There’s recent and deeper historical perspective to be had regarding the primetime commercial Emmy Award compliments of, respectively, director Nicolai Fuglsig of MJZ, and David Lubars who’s chief creative officer of BBDO Worldwide and chairman of BBDO North America. Both Lubars and Fuglsig are in the running for this year’s spot Emmy–Lubars and his BBDO colleagues for GE’s “Childlike Imagination” directed by Dante Ariola of MJZ, and Fuglsig for helming Nike’s “Possibilities” out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore..
The 2014 field of nominated spots also consists of: Apple’s “Misunderstood” directed by Lance Acord of Park Pictures for TBWAMedia Arts Lab, Los Angeles; and a pair of Budweiser spots from Anomaly, New York–”Puppy Love” directed by Jake Scott of RSA, and “Hero’s Welcome” directed by The Malloys of HSI.
In terms of history, BBDO New York won the very first primetime commercial Emmy 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 tenure at BBDO, Lubars was at Fallon Minneapolis where he was thrice part of an Emmy-winning team–in 2001 for PBS’ “Photo Booth”; in ‘03 for PBS’ “Fish”; and in ‘04 for Citibank’s “Outfit.”
“It’s been an honor to be involved in four Emmy-winning commercials,” affirmed Lubars who has seen the ad industry view of TV Academy recognition evolve over the years. “Early on, it was regarded as a nice award to get but now it carries much more weight because of how the lines have become blurred between advertising and entertainment. It’s a very important competition to us. The judges have a Hollywood take on what we do–and Hollywood’s take is more relevant than ever. The Emmy Awards is a different kind of show than the usual ad industry competitions judged by your peers. Emmy recognition means you’re playing in a world that understands entertainment–and that’s vital in the new world of branding.”
“Childlike Imagination” enables us to see through the eyes of a child what GE does to innovate and help solve the world’s problems. “GE does extraordinary things for the world yet is sometimes viewed as just an industrial business,” said Lubars. “To have our work that shows GE’s magic recognized by judges at the Television Academy means a lot.”
Fresh take
Offering a recent winning perspective on Emmy is director Fuglsig whose “Inspired” for Canon and Grey New York earned last year’s primetime statuette. “Inspired” broke a string of four straight years that Wieden+Kennedy had won the Emmy. Ironically Wieden is now looking to start another streak with a spot directed by Fuglsig–”Possibilities” for Nike. This marks the third time a Fuglsig-helmed spot has received an Emmy nomination, the first coming in 2008 for Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl spot titled “It’s Mine,” also from Wieden+Kennedy.
Fuglsig observed that an Emmy nomination has arguably never been more prized. “TV is better than it’s ever been so an Emmy in today’s golden era is a tremendous honor.” Nike’s “Possibilities” has already received its fair share of recognition as evidenced at Cannes where it won a Gold Lion (Clothing, Footwear & Accessories), Silver Lions for Direction and Editing, and Bronze Lions for Achievement In Production and Cinematography.
“The main stars in ‘Possibilities’ are normal people off the street, the amateur athletes,” said Fuglsig. “We wanted to create a human story that will connect with everyday people, conveying to them that nothing is impossible as they take on personal challenges. People seem to relate to the piece. It had over 10 million views on YouTube in the first few weeks.”
“Possibilities” is Fuglsig’s first Nike spot. It garnered an Emmy nomination right around the time that the director was getting back into the commercialmaking loop. He recently wrapped his first theatrical feature, a sci-fi thriller called Gundog. His return to the ad arena already includes jobs for Acura, U.S. Marines, and FEMA.
First nom
HSI’s directorial duo The Malloys–a.k.a. Brendan and Emmett Malloy–scored their first career Emmy nomination on the strength of “Hero’s Welcome” for Budweiser. The spot opens on what appears to be a modest homecoming for a solider only to transform into an entire town celebrating the young man’s return.
“First and foremost we wanted this to be a proper hero’s Welcome and not a commercial shoot,” said Brendan Malloy. “We wanted the priority to be the parade and for it to be a great day for Lieutenant Nadd, his family and his hometown. This means we weren’t running around with bullhorns and flying cranes to get the perfect shot but rather capturing the event while maintaining a minimal presence As directors we really love capturing real human emotions and this day allowed for us to do that. The genuine smiles, tears and hugs were going to be more impactful than an over-produced shot. Everyone from the folks at Bud to everyone at Anomaly was on board with this idea so when the parade happened, it simply happened in real time which meant we had about 15 minutes to capture the core of the spot. We positioned cameras in key places and just looked out for those real emotions as they really happened and to us that is what makes the spot special.”
Malloy added that the Emmy nomination “means a lot for the simple fact that it’s going to bring more attention to this rally to welcome soldiers home. We got to interview and speak with a number of soldiers and it was amazing to hear their stories and what it feels like to them when someone thanks them for their service. Whether you are for the war or not, these guys are out there doing something very brave and they all deserve to be thanked for their service and helped with the next phase of their lives.”
The primetime commercial Emmy winner will be announced and honored at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 16, in the Nokia Theater at LA Live.
