Maybe it’s the bleeding heart in me—or just an inherently offbeat sense of free association—but the Super Bowl feedback and Directors Guild of America (DGA) spot nominee stories on page one of this issue are strangely and poignantly connected.
Super Bowl parties at households and public venues are part of Americana. Pizza Hut made sure to have a spot slot just before the Big Game’s kickoff as a friendly reminder that it might not be a bad idea to get on the phone and order some thin- and/or thick-crust pies for pickup or delivery.
Indeed, food and drink flow on Super Sunday, much to the delight of such groups as the California Avocado Commission, which estimated that Americans will consume some 13.2 million pounds of guacamole between the pre-game festivities and the final gun. That’s the equivalent of some 26 million avocados—a level of consumption rivaling chips, dips, beans, salsa, sour cream and cheese.
Meanwhile, another celebratory occasion, particularly for a select field of helmers, just took place: the announcement of the DGA Award nominations. Yet one of the commercials that helped director Joe Pytka of Venice, Calif.-based PYTKA become a DGA nominee for a record 13th time offers a sobering perspective on the aforementioned food-and-drink fest and our reasons to celebrate. The Ad Council childhood hunger awareness spot, "Ketchup Soup" for Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York, simply shows a woman pocketing numerous packets of ketchup from several fast-food restaurants. She then goes home to prepare ketchup soup for her kids.
I first saw The Ad Council campaign—which consists of four spots—at the third annual International Heads of Production meeting last June in Cannes. Pytka was the featured speaker, and he said that of all the work he’s done in his career, he’s proudest of these PSAs.
He related that it was gratifying to see ad talent come together to do more than just peddle product for a buck. "We can take on issues and do good with our powers of communication," commented Pytka.
In our "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery (SHOOT, 7/6/01, p. 13), which covered The Ad Council campaign, Thomas Hayo, group creative director at BBH New York, said: "The scenarios we used in the ads are dramatizations of true stories we heard at shelters and food banks, and we realized that the best way to enlighten the public was with the shocking truth."
Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of The Ad Council, stated, "Most people consider the issue of hunger to be a foreign one, and not something that really happens here. But the truth is that right now in America, there are twelve million kids going hungry. We must raise the public’s awareness of the situation."
But, noted Pytka during his Cannes talk, the key is to gain decent airtime for worthwhile work. "Running at three a.m. isn’t going to cut it," he said, which in our post-Super Sunday context rings incredibly ironic. Having just come off of a Super Bowl in which 30 seconds of air time went for an average price a tick under $2 million, I’m still waiting to see Pytka’s Ad Council spots on air. At least I have a sporting chance of viewing "Ketchup Soup" again at the DGA Awards ceremony next month.
The campaign is a joint presentation of The Ad Council, domestic hunger-relief organization America’s Second Harvest, and the ConAgra Feeding Children Better Foundation. If you’d like to help, the spots are tagged with a toll-free number (1-800-Feedkids) and a Web site address (www.feedingchildrenbetter.org).
