By JAMES SOMMERVILLE
SINCE MY ARRIVAL FROM England onto the shores of the United States almost two years ago, I quickly realized that America feeds itself on bad television-talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, soap operas, infomercials and the packaging around them. It never bloody ends! I joined a gym upon my arrival-bang, an endless sea of televisions strategically positioned so that whilst your muscles get toned, your brain turns to mush. I’m sitting in the dentist’s chair last week. As soon as the smoke started lifting past his drill, the dreaded box drones on above me with some daytime chat show. The pain of watching was worse than the needle sticking into the underside of my mouth.
Whilst we might not control the mediocrity of these longer format programs, it’s our responsibility and duty to design, create and produce packaging and commercials that lifts the creative bar on television to the sky. In the words of Gordon Gecko (so I’m told), "This is your wakeup call, buddyboy." I turn it back to my peers. I want to turn on the telly and say, "fuck me, now that’s the way to put it all together."
Network packaging, corporate identities, main titles, graphics, interstitials, promos. It doesn’t matter. We as creatives and producers need to demand more from ourselves, our clients and our industry. It’s not enough to lay down and accept what some suit in the top floor of a corporate office thinks about how to package both visually and conceptually. It’s not enough to stand by and watch creatives piss away incredible conceptual opportunities. Challenge them creatively and show them and the viewing audiences "your passion and vision." It’s up to us to develop new and innovative concepts. Think about what you watch and how you’re marketed by the so-called "master branders" in our industry. Do they inspire you? Do they visually blow you away? Do they keep you watching? Are they stimulating you conceptually or just reshuffling the same old design, type and color treatments? I thought so.
When my partner and I started The Attik in the North of England 14 years ago, our only fear was crashing this new machine called the Apple Mac. We didn’t worry about the politics of the right solution; we just pushed ourselves and our ability to create the best concept, period. We saw a European industry that demanded excellence from us on a daily basis, or else. That demand for creative excellence in Europe must expand worldwide. We must drive ourselves to find the passion in our work and in television. The creative spirit of highly conceptual design, experimental styles and live action techniques combined with well thought out strategic planning must lead us into the next millennium.
As we all meet this week at the ’99 PROMAX and BDA, look around and see the supposed best work in our industry. Inspirational or boring. It’s up to you. The best will rise and boldest will shine. Remember Darwin.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More