MJZ tops production house shortlists tally with 40 mentions; W+K leads agency way with 24; Apple, Nike score 22 apiece
Matt Miller, president and CEO of AICP, has announced the first-ever AICP Community Award, to be presented during AICP Week in June. The new honor will be selected by the public from among the shortlisted work in the AICP Show Advertising Excellence/Single Commercial category. Voting takes place via a chatbot powered by The Bot Platform, from April 25th – May 24th.
The AICP Community Award is an unfiltered way to give the entire industry the ability to voice its opinion on the favorite spot of the year. The voting is open now via the Curator Bot, which lives on Facebook messenger and can be accessed here. The results will be announced during AICP Week (June 4-6).
“We are incredibly excited to find out what others think should be singled out as the best ad of the year, and hope all will join in and let us know their favorites. Using a bot–which is becoming an increasingly popular tool for marketers–is a fun and engaging way to encourage voting.” noted Miller. “Each year’s shortlists come into being because of the hard work of the 400-plus judges around the world who lend their professional and artistic voices to the AICP Awards; in turn the shortlists are reviewed by blue ribbon curatorial committees. It will be interesting to see how the public selection matches up with that of our judges and curators.”
The addition of the AICP Community Award means the viewing audience has a chance to weigh in on a favorite ad. The Bot Platform, which developed the chat bot on Facebook’s messenger platform, works with clients including CBS Showtime, Dyson, Viacom, Sony PlayStation and Facebook.
Also unveiled are the shortlists for the AICP Next Awards and AICP Show. The winners of the AICP Next Awards will be revealed on June 4th, while the AICP Show honoress will be unveiled at The Musuem of Modern Art (MoMA) on June 6th. All shortlisted pieces along with their corresponding credits may be viewed here.
The 2019 AICP Show chairperson is Daniel Bergmann, founder and president of Stink; the 2019 AICP Next Awards Judging chair is Jaime Robinson, co-founder and chief creative officer of JOAN. Both serve as chairs of their hand-picked Curatorial Committees that are made up of the best and the brightest in various disciplines in the industry. As part of the curatorial duties, these committees review all judging results determined by the hundreds of judges across all categories, and have been tasked with assembling the final shows.
Shortlists tally
On the Shortlists, MJZ led production companies with 40 mentions, followed by 18 for Somesuch; 13 for Furlined; 12 for Park Pictures, and 11 each for O Positive and RESET. On the agency front, Wieden+Kennedy led the pack with 34 mentions, followed by BBDO (across various locations and affiliates) with 30; R/GA with 18; 17 for various offices of DDB ; and 16 for Apple’s in-house agency. Apple and Nike were the top brands on this year’s Shortlists with 22 mentions, followed by Hennessey with 12; and AT&T and Girls for Gender Equality with nine each. The top 10 production companies, agencies, and brands appearing on the Shortlists are as follows:
AICP Awards Shortlists: Production Companies
- MJZ – 40
- Somesuch – 18
- Furlined – 13
- Park Pictures – 12
- O Positive – 11
- RESET- 11
- Biscuit Filmworks – 10
- SMUGGLER – 10
- Epoch Films – 9
- RSA Films – 9
AICP Awards Shortlists: Advertising Agencies
- Wieden+Kennedy- 34
- BBDO (various offices) – 31
- R/GA – 18
- DDB (various offices) – 16
- Apple – 16
- Droga5 – 15
- Deutsch – 12
- TBWAChiatDay (including TBWAMedia Arts Lab) – 12
- McCann (various offices) – 12
- BBH – 8
AICP Awards Shortlists: Brands
- Apple – 22
- Nike – 22
- Hennessy – 12
- AT&T – 9
- Girls for Gender Equity – 9
- MedMen – 7
- Samsung – 7
- Skittles – 7
- Dollar Shave Club – 6
- GEICO – 6
- PlayStation – 6
- Squarespace – 6
The AICP Show & AICP Next Awards will debut during AICP Week, which will take place in New York City June 4-6. The AICP Next Awards will be on June 4 at the Tishman Auditorium, and the AICP Show premieres at The Museum of Modern Art on June 6, before heading out on a national tour.
More information about AICP Week, as well as passes and tickets, are now available here.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More