The passing of Steve Jobs has elicited numerous testimonials to his genius, his innovation, his historical impact on society, and in our corner of the world his prowess as a master marketer and his lofty standing as the client whom every agency dreams of having.
His innovations made his competitors better, striving to keep up with Apple and Pixar. His marketing and advertising set the bar high, causing other agencies and clients to reach for a creative elevation many of them might not have tried for otherwise.
Now with Jobs’ death, it’s our choice whether or not to be lifted by his legacy and to keep it alive. Understandably, there has been much written about the void, particularly at Apple, left by Jobs. And arguably that void exists on a level that transcends any single company. At a time when job creation seems a lost art, Jobs represented what used to be American staples–innovation, the creation of products and goods that translated into employment not only at a company but at that company’s competitors and in other newly created sectors (just ask those independent souls inventing apps for the iPad, for example).
While Jobs moved us into the future, his legacy hearkened back to the past, with Apple’s coattails lifting a generation, creating jobs worldwide and serving as fuel for the imaginative to create on their own, in turn helping to build livelihoods for untold others.
This is in sharp contrast to the other high-profile captains of industry who seem so prevalent today–the real estate magnates, the investment bankers, the merger and acquisition gurus, the dealmakers, the hostile takeover specialists, the stock and commodities speculators. This is by no means a blanket indictment of those in such pursuits or professions yet they are a far cry from Jobs. They aren’t for the most part creating product which in turn generates jobs. Many often seem to be “creating” wealth that barely yields a trickle.
To be sure, there are innovators out there whom we never hear of–and who too are building coattails that lift and inspire others. Which gets us back to that notion of it being our choice whether or not to continue Jobs’ legacy.
Geniuses like Jobs don’t grow on trees but it’s within our reach to plant seeds that can help bring about positive growth that resonates for people from a wide range of socioeconomic classes. I think, for example, of that much bandied about future prospect of ad agency diversification–with creatives at shops becoming involved with clients on another level to develop products and goods. We see and hear murmurs on those fronts, agencies for instance creating business units to create and develop digital products and other inventions.
Through my admittedly rose-colored glasses, I see the potential for the creative forces in our business–ad agencies and the production community–to not only create great advertising but also great products and innovations that require great advertising and marketing.
And perhaps those products and innovations will spur on a jobs creation dynamic that seems so elusive at the moment. And by creating quality jobs, we will be paying homage to a master creator named Jobs.
“A Complete Unknown,” “Wicked,” “Sing Sing,” “Baby Reindeer” Among Guild of Music Supervisors Award Winners
The Guild of Music Supervisors held its 15th annual awards ceremony on Sunday night (2/23) at the Wiltern Theatre in L.A., honoring the best achievements in music supervision and songwriting with feature category winners including “Wicked,” “A Complete Unknown,” “I Saw the TV Glow” and “Sing Sing.” Among the TV category winners were “Baby Reindeer,” “English Teacher” and “Agatha All Along.”
Stephen Schwartz was awarded the Icon Award to celebrate his contributions to the music and film industry. Schwartz performed his song “Beautiful City” on stage from his musical “Godspell.” Music producer and supervisor Bonnie Greenberg took to the stage to accept the Legacy Award for her outstanding career in music supervision. Music supervisor and executive at EA Games Steve Schnur won the most awards for the evening with two wins for his work on video games EA Sports FC 25 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Keeping their promise of live performances from Best Song nominees, Oscar-nominees Abraham Alexander & Adrian Quesada performed their nominated song “Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing,” which took the prize for Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film. Danielle Ponder performed her nominated song “Egún” from Apple TV’s “Manhunt,” and the artist Role Model gave a rousing performance of their song “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” as the Spotlight artist of the evening.
The complete winners list for the 15th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards is as follows.
FILM
Best Music Supervision in Major Budget Films
Maggie Rodford - “Wicked”
Best Music Supervision in Mid-Level Budget Films
Steven Gizicki - “A... Read More