John Leverence, VP, awards, for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS), is gratified to see the range of work reflected in this year’s field of commercial primetime Emmy Award nominees (see story, p. 1).
The six nominated spots are: Visa’s "Broadway Tribute," directed by Gregor Nicholas of @radical.media for BBDO New York; Computer Associates’ "Amnesia" helmed by Rick LeMoine and Steve Miller of @radical for Young & Rubicam, New York; Nike’s "Move" directed by Jake Scott of RSA USA for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.; FOX Sports’ "Nail Gun" directed by Baker Smith of Harvest for TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco; Disney’s "First Words" helmed by Joe Pytka of PYTKA for Leo Burnett USA, Chicago; and Budweiser’s "Out of Towner" directed by Allen Coulter of hungry man for DDB Chicago.
Leverence said the Emmy Awards’ commercial category contains a crop of ads offering a mix of genres that parallels the range offered collectively in all the Emmy program categories. "The nominated commercials have absurdist humor, emotionally moving storytelling and visually driven, reflectively aesthetic sensibilities," observed Leverence.
For example, Leverence was impressed by not only the tug-at-the-heartstring prowess of Disney’s "First Words," but also by what that spot is promoting. "The commercial is Hallmark-esque," he related. "It’s very much a shift of that classic Hallmark card advertising paradigm to an incredible piece of image advertising for a concept. It [‘First Words’] is not promoting a theme park or a Disney movie or a cruise vacation—instead its promoting the concept of Disney being magical. When that boy gives his copy of Peter Pan as a birthday present to his grandfather—and then reads from it to him—there’s not a dry eye in the house."
Leverence also cited the range of comedy—FOX Sports’ "Nail Gun" for its surreal sense of humor, Budweiser’s "Out of Towners" for its simple people-based comedy and Computer Associates’ "Amnesia" for its sense of slapstick.
Then, continued Leverence, you have Visa paying homage to New York and Broadway in the aftermath of 9/11, and Nike’s tribute to athletes—professional and amateur—in "Move." "These commercials are visually beautiful, intelligently crafted and quietly reflective," assessed Leverence.
Putting his ATAS hat aside, Leverence said he personally is enamored with "Move," describing it as "the most intellectually interesting commercial of all the nominees. … It has a kind of kinetic energy, brought together with the amateur runner, who fits perfectly into the flow of professional athletes. Visually and conceptually, this commercial is like an onion—you peel away layers and see more and more going on."
"Move," which broke during this year’s Winter Olympics, opens on an average teenage boy jogging down what could be any suburban street. What follows is a parade of professional and amateur athletes pursuing their various sports. Picabo Street hurtling down a mountain, speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno turning sharply on a short track and tennis star Lindsay Davenport ripping a backhand. Among the amateurs are a skateboarder nailing a risky jump, a Frisbee player tossing a disc to his Jack Russell terrier and an older man completing a taxing routine on a pommel horse.
"The nominated commercials are a microcosm of the larger Emmy competition," reiterated Leverence. "Emmy-nominated programs span comedy, drama, emotional and visual storytelling—which are all part of our single commercial category."
