The Road To Emmy is being traversed by a wide ranging field of select commercials–from an agency in-house-produced piece to three Super Bowl spots, as well as a lauded viral phenomenon breaking gender stereotypes, and the undisputed king of the Derek Jeter retirement tribute ads.
The in-house work is Adobe’s “Dream On” from Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, and produced by the agency’s eLevel Studio. Patrick Knowlton, one of Goodby’s creative directors on the spot, noted that about 75 percent of the piece consists of “found art,” tapping into Adobe’s social network where people put their portfolios. “To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Photoshop, we and Adobe thought it would be interesting to instead of finding artists to create work, we went out to find existing work that meshed with the lyrics of the ‘Dream On’ song. Mike Landry and Brady Baltezore, two of the creative directors at our eLevel animation studio, brought all the elements together. We reached out to artists and they gave us their layered files so we could bring them to life, transitioning from one to the next, making it all work properly with the lyrics.”
Adobe’s “Dream On” has both an Oscar and now an Emmy pedigree. The spot debuted in major markets during this year’s Academy Awards telecast, and now the Emmy nomination gives the showcased artists some additional high-profile exposure.
“Other than the music, this wasn’t a big production,” related Knowlton. “Usually spots that get nominated and win cost millions of dollars with fancy directors–brands like Old Spice, spots which have comedy or emotions that everybody loves. For Adobe, who isn’t used to advertising in this kind of context, scoring an Emmy nomination is a big deal.”
Knowlton also considers the nomination a big deal for the agency creative team. “The Emmys are kind of a different world,” he assessed. “This isn’t an advertising awards show with all kinds of different and sometimes weird categories–there are so many categories that you don’t know what they mean. There is just one Emmy category for commercials with the winner answering the question, ‘What was the best spot on primetime TV this year?’ That’s pretty huge. We’ve been joking about it this past week. I can say I’m an Emmy-nominated art director or creative director.”
Knowlton was the hybrid creative director/art director on “Dream On” with his creative director cohorts, Adam Reeves and Will Elliott, also serving as writers. Sam Luchini and Roger Baran were associate creative directors.
Super Bowl fare
The three alluded to Super Bowl commercials in this year’s Emmy nominees’ circle are Snickers’ “Brady Bunch” directed by Jim Jenkins of O Positive for BBDO New York, Budweiser’s “Lost Dog” directed by Jake Scott of RSA Films for Anomaly, New York, and Nissan’s “With Dad” directed by Lance Acord of Park Pictures for TBWA\Chiat\Day L.A.
Relative to “Lost Dog,” Anomaly creative director Johnny Dantonio explained, “Coming off of last year’s ‘Puppy Love,’ we wanted to continue to develop the narrative between two unlikely ‘Best Buds,’ a Budweiser Clydesdale and an adorable-yet-adventurous dog. This year, we wanted to capture a perseverance to which the audience could relate. Just the way this puppy will do absolutely anything to get back to the people it loves most, we all experience that unconscious determination to reach a thing or a person or a dream that we won’t be denied.”
Associate creative director Mark Sarosi added, “Anomaly is honored to be nominated for an Emmy Award not only because it represents excellence in craft, but because to be nominated is to have the work known, loved and shared by America. Being included in the list means that the work is culturally relevant in this country, and that’s what we aim for every time we step up to the plate.”
David Lubars, worldwide creative director for BBDO, also values the Emmy recognition, to which he is no stranger, the latest nomination comuing for Snickers' "Brady Bunch." Lubars observed, “In the ad industry, there’s a tendency to be cynical and sarcastic. The Emmy judges go for nice, uplifting, inspiring, fun stuff, which are all important on any creative’s palette. Entertainment and branding are blurring so now that getting recognition for entertainment value in the form of an Emmy nomination is wonderful. It’s a gauge telling you if you’re doing work that has entertainment value that people can relate to.”
