16413: Do The Museum Thing With Spike Lee.

 

Muse by Clio spotlighted the “Spike Lee: Creative Sources” exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, featuring over 450 items from the iconic director’s personal collection. The exhibit was curated by Kimberli Gant, whose father is Phil Gant—an adman with a resume that includes serving as Chief Creative Officer at BBDO Chicago for many years. Of course, the art show offers Lee an opportunity to hype his promotional products alongside museum stuff too.

 

Brooklyn Museum Explores Spike Lee's Creative Inspirations

 

Show features Knicks jerseys, Prince’s guitar and Gordon Parks’ photographs

 

By Christine Champagne

 

Thankfully for the Brooklyn Museum—as well as all of us who are interested in what makes one of the world’s foremost filmmakers tick—Spike Lee is an avid collector. “People know him as a filmmaker, and that is an aspect of who he is. But he is also a preserver of history and culture,” says Kimberli Gant, curator of the new exhibit “Spike Lee: Creative Sources.”

 

Which means that Gant had a treasure trove of artifacts relating to Black history, Lee’s family story, Brooklyn, sports, music, film and photography to draw from as she crafted the comprehensive and thought-provoking show. It displays more than 450 items exploring the people, places and ideas that have driven and inspired the director throughout his nearly 40-year career.

 

Among the wide variety of notable objects featured are a cast-iron bank from the late 1800s depicting three caricatured Black baseball players; Toni Morrison first editions; a portrait of Aaron Copland, one of Lee’s favorite composers, taken by legendary photographer Gordon Parks; a football jersey signed by Colin Kaepernick; Prince’s “love symbol” guitar; and the hot pink, double-breasted suit Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh designed for Lee to rock at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where he served as the event’s first Black jury president.

 

An entire room of the exhibit is devoted to Lee’s New York Knicks memorabilia.

 

Also on display: the Oscar Lee won in 2019 for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman, some of the director’s hand-written notes, as well as posters for his films Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Bamboozled, Malcolm X and 25th Hour.

 

Michael Jordan played a big role in Lee’s entrée into the ad world, and No.23 is duly represented by autographed photos. The exhibit also incorporates kicks Jordan gifted to Lee, who famously directed and appeared with the basketball legend in iconic Nike ads from the 1990s. Lee played Mars Blackmon, his character from the breakthrough 1986 film She’s Gotta Have It.

 

Reflecting on the significance of Lee forming Spike DDB and bringing his cinematic world into to the ad space, Gant, who reveals that her dad was “an ad guy,” muses, “I think it reminds us that creators have always had what we would call the commercial side of themselves and the more avant-garde side.”

 

In addition to learning about the prolific director's many influences, Gant hopes visitors will take a moment to reflect on the people, places, events and media that inspire their own creativity.

 

“When people come to a show like this, I want them to be inquisitive. I want them to be curious about their own inspirations,” Gant says. “You are a complex human with a lot that fuels you, and sometimes you need to just take a moment to remember that.”

 

“Spike Lee: Creative Sources” is scheduled to run through February 4, 2024.

15493: Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Bills…?

 

The only explanation for Spike Lee to direct this Coin Cloud commercial: He needed the currency.

14543: In 2019, An All-Black Academy Awards Was Possible.

The 2019 Academy Awards presents decent Black representation in the top categories. This is the year, however, where outstanding Black and Black-themed films could have made it possible to stage an all-Black Best Picture lineup:

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Blindspotting

Green Book

If Beale Street Could Talk

Sorry To Bother You

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

And since every year has at least one WTF entry, the final slot would be a toss-up between the following:

Whitney

Widows

A Wrinkle In Time

Finally, such a lineup might have inspired Kevin Hart to rethink his rejection to host.

13904: Mars Blackmon Speaks.

The New York Times spotlighted Spike Lee. Do the right thing and check it out.

12650: Hall Of Famer Spike Lee.

