To be sure, many companies in the Chicago-area spot community face the same obstacles as their New York and Los Angeles-based counterparts. Runaway production, for instance, as well as tighter production budgets, a weak national economy and tumultuous world events—including the war in Iraq and the SARS scare—have impacted ad businesses everywhere.
Yet commercial makers in and around the Windy City are optimistic on several fronts. Since this time last year, they say, business has increased modestly or at least held steady. They also believe that the quality of the creative work coming out of Midwest agencies is improving. Moreover, DDB Chicago, one of the city’s largest agencies, has, for the foreseeable future at least, decided to post their projects in their own neighborhood, which clearly bodes well for Chicago finishing houses. And finally, as earlier reported (SHOOT, 5/16, p. 1), an Illinois anti-runaway proposal—including a wage-based tax credit—is being drafted. If the bill is passed, the tax credit would, according to the office of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (D-Ill.), amount to 25 percent of the wages paid to Illinois residents who work on a qualifying feature, TV program, commercial or sponsored content project lensed in the state.
Bring it on, say members of the Chicago production and postproduction communities. "Chicago has suffered because of the incentives in Canada," notes editor Tim McGuire, founder of Chicago-based Cutters. "Illinois and other states need to be more proactive."
Prospects for passage of the bill are mixed. Preliminary indications are that the proposal is gaining bipartisan support. Yet Illinois is also facing a $5 billion deficit for fiscal year 2003-’04, according to some estimates. In that climate, gaining approval for tax cut-related filming incentives could prove challenging.
Regardless, many in the spot community are encouraged by the bill’s potential, and the positive economic impact it could have on the local filming community. "The idea of building back the hype and buzz of when movies were prevalent here creates an energy of a strong film community, whether it’s films or commercials," says Chicago-based Joanne Bittmann, executive producer of Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago. "When [filming] dries up, it affects morale, infrastructure. Panavision pulled out [last year], and we could use another stage facility here. This is a very positive direction for the new governor and the new Film Commission director [Brenda Sexton]. We’ve been trying to compete with Toronto, and suggesting shoots in Chicago, but it’s very difficult and I can’t say we win every one."
Similarly, Mark Androw, owner/executive producer of The Story Companies, bicoastal and Chicago, notes that "production in Chicago is down." Moreover, the upside is bittersweet: "Business is much busier than a year ago, but we’re working more in Canada and California."
Among The Story Companies’ recent projects are two multi-spot packages for the "Perfect" campaign for Walgreens via Euro RSCG, Chicago, and directed by Rodney Smith. Other recent jobs include ads for department store Carson Pirie Scott via Laughlin/Constable, Milwaukee, co-directed by Brian Johnson and David Orr.
Tabletop director Tom Lazarevich, of Chicago-based High Road Productions (formerly Peter Elliott Productions), also sees a need for filming incentives. "Anything that helps the infrastructure of Chicago is going to help us, directly or indirectly," he says. "We have a very strong production community, and it helps when the state promotes it."
Because of his specialty in tabletop, Lazarevich shoots all his projects on his own stages in Chicago. High Road executive producer Joy Holbrook says they’ve lost business to Canada. "Since they’re getting such breaks," she notes, "they’ll shoot live-action there and just put a DP on the food portion."
Bittmann estimates that compared to last year, the number of shoot days Crossroads’ Chicago office has had are the same. The difference is that the projects have been larger in scale. Among the company’s recent productions are spots for the Illinois Lottery directed by Chuck Bennett for DDB, and U.S. Cellular helmed by Jesse Peretz (who directs via X-Ray Productions, a Crossroads satellite) out of Doner, Southfield, Mich., both of which were filmed in Chicago.
Lazarevich paints a similar picture. "After the first quarter, things seem to be picking up a little, but by no means are we back to the scale of things in the ’90s." Lazarevich recently helmed two client-direct campaigns, for Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Restaurants and Schlotzsky’s Deli. Other projects include a spot for Arby’s—featuring a new oven mitt character voiced by Tom Arnold—via Doner.
DDB
While production personnel are encouraged by the proposed tax incentive, the postproduction community got a boost three months ago when word spread through the industry grapevine that DDB would post all its projects—save for the occasional exception—in Chicago. According to the agency, the decision to finish in the Windy City was based on a need to be cost effective and efficient—specifically in terms of keeping the agency’s creatives in Chicago, rather than out of town for weeks at a time, during postproduction.