Lubars and for that matter, BBDO, can relate to what TV Academy recognition means. BBDO won the very first primetime commercial Emmy Award in 1997 for HBO’s “Chimps” directed by Joe Pytka of PYTKA. While Lubars wasn’t with BBDO at the time, he later had a hand in the agency’s work on FedEx’s “Stick” which won the 2006 Emmy (tying with Hallmark’s “Required Reading” from Leo Burnett, Chicago). Before his current BBDO tenure, Lubars was at Fallon Minneapolis where he was part of an Emmy-winning team a total of three times–in 2001 for PBS’ “Photo Booth,” in 2003 for PBS’ “Fish” and in 2004 for Citibank’s “Outfit.”
Among those Lubars credited for the success of “Brady Bunch”–which won at Cannes, the One Show, and the first Super Clio (for Super Bowl advertising–were executive creative directors Peter Kain and Gianfranco Arena who teamed years earlier for another classic Snickers Super Bowl ad starring Betty White (which also earned an primetime commercial Emmy nomination). Additionally, Lubars cited O Positive’s Jenkins who directed “Brady Bunch.” Lubars noted that BBDO has “a long history” with Jenkins who’s part of a family of “four or five directors who have consistently done amazing work for us.”
Lubars added that perhaps the biggest challenge on “Brady Bunch” was executional in nature, with the idea necessitating that footage from the family sitcom mesh seamlessly with new original live action. “Gluing all the parts together was a function of the great work done in production and post.”
The third Super Bowl ad to make the Emmy cut is Nissan’s “With Dad,” which depicts the relationship between a father and son, all to the tune of the iconic Harry Chapin tune, “Cat’s In The Cradle.”
“It’s a story about what it means to be a father or mother working in modern America. You love your family, you want to be there for them, even when you’re traveling for work. You want to provide for them. Our parent happens to be a professional race car driver but he’s supposed to represent any mother or father out there,” said Liz Levy, a creative director on Nissan at TBWA\Chiat\Day L.A. Her Nissan creative director cohort is TBWA\Chiat\Day’s Jason Locey. At the time that they were developing “With Dad,” Levy and Locey were associate creative directors and the core team of art director and copywriter, respectively, on the commercial.
For Locey, the biggest challenge posed by “With Dad” from a creative standpoint was simply “trying to keep the story honest and real. That was an agency effort, including everyone from our chief creative officer Stephen Butler to our planners. We had to keep the story what it needed to be–pure storytelling that we didn’t want to turn into an ad. We didn’t want it to feel like an ad.”
Levy concurred, saying it was imperative that “we tell the best story we could. This felt like a short film, not a commercial.”
Towards that end, the selection of the director was critical. Both Locey and Levy praised Park Pictures’ Acord. “Lance’s father was a race car driver,” said Locey. “And Lance is a father. Plus his work speaks for itself. For such a talented filmmaker to also understand race cars, parenthood and be so invested in storytelling at the highest level meant everything to the work and how it turned out.”
The Emmy nomination carries a special meaning for both Levy and Locey. “Professionally when you have the opportunity to make a Super Bowl spot as a creative, it’s one of the highlights of your career. You want to make great work that connects with people. To have that effort earn an Emmy nomination is wonderful–to be recognized alongside such other great spots and talent. We’re excited to be a part of that list of nominees.”
Locey noted, “We’ve won advertising awards before and we’d tell our ad friends about a win or a nomination. But in the case of an Emmy nomination, both of us called our moms. Moms know what an Emmy is.”
“Made In New York”
“With Dad” is but one of two Emmy-nominated spots this year from TBWA\Chiat\Day L.A., the other being Gatorade’s “Made In New York” which pays tribute to now retired New York Yankees great Derek Jeter. TBWA\Chiat\Day’s Renato Fernandez, worldwide creative director for Gatorade, and Brent Anderson, executive creative director of TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, noted that helping to differentiate the spot from others lauding Jeter was the realism of everyday people connecting with the shortstop as he walked to Yankee Stadium, and just as importantly Jeter’s approaching these folks to thank them for their support and what they’ve meant to him, his career and the Yanks.
