Apple entered the primetime commercial Emmy nominees’ circle for the third consecutive year–this time for two spots: AirPods Pro’s “Jump” directed by Sam Brown of Imperial Woodpecker for TBWAMedia Arts Lab; and Apple Watch Series 6’s “It Already Does That” directed by Craig Gillespie of MJZ.
This marks the second time in three years that Apple has had two Emmy nominees. In 2019, Apple scored with MacBook’s “Behind the Mac–Make Something Wonderful” and iPhone’s “Don’t Mess with Mother.” Last year, Apple “only” had one spot nominated: “Bounce” for AirPods.
Also making a major splash this Emmy season was Melina Matsoukas of PRETTYBIRD who directed two nominated pieces–“Better | Mamba Forever,” a Nike tribute to the late, great Kobe Bryant for Wieden+Kennedy; and Beats by Dr. Dre’s “You Love Me” from agency Translation, LLC.
The latter back in April earned Matsoukas the DGA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Commercials, making her the first woman and first person of color to win the Guild’s spot honor. If “Better/Mamba Forever” or “You Love Me” end up winning the primetime commercial Emmy, she would become the first woman of color to have directed work earning the prestigious TV Academy honor. She would, however, not be the first woman to have directed an Emmy winner. That distinction belongs to Lauren Greenfield for directing Procter & Gamble/Always’ “#LikeAGirl which won the Emmy in 2015. At the time Greenfield was with Chelsea Pictures. She is now with Girl Culture Films, a shop which she co-founded.
Rounding out this year’s field of primetime commercial Emmy nominees were: another Nike ad from Wieden+Kennedy, “You Can’t Stop Us,” directed by Oscar Hudson of Pulse Films; and “Alexa’s Body” for Amazon Alexa, directed by Wayne McClammy of Hungry Man for agency Lucky Generals.
Here are the official TV Academy listings of the nominations for the primetime commercial Emmy:
Emmy Nominations–Outstanding Commercial
AirPods Pro — “Jump” – Apple AirPods
TBWAMedia Arts Lab, Ad Agency
Imperial Woodpecker, Production Company
“Alexa’s Body” – Amazon Alexa
Lucky Generals, Ad Agency
Hungry Man, Production Company
“Better | Mamba Forever” – Nike Wieden+Kennedy, Ad Agency
PRETTYBIRD, Production Company
It Already Does That – Apple Watch Series 6
Apple, Ad Agency
MJZ, Production Company
You Can’t Stop Us – Nike Wieden+Kennedy, Ad Agency
Pulse, Production Company
“You Love Me” – Beats by Dr. Dre
Translation, LLC, Ad Agency
PRETTYBIRD, Production Company
The primetime commercial Emmy winner will be announced and honored during the Creative Arts Emmy awards proceedings in September (date to be announced). The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards will be hosted by Cedric the Entertainer and air Sunday, September 19, on CBS, and be streamed on Paramount+.