Apple computer commercial

TB WA Chiat/Day Tops Field Of Five Nominees; :60 Continues Its Awards Momentum.

PASADENA, Calif. - Ironically, Apple Computer's "Think Different" seems to have elicited the same thought from different judges at a variety of awards shows so far this year. Having already earned multiple honors (e.g. - two category mentions from the AICP Show at MoMA, a Silver Lion at Cannes, a Silver Clio), the :60 has now won the second annual primetime Emmy Award for best commercial from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS).

The Emmy was accepted by a trio from Apple's ad shop, TBWA Chiat/Day, Venice - Jennifer Golub, who directed, produced and co-art directed the spot, co-art director Yvonne Smith and editor Dan Bootzin of the agency's in-house arm, Venice Beach Editorial - during a black-tie Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony held last week (8/29) at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

The well-known "Think Different" pays homage to "the crazy ones" (Einstein, Gandhi, Picasso et al) who were deluded enough to think they could change the world for the better - and did. Consisting entirely of archival footage, the ad brought together a TBWA/Chiat Day team that included worldwide chief creative officer Lee Clow, writers Rob Siltanen, Ken Segall and Craig Tanimoto, with Clow and Smith also art directing. (Apple chieftain Steve Jobs had a writing credit as well.) And music for the spot was composed by Jonathan Elias of bicoastal Elias Associates.

In her acceptance remarks, Golub - who also serves as head of production for TBWA Chiat/Day's San Francisco office - thanked Clow for "his leadership" and Steve Jobs for "his vision," which helped make "Think Different" possible. Golub acknowledged the entire agency team as well as independent researcher Susan Nickerson of Nickerson Research, Los Angeles. Golub described Nickerson as "an extraordinary researcher" who "searched the planet for distinctive imagery. I said I never wanted to see a frame of material that ever appeared in any commercial application. She did an amazing job." Golub additionally expressed gratitude to the families and estates of the famous people captured in the spot. And she thanked the filmmakers who were behind the original stock footage.

SHOOT caught up with Golub, Smith and Bootzin immediately after they received the Emmy. The threesome reflected on the significance of the honor. "It's pretty extraordinary to be recognized by an Emmy," observed Golub. "It's wonderful that the craft and trade of what we do is being recognized in this context. It represents a much broader audience."

Smith described the Emmy "as the thrill of a lifetime, professionally. We had a great team of people who all deserve this award."

Bootzin quipped that he felt "pretty honored that they thought enough of the editor to send him to the awards show." He also noted that "Think Different" was "the hardest project I've ever worked on, and the most satisfying." The degree of difficulty, he explained, was due to several factors. "It seemed like every night we would get two to three hours of selects of archival footage to cull through in our never-ending search for the best imagery. I'd guess we probably had a couple of thousand tapes that different people had gone through at different times to find those few images. It was a daunting task from an editor's standpoint." Bootzin also cited the tight deadline and the high-profile nature of the project.

Golub picked up on the latter point. "It was our first project for Apple since the account returned to us," she related. "There were a lot of people curious as to what we were going to do. ... I'm very grateful that Lee [Clow] entrusted this project to us. He allowed me to wear many hats on this job."

"Think Different" topped a field of Emmy nominees that also consisted of: AT&T's "College Freshman," directed by James Gartner of bicoastal Gartner, and Pella Windows' "The Elopement," helmed by Mike Bigelow of bicoastal Coppos Films, both out of Young & Rubicam, New York; American Express' "Virtual Reality," directed by David Kellogg of bicoastal/international Propaganda Films for Ogilvy & Mather, New York; and Hallmark's "Working Mother" directed by Rob Lieberman of The Lieberman Company in association with bicoastal Straw Dogs for Leo Burnett Co., Chicago.

These five nominated spots were selected by ATAS Commercials Branch members upon viewing a short list of 35 finalists culled from 270 entries. Eligible spots had to be have been first broadcast nationally between June 1, 1997, and May 31, 1998, and must have reached at least 51% of the total potential U.S. television audience during a national primetime period.

The primetime Emmy Award for a commercial was established last year by ATAS. The first winner was HBO's "Chimps," directed by Joe Pytka of PYTKA, Venice, for BBDO New York.

Besides those involved in "Think Different," other familiar artisans in the commercial field were honored during the Creative Arts Awards. For example, receiving an Emmy for outstanding main title design were Kasumi Mihori, Billy Pittard and Ed Sullivan of bicoastal/international Pittard Sullivan for ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney. Pittard Sullivan, known for its promo and titles work, has also branched out into the spot arena, making some of its directors/designers available for mainstream ad assignments.

Up until this year, the Creative Arts Awards were also referred to as the non-televised portion of the Emmy proceedings. But a one-hour edited version of the Creative Arts Awards ceremony is scheduled to be cablecast Sept. 11 on the TV Land network. This is the 50th anniversary of the primetime Emmy Awards. The nationally televised main ceremony will be carried live by NBC on Sept. 13.