From Advertising Age…

Spike Lee on Clients, the Knicks and the Need for Change in Adland

Writer and Director Inducted into Advertising Hall of Fame

By Rance Crain

Let me set the stage: Spike Lee showed up for our interview dressed for the pages of GQ—rainbow-colored shoes, a grey coat with bright tie and white shirt, leopard-spotted glasses and a beret. If his vibe sent a signal of accessibility, it would be strictly on his own terms, I soon found out.

My interview got off to a less than auspicious start. “That’s not a current quote,” he said when I asked him about his observation that advertisers have to slip in the message because consumers don’t want ads to dictate to them.

His current thinking is “people seem to be conducive to branded content, long-form instead of the same old 30-second spots. And a lot of these branded pieces, you don’t even know who the company is until the credit comes at the end. I’ve done several of these for Chevrolet and Cadillac.”

But whether short-form or long-form, Spike—who was just inducted into American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Fame—said too many advertisers convince themselves they can reach black consumers with general advertising because they don’t know “the code.”

The code, he said, is about cultural references. “You have to live it, you have to be part of it, and not just say that you have a very famous African-American friend. That’s faking the funk to me.”

So what needs to be done to push change? “Well, it’s going to have to take people who get it, people who don’t want to stay stuck in the ‘Ozzie and Harriet’ world, that world is gone. … As they say in Brooklyn, ‘dun,’ d-u-n.”

DDB gets it. Otherwise it wouldn’t have made the deal to start Spike-DDB, Spike said. “But … as a whole, the advertising agencies have not gotten it.”

The creator of the iconic Mars Blackmon TV spots for Nike said the only world that gets it is sports, “because the bottom line is, you can play or you can’t play.”

I couldn’t resist—“Like the Knicks can’t play?”

“We’re not talking about that now,” he replied.

“I mean there are black and brown people who are presidents of NBA, and baseball, and other pro sports organizations, GMs, scouts, coaches,” he said. “It’s not perfect but ... they put Hollywood to shame, they put television to shame, and they put the advertising world to shame.”

He said Phil Knight was discouraged by many from using Michael Jordan as the face of Nike because it would deter white consumers from buying Nike products.

Wouldn’t you think people would learn a lesson from that, I asked, to which he replied: “You need to be asking the people who are the heads of agencies that question, not me.”

I pointed out that we have asked them, and they always say they’re trying. “You know that line is so tired. That’s from the 1960s,” Spike said, adding a two-word verdict on agency claims they can’t find enough black and Hispanic talent: “It’s bullshit.”

Spike is currently working on a movie called “Chiraq,” which contrasts the war zones in Iraq and Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, among others, is not thrilled with the title.

“Not talking about that,” he said.

How come?

“Because I don’t want to.”

Why?

“I don’t talk about stuff until it happens. It’s a jinx, bad luck, bad karma.”

I pressed on. I’m just trying to get a story here, I said.

“No, I understand. That is absolutely your job, and it is also my job not to answer questions I’m not going to answer.” b I changed the subject. What does Spike think of viral media?

“Now that’s a good question,” he said.

“I would say that social media has changed the whole world, and not just advertising. I mean, it gives anybody access to as many people as they can get themselves in front of. And I want to take this opportunity to thank my daughter and son who prodded me into the modern world with social media. My children where the ones who said, ‘Daddy, you need to have Facebook. You need to be on Instagram. And thank God they did that because I’m able to reach people that I would not have been able to reach.”

He said he has 800,000 followers on Twitter and 100,000 on Instagram. “It’s good to engage with the people who support you. I don’t read Twitter that much because Twitter can be a very hateful place.”

Spike said social media has expanded his audience to the point where he now has an e-commerce store, Spike’s Joint. And he uses social media to promote his appearances so he doesn’t have to pay for publicity.

I asked him what he was proudest of. “I’m going to answer that, sir, like a parent. I’m proud of everything I’ve done, you know? Some were more successful than others, but there’s nothing I’ve done that I’m gonna hide my head, anything like that. You’ve got to be proud of what you do whether people like it or not, you know, stand behind your work.”

Once in a while, clients can get in the way. “I don’t mind clients having input, I just wish that they would know what they’re talking about. I would say 90% of the people I’ve worked with are great, but that 10%, they’re just displaying their ignorance about camera or lighting or whatever it is and they just let it be a big show of force for position.”

