And the Emmy Goes To ...

… well we don’t really know who the Emmy goes to yet this year because it hasn’t been awarded yet.

I’ll blame it on my pandemic memory, but I had forgotten that the Television Academy (home to The Emmy Awards) also picks out “outstanding commercials” in its lineup of awards. Totally forgot, although it’s true that “commercials” are on television! There are four nominees for outstanding commercial this year, which you can take a look at by clicking here.

They are all great pieces of work for sure, from their storytelling to their cinematography to their quest to do good. But there’s one in particular that I would personally vote as the winner … “The Lost Class” by the organization Change the Ref. Take a look …

Wow, the visual alone is enough to move you to action. There are two other versions of the “commercial” and you can see those by clicking here and here (this one has more background on the initiative).

While the work from the other nominees is also fantastic, I can’t help but pick “The Lost Class” as my choice because I’m hoping that it’ll spark people to drive change. Not just to talk about gun control, but to enact gun control measures. And I believe that it is our duty as marketers to help to drive the kind of change we need. “The Lost Class” is a great example of the work we can do together, and I’m hoping that this work along with others will enact change. The agency Leo Burnett in Chicago created this actual work.

Here’s a short writeup on the initiative:

“This year, 3,044 students won’t get the chance to graduate because they were killed by a gun. It’s time we pass universal background checks, so we can protect our students and make sure more of them make it to their graduation day. By donating to Change the Ref, you’re helping in the fight against the gun violence epidemic. Change the Ref uses the funds raised to keep applying pressure to our politicians and policymakers through creativity, creating more campaigns like The Lost Class. Together, we can change the perception of guns in America and inspire change that will keep the futures of our students safe from guns.”

The winning of an Emmy is NOT the important point here, but I’m glad that the Television Academy is giving it another stage from which to project.

What’s your experience? JIM