As broadcasters worry about making up revenue as viewers increasingly TiVo past the venerable :30 spot, this year’s annual AICP show, which debuts at New York’s Music of Modern Art in June, will be the first to recognize spots made for your iPod. Or your cell phone, PDA, or even your laptop PC. The word “television” has even been deleted from the Show’s name. Starting this year, it’s called The Art and Technique of the American Commercial.
“Commercial production isn’t dead,” said AICP president and CEO Matt Miller in a prepared statement. “Much of it is just changing channels.” In most of the show categories, emerging formats will be considered for inclusion alongside their traditional-media counterparts. But Non-traditional formats will be broken out in the show’s Overall Excellence categories with the addition of a fourth category alongside the existing three, which will remain solely dedicated to spots aired on television or in theaters.
That new category brings the total to 25, but the show this year will honor only two commercials in each category, rather than the previous three. (Spots honored by inclusion in the AICP show are unranked.)
Submissions are judged by industry professionals from across the U.S., with nearly 400 participating last year, and a Curatorial Committee handles logistical work including confirming eligibility of a spot in a particular category. This year’s entry deadline is February 15; the call for entries is available online at www.aicp.com.