The AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the American Commercial premiered tonight at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, closing out AICP Week, a celebration of advertising in the motion image, which also included the debut of the AICP Next Awards at the NYU Skirball Center, and the return of the AICP Directors Lectures Series at MoMA. Two thousand members of the advertising, marketing and production industries attended the debut of the AICP Show. Serving as chair of this year’s Show was Michael Di Girolamo, Partner/Executive Producer of Station Film. Following its premiere at MoMA, the Show will tour museums and cultural institutions around the country and abroad. This year’s honorees – along with the entire Show archive – are available for viewing at www.aicpshow.com. Each year, the honored work becomes a part of the archives of the Department of Film at The Museum of Modern Art. The collection now numbers over 1,500 pieces of advertising in the motion image.
Each category of the Show may have up to three honorees, with the exception of Advertising Excellence/Single Commercial and Advertising Excellence/Campaign, which may have only one honoree each, making those pieces “Best in Show.” DirecTV’s “DirecTV Cable Effects” campaign – comprising the spots “Funeral,” “Platoon,” and “House,” all directed by Tom Kuntz of MJZ via Grey – was honored in Advertising Excellence/Campaign. “Best Job” for Procter & Gamble out of Wieden+Kennedy and directed by Alejandro Gonz๏ฟฝlez I๏ฟฝarritu of Anonymous Content, was honored for Advertising Excellence/Single Commercial. A Curator’s Recognition was given to Nike’s “Jogger,” out of Wieden+Kennedy, and directed by Lance Acord of Park Pictures. The recognition is bestowed by a unanimous vote of the Curatorial Committee for a piece that would otherwise not be included in this year’s archive. In the AICP Next Awards, the Most Next honor went to R/GA’s Nike “Nike+ Fuelband.” The winner of the Most Next honor directs a $5,000 grant from the AICP Foundation to an educational institution of their choosing. Greenberg of R/GA accepted the honor, directing it to The Active Schools Fund which is managed by Partnership for a Healthier America. (Complete credits list and honors counts below)
The most honored production company was MJZ, with eight honors, followed by Biscuit Filmworks with six honors. Anonymous Content and Rattling Stick each received five honors, while Hungry Man, Imperial Woodpecker, and ๏ฟฝber Content each had three honors. Among directors, Ringan Ledwidge of Rattling Stick had the most honors, with five, followed by Alejandro Gonz๏ฟฝlez I๏ฟฝarritu of Anonymous Content (4); Tom Kuntz of MJZ (4); and Tim Godsall (3). On the agency front, Wieden+Kennedy topped the honors with 17, followed by BBH (7); McCann (5); R/GA (5); and DDB (4). (Complete credits list and honors counts below) (AICP Next Awards Winners release here)
The Art & Technique of the American Commercial has a bifurcated judging system, which begins with a series of judging panels featuring over 400 judges from across the country and around the world, with experts in various fields judging work across the 23 categories. The process culminates in the meeting of the Curatorial Committee, which is the final arbiter in the disposition of the Show, confirming eligibility and appropriateness to category.
The AICP Show reel features custom-designed graphics by Logan, with an original score by tonefarmer, and sound design by Henryboy. The Show Sponsor piece was created by The Mill with a score by HUM Music.
On display during the gala reception for the AICP Show were several media stations from longtime AICP collaborator and sponsor McCann Systems, featuring cutting edge experiential technology from X20 Media. Guests we
