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American Morning
Look at Some of This Year's Best Commercials
Aired May 22, 2002 - 07:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: They are the Oscars of advertising. The Annual Clio Awards that honor some of the world's most creative commercials, the three-day Clio ceremony under way in Miami, Florida. The eye-catching ads last only 30 or 60 seconds, but the good ones leave a lasting impression.
Here is a look at one of this year's best. This comes from Denmark.
(COMMERCIAL CLIP IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE)
Now, even though you can't understand the language, that would be living large (ph). We are going to look now at some more award-winning ads, many of which you possibly have not seen before.
Joining us from Miami is Andrew Jaffe. He is the executive director of the Clios -- Andrew nice to see you -- welcome.
ANDREW JAFFE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CLIO AWARDS: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Entries down about 20 percent this year, I suppose reflecting a decline in advertising in general. Is that the reason?
JAFFE: Yes. There is a worldwide recession, so clients are spending less. They are making less commercials, and they are a little more conservative about what they are doing.
CAFFERTY: What makes a Clio award winner? What do you look for in these spots?
JAFFE: The juries are looking for a good idea. That's No. 1. They are looking for something intelligent that helps the brand, but also something that will catch your eye, be different, be fresh.
CAFFERTY: All right. We've got some examples of award winners, and we'll show some of these to the audience at home. Let's begin with a commercial for Guinness. It's called "Dreamer."
(BEGIN COMMERCIAL CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then there is this guy, the dreamer, champion of the dream club.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you drinking? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The usual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He drifts off up with questions and wakes up with answers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just had the weirdest dream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a gift. Tonight's dream, the big question, the one we will ask, what's the meaning of life?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elma, come on. You've got to go back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). This is the dream club. Ladies and gentlemen, please, charge your glasses.
(END OF COMMERCIAL CLIP)
CAFFERTY: Well, everybody in the studio, Andrew, watched that thing. I'm not sure any of us understood it. What is that all about anyway?
JAFFE: Well, what does it mean when two lizards talk about drinking beer in the United States? I mean, what does this all mean?
CAFFERTY: I don't know.
JAFFE: What it means is that was an ad made for the British audience where they consume a lot of Guinness. I think more per capita than in Ireland. And so Guinness has this great tradition of wild ads, and they are starting a new line. Their line used to be "good things come to those who wait." Now, it's "what is the meaning of life?" Or "What's the answer?" And...
CAFFERTY: But what happens to you if you drink too many Guinnesses? I mean, that guy, the central character in there looked like he just got out of the county jail.
JAFFE: Hey, if I drink too much of anything, that's going to happen.
CAFFERTY: I guess that's true. All right. Something a little milder perhaps for the senses. This is an ad for the Sealy Mattress people. This is cute -- watch.
CAFFERTY: It gets better, now watch. Here we go. And with that, he goes to sleep. And this one won a silver award? There are different levels I guess of the Clio Awards, right?
JAFFE: That's one of my favorites.
CAFFERTY: That's cute.
JAFFE: That's a good idea. That's a good idea simply said. That ad is from Mexico, and it just says once that kid hits the Sealy, he's going to go to sleep. CAFFERTY: All right. And the next one features Woody Allen, and it's one of a series of commercials that were produce in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon on September 11. And these were designed to sort of revitalize the spirit of this great city. So let's watch one of these with Woody Allen on ice skates. That's not Woody Allen. That's a mosquito.
(BEGIN COMMERCIAL CLIP)
WOODY ALLEN, ACTOR: You're not going to believe this. That was the first time I put on ice skates in my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone has a New York dream. Come find yours.
RUDY GUILIANI, FMR. MAYOR OF NEW YORK: The New York miracle, be a part of it.
(END COMMERCIAL CLIP)
CAFFERTY: You're right, Woody. Nobody believes that. How do they do that? I mean, it really looks like he was doing that stuff, particularly at the end when he skates up to the railing. How did they accomplish that?
JAFFE: That's Hollywood. I don't know how they did it, but the point is they did it. And it came at a time when we all needed a smile.
CAFFERTY: You bet.
JAFFE: It came after 9/11.
CAFFERTY: No commercial won the grand Clio award. Tell me a little about that award, and what you have to do to win that, and why nobody qualified, I guess, this year.
JAFFE: Well, the jury has been working for a week. It's an international jury. And on Friday, they look at all of the golds, and they said, is there one grand Clio here? Is there something that rises to the top? They felt there was one ad. It was about BMW. It was ten minutes long, and they had a long debate, and they said, no, not there. And that's what the jury decided, and we go along with it.
CAFFERTY: It was ten minutes long?
JAFFE: Yes. In fact, it won a grand Clio the night before in innovative media. It was a series of five commercials from six to ten minutes long. And it was meant to run on cable and meant to position BMW as a very special car, and it worked.
CAFFERTY: That's what we need are ten-minute-long TV commercials. Andrew, it's interesting stuff. I appreciate your sharing some of it with us this morning, and good luck with the Clios. Andrew Jaffe, the executive director of the Clio Awards joining us from Miami -- thanks a lot. JAFFE: Thank you.
CAFFERTY: All right.
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