Regardless of DDB’s reasoning, the post community here sees it as an opportunity. "Chicago, which is the source for so much major advertising, has typically had the second city syndrome," says Scott Seltzer, managing director of SOL designfx, Chicago and Venice, Calif. "The notion of agencies or advertisers looking to Chicago as a top creative resource, and not going to other sources to get top quality work … it’s a challenge to us to step up to the plate and deliver on what we’ve been saying for years—that we can compete [with New York and Los Angeles]."
SOL designfx’s recent projects include an Anheuser Busch spot for DDB, which was directed by Chace Strickland of Backyard Productions, Chicago and Venice. Post on the job began in SOL designfx’s Venice studio and was finished in the Chicago office. Lead effects artist was Jeff Heusser. Other recent clients include DiGiorno via FCB, Chicago, Quaker for Element 79, Chicago, and a music video for director Michel Gondry of bicoastal/international Partizan and the band The Postal Service.
Technology is also on the minds of Midwest production and post personnel, specifically in terms of connectivity that enables swift file sharing and posting projects to the Web. And according to Digital Kitchen, Chicago and Seattle, various Chicago stages have upgraded their facilities to accommodate high-definition (HD) lensing. "That’s really cool, because you used to have to go to New York or Los Angeles," says the company’s president, Don McNeill, who is also the company’s Chicago executive producer.
Director Bob Ebel of Chicago-based Ebel Productions also reports having done a couple of HD projects of late, including a new business pitch for DDB and a campaign for Edward’s Pies via Match, Atlanta.
Tom Duff, president of Optimus, Chicago, and its Santa Monica office, CO-OP, suggests that the use of HD and other video formats are on the rise. "If there’s any trend, I see maybe different forms of video, more video for the Web, longer pieces or in-house types of things," he says. Optimus’ recent projects include ads for Dell via DDB, as well as Gatorade and Circuit City for FCB, Chicago.
Fear Factor
Surprisingly, most people who spoke with SHOOT reported little impact from either the war in Iraq or the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Asia and Toronto. Still, it stands to reason that those recent world events do not ease the climate of fear that has negatively impacted the world economy since Sept. 11.
"I think the war honestly scared everyone," says Ebel. "[Clients] didn’t know where the economy was going to go, so they got conservative. But now people are starting to relax."
"The war was the first hiccup in our growth trajectory, but it only lasted six weeks," says Paul Matthaeus, founder/chief creative officer of Digital Kitchen. (The company’s Chicago office opened in August ’00.) "We’re trying to continue on that route cautiously." Among Digital Kitchen’s recent projects are spots for Aquafina via Element 79, as well as the UPN series Platinum.
"I don’t think SARS affected us [aversely] in Chicago," relates Duff. "If anything, people didn’t want to go to Toronto."
"We’re finally beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel," says Seltzer. "The combined effect of the actors’ strike, the general economic downturn, and then 9/11—last year things were very difficult." However, based on the first quarter of ’03 and feedback from sales reps, he says, "I’m pretty optimistic for the rest of summer and the rest of the year."
"It’s very difficult to measure anything in a slow marketplace," notes McGuire. "I’m happy that we do have some business. Am I satisfied? Absolutely not—I have seen better advertising. Last year it was very conservative, [but] I’d say in the last six months I’ve been seeing more projects that are pushing the envelope. I would suspect that’s industry-wide."
Among Cutters’ recent projects are spots for Applebee’s, Morgan Stanley, Kellogg’s and McDonald’s. The Kellogg’s work, out of Leo Burnett USA, Chicago, included spots for Special K, helmed by Kevin Smith of Backyard Productions, and cut by Chris Claeys; as well as ads for Fruit Harvest cereal, directed by Mike Bigelow of Space Program, Universal City, Calif. Those spots, "Irrigation" and "Fields of Battle Creek," were cut by Steve Stein.
Androw also observes that "the quality of the creative has improved a lot." As explanation, he points to Chicago’s newer boutique agencies—such as Element 79 and Fusion Idea Lab—as well as new creative heads being brought into Chicago ad shops, such as Tom O’Keefe, executive creative director at FCB; he formerly held the same position at the agency’s San Francisco office. Others who spoke with SHOOT cited other high-profile executive hires, such as former Young & Rubicam, New York, executive creative director Jim Ferguson joining DDB Chicago as executive VP/creative consultant.
"A lot of [Midwest] agencies have brought in big guns," Androw says. "They’re working hard to shed that reputation of being packaged goods agencies. It makes it a fun place for me to be."
