Apple “Tropical Island TV” (2007) by TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles
Apple’s silhouette ad from 2007 for iPod and iTunes featured dancers grooving to the sounds of “Mi Swing Es Tropical”, by Nickodemus & Quantic featuring Tempo. Director of photographer was Robert Richardson who is nominated for his cinematography on Django Unchained. Richardson also worked on ads for Budweiser and BMW.
Guinness “Mustang” (2004) by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London
Spielberg’s Lincoln leads the Oscar race with 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski). Kaminski has worked on the likes of Lady Gaga’s Alejandro as well as ads for Conservation International and Guinness.
The beverage’s “Mustang” spot for which he was DOP, featured in Lürzer’s Archive Vol. 4/2004. A group of ex-cons is taken to a remote ranch for rehabilitation with the taming of wild horses as punishment - a familiar theme of light and darkness from the brand.
American Express “Wes Anderson” (2007) by Ogilvy & Mather, New York
Up for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) is Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola for Moonrise Kingdom. Anderson directed and starred in the cool addition to the American Express “My life. My card.” campaign. Known for his odd and leftfield sense of humour, he leads us through a set of what appears to be his latest production, involving the likes of explosions, geishas, French châteaux and Indian te rrorists. The spot featured in Lürzer’s Archive Vol.3/2007.
NFL Network “Run” (2009) by MeringCarson, Sacramento, CA
The Super Bowl spot followed a year in the life of an NFL player – Oakland running back Darren McFadden - set to U2 track “Get On Your Boots” and an original soundtrack by Bongo Post and Music, the latter of which was used when not aired during the Super Bowl. Its director of photography, Claudio Miranda is nominated for his work on Life of Pi.
Women’s Aid “Cut” (2009) by Grey, London
Seamus McGarvey is nominated in the Cinematography category for Anna Karenina, which stars Keira Knightley. It is not the first time he has worked with the actress. In this short film, we see her driving home after a day on set – only to be abused by her partner. The spot featured in Lürzer’s Archive Vol.3/2009.
VW Beetle “Chat Show” (2008) by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Boulder, Colorado
Roman Coppola directed a series of ads for VW Beetle, featuring the car as a chat show host to guests in including, David Hasselhoff, Heidi Klum and Napster founder, Shawn Fanning. The spots were in the pages of Lürzer’s Archive Vol. 2/2008.
A look at how advertising shaped the careers of 2012’s Oscar contenders.