“Instead of us casting people and telling them about what was going to happen, we simply street cast New Yorkers, put them there on the blocks leading to Yankee Stadium,” related Anderson. “We didn’t tell them Jeter would be walking by on that muggy afternoon. As a result we got a real response from people. You could feel how they felt about Jeter–and he came to them to return the thanks and express his gratitude. Originally we had planned to have a voiceover with a message similar to Derek’s Facebook post announcing his retirement. But we came around to instead do a story that didn’t need a voiceover, to go with the moment, to let the natural gratitude and energy flow along those several blocks as Jeter walked to the ballpark.”
Fernandez added, “We came to the decision to not do advertising but rather to capture something real and culturally relevant. That’s why this Emmy nomination is so special. It’s recognition that we did something bigger than just advertising, that we made the right choice in our approach.”
Still, that approach, was “nerve wracking,” acknowledged Fernandez. “You can’t control all these people on the street. Not knowing exactly what would happen made us anxious. Plus you just have one chance to do to this. You can’t redo it. The pressure was gigantic. But the moment we finished, we knew we had something special. You could feel the chemistry between Derek Jeter and New Yorkers.”
Anderson said that the news of the Emmy nomination sparked internal banter about the award being the one “that all our mothers know about. That’s part of why it’s a special honor.”
Helping to bring that honor to fruition were the contributions of Smuggler director Henry-Alex Rubin. “As soon as Henry saw the script, he was so dogged and determined,” said Anderson. “He is someone who understands New York, who grew up in New York. He pushed for black and white, shooting it anamorphic. This was my third job with Henry and he brings two main things to the table: Serious collaboration; and fierce craft. He was made for ‘Made In New York.’”
Fernandez noted that as a documentarian, Rubin is “all about authenticity.”
Anderson was especially gratified to read some select top tweets from Red Sox fans in response to the Gatorade spot, including one paying respect to the captain (Jeter was the Yankees captain) with “tears” and a link to “Made In New York.”
#LikeAGirl
The Emmy nomination is the latest accolade bestowed upon P&G/Always’ #LikeAGirl directed by Lauren Greenfield of Chelsea Pictures for LeoBurnett, Toronto, Chicago and London, and sister digital shop Holler, London. Earlier in the awards season, the piece earned such honors as Grand Prix distinction at Cannes, Advertising Excellence/Single Commercial Best in Show at the AICP Show, and a pair of AICP Next Awards. #LikeAGirl took the negative “like a girl” stereotype (you run “like a girl,” throw “like a girl”) and turned it into an empowering movement celebrating the strength and willpower embodied in doing things “like a girl.” The campaign’s centerpiece video has generated a staggering 4.5 billion online impressions worldwide.
Judy John, CEO/chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Canada, said, “It’s been great to see Always’ #LikeAGirl transcend advertising into popular culture and now this Emmy nomination further shines a light on our conversation on girls’ confidence. This nomination is the cherry on top of what has been an incredible year.”
As for the biggest creative challenge that the Always initiative posed to her and her colleagues, John observed, “The biggest challenge was shooting a social experiment and hoping that experiment proves your theory to be true and provides content that will be compelling to watch. We had theories about what would happen when we asked people to doing things ‘Like a Girl’ and how they felt about it but you really don’t know until you get people in the room and start asking the questions. The subjects in the film are not actors; they are everyday people who answered to a casting call for ‘real people.’”
Regarding the choice of filmmaker for the Always short, John recalled, “We considered a handful of directors for the #LikeAGirl project. The creative team sent me a link to Lauren’s work and they followed it up with a copy of her book ‘Girl Culture.’ You can tell from looking at her body of work, that she really gets girls and women and what they go through. Just by looking at her work, we had a feeling this was the perfect match up. And after talking to Lauren, we knew she was the absolute best director for this film.”
The Emmy-winning spot will be announced and honored at the Creative Arts ceremony on September 12 in Los Angeles.
This is the ninth installment of a 14-part series that explores the field of Emmy contenders, and then nominees spanning such disciplines as directing, cinematography, producing, editing, animation and visual effects. The series will then be followed up by coverage of the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony on September 12 and the primetime Emmy Awards live telecast on September 20.