Spike wouldn’t name any of the lousy clients, but he cited Nike, Pepsi, Chevy, Cadillac, Major League Baseball, NFL and the New York Knicks as among the best.

I asked him if the Knicks dismal performance this season made them a hopeless case. “No, there’s always hope,” Spike Lee said. “Do Cubs fans have hope? They haven’t won since 1908. They still have hope. Wrigley Field continues to sell out because fans believe “this is gonna be the year. That’s hope.”

Then I asked what the Knicks needed to do to improve next year. “You’ve got to ask Phil Jackson. He’s the president. I don’t have a say.”

Well, you should, I said.

“There should be peace on Earth, too,” he responded.

12501: BHM 2015—Spike Lee.

Not sure if it’s a BHM event, but Adweek published a tour of Spike Lee’s office. The story included: “Upon closer inspection, we found a well-appointed space full of personal touches made by Lee himself that provide a backdrop for creating advertising genius.” Um, don’t hold your breath waiting for the advertising genius—there will sooner be an NBA Championship for Lee’s beloved New York Knicks.

12319: Hall Of Fame Head-Scratchers.

The AAF presented a press release announcing the 66th Annual Advertising Hall of Fame inductees, which included a few head-scratchers.

Does Spike Lee really deserve induction? While he’s an accomplished filmmaker, has he truly made breakthroughs in the advertising industry? Then again, Lee is certainly as—and perhaps more—deserving for recognition than Crispin Porter + Bogusky Chairman Chuck Porter.

Radio One Founder and Chairperson Catherine L. Hughes will become the first Black woman in the Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Hughes, but why isn’t Caroline Jones in the exclusive club too?

Wonder how the Hall of Fame clan feels about having inducted Bill Cosby in 2010.

PepsiCo, Seven Legendary Individual Inductees Headline the 66th Annual Advertising Hall of Fame®

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The 66th Advertising Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies & Gala Dinner will be held the evening of Monday, April 20, 2015, in the Grand Ballroom of New York’s historic Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

Elected by the Advertising Hall of Fame’s distinguished Council of Judges, here are this year’s “magnificent seven” to be inducted into the Hall of Fame:

John B. Adams, Jr. , Chairman, The Martin Agency

Lee Clow, Chairman, TBWA\Media Arts Lab; Director of Media Arts, TBWA\Worldwide

Catherine L. Hughes, Founder and Chairperson, Radio One, Inc.

Spike Lee, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Spike DDB and 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO, iHeartMedia, Inc.

Charles Porter, Chairman, Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Linda Kaplan Thaler, Chairman, Publicis Kaplan Thaler

John B. Adams, Jr. will also be presented with the distinguished David Bell Award for Industry Service, now in its second year, to recognize extraordinary and unique contributions and service to the advertising community and industry as a whole. It is named in honor of David Bell (Hall of Fame Class of 2007), a visionary leader and mentor to several generations of advertising professionals.

The Council of Judges made history this year by electing the Hall’s first ever African-American woman, Catherine L. Hughes.

This year’s corporate inductee is PepsiCo, one of the world’s most iconic companies, with beverage and food brands that are loved and enjoyed household names across the Globe. Among many things, PepsiCo pioneered the bridges between entertainment, music, pop culture, and advertising—and in doing so revolutionized the way we all see advertising today. It is one of only six companies ever inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

“Long being one of the world’s most storied brands, with a rich history woven into our cultural landscape, Pepsi has at the same time always stayed current—setting the trends and catching the spirit of each new generation with the cool and the new—and in doing so ushering in each new generation as a Pepsi Generation. It is a brand that isn’t just a part of the culture, it is that rare brand that has been a powerful and innovative force in making the culture,” said James Edmund Datri, President & CEO of the American Advertising Federation, which administers the Advertising Hall of Fame.

