Joe Pytka.
Few outside the ad business know the name. Billions- yeah- billions know his work.
TV commercial director Joe Pytka has worked with the legends of pop culture and sport- most notably Michael Jordan. Just as effectively with Maddox, Glavine & McGuire, from those halcyon pre-steroid-scandal days of Major League Baseball.
And just when you'd think Pytka is about hitching his star to major celebrity, he'll toss you this:
Agents know their star athletes' stock goes up- waaaaaay up- when Pytka directs them. He makes them look clever. Funny. Hip. So do the brands who pay the freight; Pepsi. IBM. Hallmark. Hancock Insurance. And so often... Nike.
Joe Pytka has directed features ("Space Jam" was based on Nike spots he created with Michael Jordan and Warner Bros. cartoon characters; a Richard Dreyfus comedy called "Let is Ride" falls under "W" for "What were they thinking?")
But his masterworks are packaged as broadcast ads. A possible exception being his oh-so-stylish work on the Beatles' semi-reunion video "Free As a Bird," with more quiet allusions, subtle inserts and Easter eggs than the Sg. Pepper album cover:
To be continued...
