In this politically correct era–or error, which might be a more apt description–some Super Bowl work didn’t make the cut. Snickers’ “Mechanics,” in which two men meet in the middle of a Snickers bar and end up kissing, got pulled after objections from GLADD and others who felt that the ad was homophobic.
Meanwhile the GM commercial in which a robot becomes despondent after being fired from a factory assembly line will be revised. In the original spot, the robot commits suicide by jumping off a bridge–only for viewers to find out that it was all a bad dream. But a suicide prevention organization criticized the ad, prompting GM to announce it would make changes to the commercial before it airs again.
Personally I didn’t take offense to either commercial–at least not in the same way that those reacting in protest did. I thought “Mechanics” was in the upper echelon of what was by most accounts a rather lackluster crop of Super Bowl ads this year.
But I was stunned to see the GM spot. Given the massive layoffs at the company and its well chronicled financial problems, the notion of showing a worker–albeit a robot–getting pink-slipped would seem among the last storylines that GM should embrace.
Mike Wolfsohn, one of several creative directors SHOOT canvassed for feedback on the Super Bowl commercials, concurred.
Wolfsohn, who is VP/creative director at Ignited Minds, Marina del Rey, Calif., observed, “It just blew my mind that anything having to do with employment at GM, particularly in a negative connotation, could get through so many approval processes and make it on air….That was the biggest debacle I saw through the whole game.”
So from a marketing perspective, that spot was off base. And so to an extent was the consumer-generated content experiment.
Wolfsohn related, “It’s kind of like one of my philosophies in running a creative department–in a lot of different shops, they put three, four or five teams on an assignment. That guarantees that one team will be happy and the others will be disappointed at the outcome.
“Similarly while the intention of consumer-generated content was to get tens of thousands of consumers interacting with the brand leading up to the Super Bowl, all those people who contributed to ideas for Doritos or Chevrolet or the NFL were probably disappointed with what was ultimately chosen. And now those people are probably less likely to be consumers of the brand than if they never participated in a commercial contest.”
Still there was inspiration to be found on Super Sunday.
“What’s funny,” observed Wolfsohn, “is some of the best ‘Super Bowl’ advertising I saw was actually on another channel, Animal Planet, which does The Puppy Bowl, three hours of puppies playing on a small football field, with a kitty halftime show. Between quarters, a Bissell vacuum comes in and cleans up, taking care of the furry mess. It integrates the vacuum product category beautifully with the game. It’s a really smart, solid marketing idea.”
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More