The Illinois Lottery’s $500,000 holiday TV commercial will be produced by a “collaborative effort” between Illinois-based Gobos Film & Entertainment and the New York production company she represents.
Awarded by the Lottery’s agency, R. J. Dale, the collaboration also includes an L.A. director and Chicago post companies.
Sarah Cummins, the Lottery’s marketing director, said it was her understanding that a company with a Chicago office “will suffice” as a legal production entity.
Now in preproduction, the holiday spot will involve a fairly large crew for the two-day shoot. It has a Nov. 12 airdate and will run through the holiday season.
Three established local houses and Gobos’ company bid on the spot. They were also asked to provide suggestions as to how they’d handle the concept, said Cummins.
Bobos represents New York production company Tangerine and freelance L.A. director Ron Hamad.
“It was Ron’s strong presentation that nailed it,” Cummins said. “He had spent a lot of time on it and touched on all the right points. We felt good about that.
“Sometimes there have to exceptions so [our broadcast work] can be as good as possible,” Cummins added.
One of the three 100% local houses bidding, which had a history with the Lottery, was asked to bid solely on delivering the post. It did not get the job.
The spot will be edited by freelancer Brian Clark, who edited many years for Swell, and special effects will be handled by Cutters’ SOLfx division.
A different company will produce the radio spot, and the same music will be used for both TV and radio.
The budget is in line with previous promotions, Cummins noted, which have ranged in cost from $250,000 to $600,000.
No mandated procurement rules found
Sarah Cummins may be right about her understanding of procurement rules.
According to a check of various state sources, there are no official procurement rules regarding broadcast production, although it is understood that an Illinois company must be used on state-funded projects.
In years past, departments were pressured to strictly adhere to the use of Illinois companies after hiring abuses through shell companies was made public.
One of the most egregious abusers was respectable FCB, Tourism’s agency. In the mid-’90s, the agency set up a shell company so it could hire an L.A. director, the son of a famous director, for a $3 million spot package.
This practice of “circumventing the spirit of those rules is never-ending,” said a veteran spot producer, who asked not to be named. “The last Tourism spot was run through a shell company in Oak Park.”
Whether hiring practices are officially stated or not, commented Ald. Brendan Reilly, “When spending our scarce resources, the state of Illinois should do all it can to insure those dollars are spent locally with local employers.”
The practice of employing L.A. and New York production entities for state-funded promotions is not new, although the expectation is that the work will be 100% an Illinois endeavor.
Starting in the mid-1990s, FCB, the Tourism agency at the time, set up a shell company to justify the hiring of L.A. directors.
This practice of “circumventing the spirit of those rules is never-ending,” said a veteran spot producer, who asked not to be named. “The last Tourism spot was run through a shell company in Oak Park.”
It is unknown whether or not the state ever mandated the rule that Illinois-funded promotions, like TV spots, must be totally Illinois-made. The interpretation, as Cummins construed it, might be that a company with an Illinois office sufficiently fulfills the requirements to obtain the business.
