The nominees for this year’s primetime commercial Emmy Award represent a diverse creative mix–so much so that John Leverence, VP, awards, for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS), thinks that deciding which spot should win will prove to be a daunting task for judges.
The field of nominated ads includes two which debuted during the Super Bowl: Ameriquest Mortgage’s “Surprise Dinner” directed by Craig Gillespie of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ) for DDB Los Angeles, and Budweiser’s “Applause” helmed by Joe Pytka of Venice, Calif.-based PYTKA for DDB Chicago.
Another high profile spot nominee–and no stranger to the awards derby–is Starbucks’ “Glen” directed by Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, for Fallon, New York. Earlier this year, Murro won the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award as best commercial director of 2004 on the strength of several commercials, including “Glen.”
Also up for the primetime Emmy is Aquafina’s “Drink Up” directed by the Traktor collective via bicoastal/international Partizan and Santa Monica-based shop Traktor for BBDO New York. And rounding out the Emmy nominations is The ONE Campaign’s “One by One,” a client-direct job helmed by Marcus Tomlinson of bicoastal/international @radical.media.
“On one hand, you have an extremely sentimental piece [Budweiser’s “Applause” in which people at an airline terminal give an ovation to U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq],” related Leverence. “On the other hand, there’s the darkly comic Ameriquest ad [in which it appears that a man is slaughtering a cat, an assumption that teaches us not to jump to conclusions]. Based on these nominations, the [ATAS] Commercials Branch judges have clearly shown that they can embrace a broad spectrum of work.”
Add to this the charmingly silly parody of “Drink Up,” in which people celebrate Aquafina bottled water in an oom-pah-pah style typically reserved for those imbibing alcoholic beverages. Then there’s the celebrity-powered public service appeal message from the ONE group to help combat poverty and disease. And finally the musical comedy that is Starbucks’ “Glen.”
“How do you make a comparison in this kind of category judging?” asked Leverence. “It’s kind of like comparing apples and oranges. At least in the Emmy sitcom category, you’re judging different comedies against each other. But here, from a TV program perspective, you have musical variety with ‘Glen’ and ‘Drink Up,’ drama with Budweiser, informational programming with the ONE Campaign, and comedy series with Ameriquest’s ‘Surprise Dinner.’ “
Leverence even conjectured that this might prompt the ATAS Commercials Branch “to take a look at the kind of judging” it should adopt in the future. He said one possibility would be to award an Emmy to any nominated spot or spots deemed worthy by two-thirds of the final judges. That way each commercial would be judged on its own terms. Short of that, the spot that gains approval from more than half of the judges would be the Emmy winner. But if no commercial receives majority approval, then no Emmy would be awarded.
Leverence sees quite a bit of irony in this year’s field of nominees. For example, the “Drink Up” concept works for Aquafina but would be an anathema for a client like Budweiser. Meanwhile, the ONE Campaign features mega movie stars but not in the glamorous celebrity light in which we’re accustomed to seeing them. “They went to great lengths to portray these celebrities as ordinary folk, often in t-shirts,” observed Leverence. “The clout of the commercial is in its celebrity firepower but the presentation was not celebrity. I think the Academy appreciated the appropriateness of that approach, the cleverness in how the commercial was constructed.”
Cleverness also marked “Surprise Dinner,” observed Leverence. “My initial reaction in watching the commercial unfold,” he said, ” was ‘what the hell is going on here?’ The combination of the sweet intent on the part of the guy fixing dinner for his significant other–and then the horrible, darkly comic sight of the cat looking as if it’s being slaughtered. The kicker is don’t jump to conclusions, which ties in directly to the advertiser, a mortgage company. The non sequitur makes sense at the end. It’s comedy that makes you think.”
Referring to the Ameriquest and Budweiser work, Bob Scarpelli, DDB worldwide chief creative officer, related, “It’s an honor that DDB has two spots in contention for an Emmy. Creating advertising that’s just as entertaining for viewers as the actual television programming is what we do best. I am proud of our Chicago and Los Angeles offices, and grateful to partner with clients that want to do groundbreaking work.”
The winning primetime Emmy spot will be announced and honored during the ATAS Creative Arts Awards ceremony on Sept. 11 in Los Angeles.
