Commercials, A Work of Art?
by Donna Cooper, Jr. Copywriter
In reality, most people don’t give TV commercials the time of day. And they most certainly don’t evaluate a commercial as they would say, The Mona Lisa. Or do they?
Maybe we should take a closer look at commercials. It seems as though, in the world of filmmaking, TV commercials are a hot commodity. As more and more directors take their best shots at TV commercials, and some even get their start making commercials, it would only seem natural that viewers should turn a more critical eye on the pieces we typically deem “not worth our time.”
In a recent article from the New York Times, I read that Michael Mann, who has directed hit movies like “Aviator,” “Ali,” “The Kingdom,” and “Last of the Mohicans,” is taking a crack at the Commercial genre. He has recently filmed spots for Nike, and has done work for both Mercedes and Rolex.
As laymen, we think that commercials are the fast track “nowheresville.” Generally, if you’ve reduced yourself to being in, or directing a commercial, you were “dead in the water,” commercially speaking (no pun intended). However, recently we see increasingly familiar faces on the screen (i.e. Nicole Kidman, Adrian Brody, Kiera Knightly, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Halle Berry), and some very prominent faces behind it (Michael Mann, Ridley Scott, Ang Lee, Wes Anderson, and Martin Scorsese).
Apparently, though, this isn’t a new phenomenon. According to the article, major Hollywood directors have been doing TV commercials for decades. Some directors even started their careers with this genre.
Now, with so many heavy hitters taking a crack at TV commercials, it might make you want to actually watch the TV commercials you so eagerly fast forward through on your DVR. You could be missing the next work of art.
Who knew that making commercials could be such a prestigious platform?
Before we know it, commercials will be a part of the Academy Awards.