“Our Hall of Fame Council of Judges, composed of leaders of advertising and media, advertisers and distinguished Hall of Fame members, was deeply committed to choosing men and women of legendary stature and achievement,” said James R. Heekin III, Chairman and CEO of Grey Group and Chairman of the Advertising Hall of Fame. “This extraordinary Class of 2015 will inspire new generations to come and deserves to be celebrated as only the AAF can.”

Richard Porter, President, Media Sales, Meredith Corporation, and Vice Chairman of the Advertising Hall of Fame added, “This year’s Hall of Fame reflects not only the best and brightest in our industry, but also is a mirror on the tremendous value of having a diverse range of talented individuals with unique backgrounds and experiences who can build and lead the next generation of the advertising and media community. And our corporate honoree, Pepsi, has an incredible portfolio of outstanding work over the years as well.”

8970: Spike Lee, You Da Adman.

From Adweek…

Spike Lee on the Spike Lee Brand

Filmmaker receives lifetime achievement award for marketing work

By D.M. Levine

Spike Lee started building his brand with a call from Wieden + Kennedy. After wrapping his first feature film, the 1986 cult classic She’s Gotta Have It, Lee remembers how Wieden executives reached out when he was broke and living in a pre-gentrification Fort Greene in Brooklyn, N.Y. “They said they saw my character [Mars Blackmon] and wanted me to direct TV commercials. That came out of nowhere,” Lee said last Thursday. What resulted was a series of iconic ads that helped propel both brand Nike and brand Spike to the forefront of American pop culture.

On stage with Charlie Rose on the last day of the PromaxBDA conference, Lee waxed nostalgic about his career and his brand-building efforts. He was there to receive a lifetime achievement award from the entertainment and marketing organization, and in an hour-long interview with Rose before he received his prize, Lee reflected on his film and commercial-making career, the state of the industry, and how he went about honing his image. “I can’t define [my brand],” he told the audience. “But I knew early on, I’d have to create some kind of persona behind my name because companies weren’t going to spend millions of dollars to promote my films. … Do the Right Thing opened same day as Batman … We can’t take out full page ads in The New York Times the same day Batman opens … so we had to do other stuff.”

Lee says he was relentless in seeking out exposure. By the early ‘90’s, Mars Blackmon was appearing in ads alongside Michael Jordan. But in order to promote his film work, Lee says he “did a ton of press … When you’re an independent filmmaker, and your film gets picked up by an art house distributor, they don’t have the money to take out ads. So they get you plane tickets, and you visit every single city.”

Still, Lee says he’s been slow in adapting that press savviness to the Internet age. “Digitally, technologically, I’m a dinosaur,” he said. “I’m lacking in that skill set.” He does use Twitter, although he acknowledged that the website of his 40 Acres and a Mule production company is somewhat primitive. Improving the site, putting more content online, and making it more interactive is “something I need to do. I gotta get on it.”

And for all his brand-building efforts, Lee says he still has difficulty getting movies made. Though he’s been busy directing ad spots, he hasn’t done a feature film in three years, he says, because he can’t get the funding. “Inside Man was my most successful film. We can’t get the sequel made. … we tried many times,” he said, having exclaimed earlier, “What in this world doesn’t revolve around money?”

8118: Absolut Outrage.

From The New York Daily News…

Teens trash Spike Lee over Absolut Brooklyn vodka marketing presence in neighborhood

By Jake Pearson
Daily News Writer

Spike Lee put Bedford-Stuyvesant on the cinematic map, but some teens think he sold out the neighborhood with his Brooklyn-themed Absolut Vodka promo.

The kids did a survey of alcohol advertising posters and billboards in the area and found the logo designed by Lee dominated.

“I’ve seen his movies. I was a really big fan. But he lost respect from me,” said Shenel Gunnis, 17.

“You’re not supposed to be promoting stuff like that in areas that can barely afford food.”

She’s one of 10 teens who scoured Bed-Stuy this summer, mapping booze promos for the Children’s Aid Society.

They tallied 56 and were surprised that Lee’s limited-edition label — featuring the stoop of a Brooklyn brownstone - was the one that popped up over and over.

Frank Moore, 19, said he’d like to tell the “Do the Right Thing” helmsman that’s just wrong.

