By MILLIE TAKAKI
It’s easy to pinpoint prejudice regarding race, religion and sexual orientation when the examples are blatant. The ignorant, intolerant rantings of Atlanta Braves’ pitcher John Rocker, for example, have received much deserved public attention and condemnation. But there are everyday racist and sexist thoughts and behavior that are so woven into the fabric of our society that they can go unnoticed.
Bringing that point home-and hopefully causing many of us to examine and reassess ourselves-is "Power Lock," a Peace Council PSA directed by Peter Darley Miller of Santa Monica-based Stiefel & Company for a core creative group at Austin, Texas advertising agency GSD&M.
The :30 shows the visual perspective of an unseen driver, looking outside the passenger side window of his or her car. The automobile pulls up to an intersection and stops at a red light. A mother and her child walk by and wait at the crosswalk. Businessmen and other pedestrians are also in view. It’s a slice of humdrum life, accompanied by the barely discernible sounds of people interacting and city noise. Then a young, neatly yet casually dressed African-American man appears, carrying a water bottle. He walks up to the intersection and stops to wait for a green light. He’s standing alongside the automobile. At that moment, we see the power lock come down on the passenger-side car door. The sound of the lock coming down reverberates and is noticed by the black youth. His facial expression is that of someone visibly pained by the simple act which, sadly, he seems familiar with. The scene gives way to a supered message that reads: "The sound of prejudice." The Peace Council logo then tags the spot.
The Peace Council is a foundation consisting of advertising and business professionals in the Austin area. The group made its initial splash a couple of years ago with print ads it created to address the issue of land mines planted around the world. This spot, "Power Lock," is the Peace Council’s first foray into television. Individuals from GSD&M have become mainstay members of the Peace Council, including creative directors Brent Ladd and Daniel Russ, who worked on this spot. Ladd also served as art director. The writer was former GSD&M staffer Alon Shoval, who earlier left to join Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco, but is now freelancing.
The idea came from a brainstorming session at GSD&M, during which a company staffer related a story she had heard from an African-American man who experienced the same act of prejudice while walking near a car. "We explored different ways to convey a meaningful message about prejudice, but we just kept coming back to that example," Ladd recalled. "It was so simple, yet relevant."
Miller said that as soon as he heard the concept and saw the board, he felt compelled to take on the assignment. "I think the decision not to ever show the driver was important," he observed. "The point is that the driver can be any of us. And to identify that as a form of prejudice, I hope, provokes thought among those of us who think we’re not prejudiced, including myself."
Ladd concurred, noting that not identifying the driver "brings different layers to the spot. … The driver could be a white woman, a mother, a father, a teenager, an Asian, another African-American. It’s an act that many of us have done, or that any of us is capable of doing." Ladd added that as they got deeper into making the PSA, he and his creative colleagues kept stripping down elements that had originally been planned. "At one point, we had music being played on the car radio and other pieces of sound design, but we did away with that. We just wanted to make sure the sound of that power lock coming down cut through any clutter. The background city noise you heard was actually sound effects of kids playing, which was very subtle."
Ladd thanked Frank Stiefel, president of Stiefel & Company, for his support on the PSA. Director Miller’s support team also included producer Drew Bracken. Mark Ellison was the DP.
"Power Lock" was edited by Doug Walker and Angelo Valencia of FilmCore, San Francisco. Valencia also served as sound designer. Colorist was Jais Lamaire of 525 Studios, Santa Monica. Audio engineer was Jacob Perez from Digital Domain of Austin. Type design was done by Ron Pippin of Match Frame Post Production, San Antonio.
Endeavor Group Sells Professional Bull Riders, On Location and IMG To Parent of WWE and UFC
The parent company of WWE and UFC is buying Professional Bull Riders, On Location, and IMG from Endeavor Group in an all-stock deal valued at $3.25 billion.
The deal is part of Endeavor's efforts to shed some of its assets as it looks to be taken private in a proposed transaction with private equity firm Silver Lake, which was announced in April. Ariel Emanuel, who serves as CEO of Endeavor, is also executive chair and CEO of TKO.
Professional Bull Riders is a bull riding league that has more than 200 annual live events, approximately 1.25 million fans, and reaches more than 285 million households in more than 65 territories. On Location is live event company for more than 1,200 sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup and NCAA Final Four. IMG is a distributor and producer of sports content, packages and sells media rights and brand partnerships, and provides consulting, digital services and event management to clients such as the National Football League and National Hockey League.
Parent company TKO Group said Thursday that the acquisition from Endeavor Group will complement its existing businesses as well as broaden its reach in the premium sports market.
"PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO's portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally," TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro said in a statement. "Within TKO, they will help power the growth of our revenue streams and position us to capture even more upside from some of the most attractive parts of our sports ecosystem: media rights, live events, ticket sales, premium experiences, brand partnerships, and site fees."
As part of the deal, Endeavor will receive about 26.14 million common units of TKO... Read More