For Matt Miller, president and CEO of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), AICP Week (June 10-12) in New York was most memorable, both personally and professionally.
On the latter front, Miller observed that the AICP Show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the AICP Next Awards at NYU’s Skirball Center and The Directors Lecture Series, also at MoMA (featuring Ringan Ledwidge of Rattling Stick, Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks, and Keith Schofield of Caviar), have evolved more into stand-alone events, each with its own respective platform–yet sharing connective tissue as tentpoles of AICP Week. Helping to facilitate both the different platforms yet shared common ground was this year’s debut of AICP Week Base Camp, which served as a central location for the week, featuring educational panels and discussions, as well as a meeting place and hospitality hub for those attending any of the AICP Week tent pole events.
There also was some crossover linking those tentpoles as reflected, for example, in honored work that spanned the AICP Show and Next Awards. Volvo Trucks’ “The Epic Split” was a prime case in point, earning Advertising Excellence/Single Commercial distinction, one of two Best in Show mantles at the AICP Show. Andreas Nilsson of Folke Film directed “The Epic Split” for agency Forsman & Bodenfors which also took AICP Show honors in the Direction, Visual Style, Licensed Styletrack or Arrangement categories. Earlier in the week, the Volvo work garnered a pair of Next honors for Next Viral/Web Film and Next Integrated Campaign (as part of Volvo Truck’s “Live Test Series Integrated Campaign”)
Of “The Epic Split,” Miller said, “It’s a genius commercial. Every aspect of it is flawless.”
Miller also cited 350 Action’s “Climate Name Change” as an interesting, insightful yet humorous way to address an important social issue. Directed by Ted Pauly of Furlined for Barton F. Graf 9000, “Climate Name Change” earned an AICP Show honor in the PSA category and three Next honors for Integrated Campaign, Viral/Web Film and Next Cause Marketing.
Also scoring recognition in the Next Cause Marketing category was Not Impossible Labs’ “Project Daniel,” a story told as part of Intel’s “Look Inside: Mick Ebeling” initiative. Then at the AICP Show, “Look Inside: Mick Ebeling”–directed by Mick Ebeling and Lucy Walker via The Ebeling Group for Venables Bell & Partners–earned a Curator’s Recognition honor by a unanimous vote of the AICP Show Curatorial Committee. The short tells a remarkable story. After reading an article about a lone doctor working in a solar-powered hospital in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, and a boy named Daniel who lost both his arms during a bombing raid, Mick Ebeling, Not Impossible Labs founder and CEO, turned to technology to help. Armed with 3D printers, Intel 2-in-1s and spools of plastic, Ebeling traveled to South Sudan’s Yida Refugee Camp where he custom printed a prosthetic arm for Daniel. As a result, Daniel fed himself for the first time in two years. But Ebeling didn’t stop there. With Intel’s help, Ebeling went into the Nuba Mountains where Project Daniel established the world’s first 3D prosthetic printing lab and training facility, allowing Daniel’s village to continue making these prosthetics for others.
“It’s a truly inspirational piece of work. It says something about what marketing can be,” related Miller.
So too has this year’s body of honored work in the AICP Show and Next competitions marked how far the industry has come. “These are some of the best examples of storytelling that we’ve seen in a while–poignant, emotional, humorous,” assessed Miller. “For some time the industry was enamored with technology for technology’s sake, and sensationalism to get some sort of viral success. But we’ve seen taking hold in both shows a sense of humanity and socially relevant change that really told stories very well, and at times in the most inspiring way imaginable.”
Assorted other examples of honored work at the Show and Next competitions show how high the bar has been set, continued Miller. He cited IBM’s “A Boy and His Atom,” winner of the Most Next Award, which best exemplifies from among the 2014 AICP Next Award honorees the most innovative and forward thinking work of the year. The winner of the Most Next honor directs a $5,000 grant from the AICP Foundation to an educational institution of their choosing. The grant was directed to P-TECH (Pathways to Technology) High School in Brooklyn. Directed by Nico Casavecchia of 1st Ave Machine for Ogilvy New York, “A Boy and His Atom” was also honored in the Next Web/Viral Film category. What Ogilvy and director Casavecchia did essentially was showcase IBM’s cutting-edge inventiveness, capturing how the company could move atoms around and make a piece of content out of it. It’s a film where atoms are the actors.
Miller cited other varied work, including Apple’s “Misunderstood” and Dick’s Sporting Goods’ “Run For: Team Hoyt.” Of the former, Miller observed, “What [director] Lance Acord [of Park Pictures] did with that spot was phenomenal both technically and from a storytelling point of view.” “Misunderstood,” with its story misdirect, was honored in both the Direction and Editorial (Jared Coller and Tom Muldoon of Nomad Editing Company) categories. Agency was TBWAMedia Arts Lab.
“The Dick’s Sporting Goods piece about a father and son was so emotional and smart,” said Miller. “It was a piece of amazing storytelling–and all for a retail outlet.” “Run For: Team Hoyt” was directed by The Hudson Dusters of Greenpoint Pictures for Anomaly, New York.
Personal gratification
As for the earlier alluded to personal perspective which made AICP Week memorable for Miller, he was surprised to find out during the AICP Show gala that he was the 18th all-time recipient of the Jay B. Eisenstat Award. Presenting him with the honor was AICP National Board chairman Robert Fernandez, CEO of Moxie Pictures. The Jay B. Eisenstat Award is the AICP’s highest honor. Established in 1990, the award is named for Eisenstat, one of the founders of AICP, who some 40-plus years ago recognized that in unifying commercial producers, they could work more effectively with clients, agencies and suppliers, allowing the industry to grow and prosper. His vision is the foundation upon which the AICP is based, and is as relevant today as it was in 1972.
The list of Eisenstat Award winners is made up of individuals who have helped define the industry through their individual accomplishments and selfless giving through their work in the AICP. The Jay B. Eisenstat Award is not given every year but instead only when it is truly earned. Miller received the award for his 20 years of service–and counting–to AICP.
Over the years, Miller handed out all but three of the Eisenstat Awards. To be on the receiving end was a distinctly different experience. “It’s an amazing honor, recognizing outstanding achievements or contributions to the industry through AICP and your work there. It’s normally volunteer work that’s celebrated. But I’m paid. I’m not a volunteer. To be recognized by my board and the people I’m there to serve in that light says a lot and means quite a lot to me. Even though they know this is my job, recognizing me in this manner says you go above and beyond the call of duty.”
The surprise factor takes a page out of Miller’s book. He recalled, “In the early years, we told people ahead of time that they were Eisenstat winners. But we’d often end up with long, drawn out acceptance speeches. My policy was not to tell them in advance so we could avoid those rambling acceptances–and it worked, even on me. That’s one thing many people would be surprised by–that I was at a loss for words when I learned that I won.”