“I’d be like, ‘Why? Do you understand what you’re doing … that you’re putting up an ad for liquor and you know there’s an alcoholism problem here?’” he said.

“My thing with Spike Lee is you should use your prestige and position of power to help the problem, not add on to it.”

Lee did not return a call left at his office and hung up on a reporter who reached him on his cell phone. A spokeswoman for Absolut had no immediate comment.

The limited-edition bottle rolled out last summer is emblazoned with the phrase “A Spike Lee Collaboration.” In the ads, the bottle is superimposed on a photo of Brooklynites on stoops.

The teens felt Lee was trying to capitalize on borough pride.

“He was targeting us when normally he would make movies that would uplift our community,” said Krystal Chapman, 17, a senior at the High School for Public Service in Crown Heights.

“I think it is hypocritical.”

Amaya Santos, 17, of East Flatbush, counted 28 Absolut ads in the Utica Ave. subway station.

“I thought, ‘Spike Lee, What’s going on here?’ There’s no reason why there should be 28 ads of the same thing in less than a mile,” Santos said.

Survey organizer Robert Cornegy was blown away by the teens’ strong feelings about Lee’s involvement in the campaign.

“They’re being inundated with alcohol advertising in this neighborhood,” said Cornegy, 44, who heads prevention resources for the Children’s Aid Society. “They recognized an icon to them was responsible for some of the ads.”

8010: Minorities In Advertising Week.

AdweekMedia is offering Real Time Advertising Week coverage, and the majority of depicted minorities are celebrities who don’t work in advertising.

6910: Mookie Today.

The New York Daily News commemorates the 20th anniversary of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing with a series of photos showing the stars then and now.

6469: Marching Over Monkeys.

Weekend update with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Spike Lee joined the protestors calling for a boycott on the New York Post for its infamous monkey cartoon. Lee even asked celebrities and sports figures to stop dealing with the publication. No word yet from Michael Jackson and Bubbles.

• Saab has filed for bankruptcy, leading to predictions that the brand will be spun off or sold by parent corporation General Motors. Wonder if GM will offer employee discount prices to anyone interested in buying Saab.

• Mining company Anglo American announced plans to cut 19,000 workers. A name change would be nice too.

• Early estimates show Girl Scout cookies sales may be down 19 percent in certain areas. No word yet if officials foresee Girl Scouts layoffs.

5556: Fakers And Fighters.

Seeking the truth in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Baltimore police were on the lookout for two crooks that may be Comcast workers. The duo wore official uniforms and drove a Comcast van when breaking into someone’s home, handcuffing the victim and shooting him in the stomach. Cops aren’t yet sure if the uniforms and vehicle indicate the men were real cable company representatives. Bob Garfield might insist it all seems pretty typical for Comcast employees.

• A private investigator hired by R. Kelly in 2002 testified that the woman claiming she engaged in threesomes with the recording artist originally sought $300,000 in hush money. Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer would probably think $300,000 for threesomes is a pretty good deal.

• Clint Eastwood and Spike Lee are warring over film critiques. Lee started the fight during last month’s Cannes Film Festival when he questioned the lack of Black actors in Eastwood’s two war movies, “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima.” Lee said, “He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one Black soldier in both of those films. Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood. In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version.” Eastwood fired back, “The story is ‘Flags of Our Fathers,’ the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn’t do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people’d go: ‘This guy’s lost his mind.’ I mean, it’s not accurate.” Referring to Lee, Eastwood added: “A guy like him should shut his face.” Lee responded by saying, “First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation either. He’s a great director. He makes his films, I make my films. The thing about it though, I didn’t personally attack him. And a comment like ‘a guy like that should shut his face’—come on Clint, come on. He sounds like an angry old man right there. … If he wishes, I could assemble African-American men who fought at Iwo Jima and I’d like him to tell these guys that what they did was insignificant and they did not exist. I’m not making this up. I know history. I’m a student of history. And I know the history of Hollywood and its omission of the one million African-American men and women who contributed to World War II.” Sounds like the start of World War III.