif., with Gray Marshall serving as visual effects supervisor/Flame artist, Kevin Souls as a Flame artist, Tom Lynnes as 3-D artist and Margaux Mackay as executive producer/producer.
Bicoastal Elias Associates did the music, with an ensemble that included creative director Jonathan Elias and composer Larry Schwartz. The sound designer was Ren Klyce of Mit Out Sound, Sausalito, Calif.
Landay, Acord, Klyce and the Gray Matter team also worked together on Jonze’s acclaimed feature directorial debut, Being John Malkovich. At the time "The Morning After" was selected as a SHOOT Top Spot (11/26/99, p. 8), Landay observed that having these creative collaborators who knew each other well from experiences in spots and the feature meant a great deal. "[Spike and I] can speak in shorthand with these people," reflected Landay. "That is so important, especially when you’re talking about aesthetics."
DÉJÀ VU
"The Morning After" topped a field of Emmy nominees that also consisted of: "Whassup/ True"; Federal Express’ "Action Figures" directed by Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international hungry man for BBDO New York; Electronic Data Systems’ "Cat Herders" helmed by hungry man’s John O’Hagan for Fallon, Minneapolis; and Nike Golf’s "Driving Range" directed by Lasse Hallstrom via bicoastal Propaganda Independent for W+K. (Hallstrom has since shifted his spot representation to bicoastal/international @radical.media.)
"Driving Range," another SHOOT Top Spot (7/9/99, p. 14), assumed the Emmy nomination slot held by Ameritrade’s "Let’s Light This Candle," which was directed by Dewey Nicks of bicoastal Epoch Films for OgilvyOne, New York. This made for an odd circumstance in that the Nike Golf ad replaced a replacement spot.
As earlier reported (SHOOT, 7/28, p. 1), "Let’s Light This Candle" made the field of nominees when Monster.com’s "When I Grow Up" was disqualified. ATAS rejected the Monster.com ad upon determining that it premiered prior to Emmy’s eligibility period for original airing—June 1, ’99 to May 31, 2000. Directed by hungry man’s Buckley for Wenham, Mass.-based agency Mullen, "When I Grow Up" debuted during the January ’99 Super Bowl telecast.
Similarly, it turns out that Ameritrade’s "Let’s Light This Candle" also premiered before the eligibility period. Given the fact that two nominated spots were disqualified in a matter of weeks, ATAS VP John Leverence said that next year the Emmy competition would invoke "the syndication rule" in the TV commercial category, requiring that entrants submit a full agency rundown sheet of national airings. "We do that with syndicated programs to make sure that they debuted during the eligibility period," related Leverence. "And it’s become necessary to do the same in this [commercial] category."
The Creative Arts Emmy proceedings also contained a couple of references to the four-month strike against the advertising industry by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). In introducing one of the nominated commercials, actor Tom Selleck said, "Go, SAG" and then quipped that his remark would probably not make the delayed, edited telecast of the awards ceremony that will be shown on HBO-Plus. Additionally several actors, including Michael Badalucco, wore yellow ribbons as a sign of union solidarity.
ATAS secretary Sheila Manning chaired the Emmy Awards Committee within the Commercials Branch Peer Group. The governors of ATAS’ Commercials Branch are Frank Scherma, partner/proprietor of @radical.media, and freelance agency producer Randall Zook.
