There’s a new television show about advertising in the works. And like the hit AMC show Mad Men, real brands will be integrated into each show. Unlike Mad Men, however, Commercial Break is a reality show—and it’s all Canadian.
Touted as the search for the next great commercial director, the show is the product of a partnership between Frantic Branded Content + Commercials, Taxi and Soft Citizen.
Based on a format made famous by The Apprentice, the show will begin with 10 contestants dealing with real clients and given limited resources to create an ad. As the weeks progress, some budding directors will be eliminated while survivors are given more and more resources for their work.
The winner will be given a year-long directing contract with Soft Citizen, a commercial production company with offices in Toronto and Vancouver and a roster of high-profile directors including The Perlorian Brothers and Yael Staav.
Judges will include Soft Citizen executive producer Link York, Taxi executive creative director Steve Mykolyn, and a weekly guest.
Jeff Peeler, Frantic’s Toronto-based executive producer, said the group will begin approaching potential broadcast partners once the final roster of advertising partners has been determined—likely within the next month or two.
“Our strategy is to connect with brands first and be further down that road, either have them committed or at least interested prior to approaching the broadcasters,” said Peeler. “Then we’ll approach the broadcasters and go from there.” The goal is for the 10-episode show to begin airing in fall, although “that will depend on how quickly deals come together,” he added.
The plan is to approach large conventional broadcasters like CTV and Global, reasoning that advertising is something that appeals to a mass audience. “I think everyone either loves or hates advertising,” said Peeler. “Everyone’s got a comment on it [and] people talk about good ads around the water cooler,” he said. “With brands getting out there and connecting with people in ways that are not just 30-second commercials I think people are more open to connecting.”
According to Peeler, the project was brought to Frantic by a couple of independent producers about a year ago, bearing the working title 30-second Storytellers. Frantic subsequently pitched the idea to Cynthia Heyd, Taxi’s executive director of broadcast and interactive production.
“It’s an idea that’s been percolating in the industry for a long time,” says Taxi’s Mykolyn, whose agency will serve as the show’s primary setting and contribute creative talent to the contestants’ efforts. “This comes on the heels of two things: interest in reality-based content, and the huge interest in what’s going on in advertising agencies… We’ve approached some of our clients and have had some great interest.”
