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...
Mike -had no idea you were the brainchild behind Barkley Flakes.
ReplyDeleteI can still remember listening every Sunday, my clock radio with the broken volume knob stuffed under my pillow to muffle the noise, while I myself used the top side to stifle my own laughter. You helped a shy, nervous kid learn the power in making people laugh, and changed my life for the better.
Thank you!
Please PLEASE tell me that there's a repository for these shows - I would give anything to hear them again!
Karl Norton
Karl.b.norton@gmail.com