This marks the fifth year that a primetime Emmy will be bestowed upon a commercial. The five nominated spots this time around were unveiled last week by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS): the Public Broadcasting System’s "Light" and "Photo Booth," directed by Errol Morris of bicoastal/international @radical.media for Fallon Minneapolis; Nike’s "Freestyle," helmed by Paul Hunter of bicoastal HSI Productions for Wieden+ Kennedy, Portland, Ore.; and a pair of Mercedes-Benz USA ads out of Merkley Newman Harty, New York—"Aaooga," directed by Victor Garcia of bicoastal Morton Jankel Zander, and "Modern Ark," helmed by Gerard de Thame of HSI and London-based Gerard de Thame Films. (For more details, see separate story, p. 1.)
Now that the commercial Emmy has reached the five-year milestone, there’s the possibility that ATAS might recognize other aspects of spotmaking within the context of the primetime Emmy competition (see separate story, p. 1). Whether or not that pans out, there’s still much to be said for what the commercial Emmy has come to represent today.
Frank Scherma, co-proprietor of @radical.media, is a governor of the ATAS Commercials Branch Peer Group. He recalled an earlier life during which he was enrolled in a commercial acting class. "I was taught how to hold the product and say the product’s name," he related. "That was a whole day. … The instruction included, ‘The product needs to be at an angle, hold it up by your face.’ "
Thankfully, continued Scherma, "we’ve come a long way since then. Now, TV entertainment programs are being made which show commercials that people haven’t seen."
And part of that progression, he observed, is reflected in the primetime Emmy. "The recognition from the Television Academy adds another level substantiating that commercials can be artistic achievements," said Scherma. "When done right, commercials are little pieces of art that communicate.
"We’re seeing a wider recognition that the commercial is an art form, a part of U.S. culture that can be really cool," continued Scherma. "Not some annoying ad in which someone is holding the product and repeating its name the way I had been taught in commercial acting class."
That growing recognition beyond industry ranks is propelled in part by organizations like ATAS and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, noted Scherma. The MoMA reference, of course, is to the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, which recently marked its 10-year anniversary. AICP Show-honored spots become part of the permanent collection of MoMA’s Department of Film and Video.
Recollecting why he originally embraced the idea of an AICP Show 10-plus years ago, Larry Kardish, senior curator of MoMA’s Department of Film and Video, said: "We thought there were very interesting commercials being made that weren’t being viewed outside of the context of television. … The arsenal of film techniques is consolidated into a short time frame, making commercials an extraordinary expressive art form."
The Museum of Television & Radio (MoT&R) has also recognized ad artistry. Its latest move in that regard (SHOOT, 6/8, p. 1) was to agree to include in its archives both the finalists and winners of the Association of Independent Creative Editors (AICE) inaugural competition, which will recognize the 10 best-edited commercials of 2000-’01.
"We are happy to be the repository for the winning [AICE] spots and finalists," related MoT&R television and advertising curator David Bushman. "We at the Museum of Television & Radio are big believers that advertising reflects society and is evocative of certain eras, desires, values, preoccupations and so on. We feel it is important to collect advertising in general—and certainly top-of-the-line advertising."
