It's one thing to direct a commercial that features Michael Jordan. It's another thing entirely to play heated pick-up hoops with Jordan between takes. Joe Pytka has done both.
Welcome to the rollicking world of tough-guy commercial director Pytka. You may not have heard of him. He doesn't care. What he does care about is the craft in his TV commercials, music videos and films, which have almost certainly made you laugh, cry and occasionally ask yourself, "How'd he do that?"
His holy grail: The "This is Your Brain on Drugs" commercial in 1987 for Partnership for a Drug-Free America, with the egg that fries and burns the moment it hits the cast iron skillet.
Pytka directed the famous Super Bowl spot for PepsiCo featuring a luckless Coca-Cola delivery driver who knocks over an entire fridge-full of Pepsi cans when reaching in to sneak one out. And remember the legendary Hare Jordan Super Bowl commercial for Nike featuring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny? That led directly to the animated "Space Jam" feature film. Pytka directed both the ad and the film that followed.
Push To Do Better Like Joe Pytka
Pytka, whose mangy shock of gray hair and gruff voice belie his perfectionism, has never stopped pushing himself — or the world's most famous celebrities — to do better. At 83, he ranks as one of the most influential, artistic and bad-ass commercial directors to ever make a camera sing. His commercials have featured Michael Jackson moonwalking, Muhammad Ali tossing jabs, Britney Spears singing, and, of course, Jordan being Jordan.
And don't forget Pytka's groundbreaking, two-minute Pepsi ad that juxtaposed Madonna as an eight-year-old making a birthday wish with the superstar performer in all her glory. It was pulled after airing just once when religious groups objected.
Pytka's in-your-face tactics are legendary throughout the ad world. He holds records for directing commercials that will not likely be touched. He's received more nominations for the Director's Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials than anyone. Ever. The 100 Super Bowl commercials that he's directed are more than anyone. Ever. That's not to mention all the music videos: "Starting Over" with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, "Free As a Bird" with the Beatles, and many with Madonna, Jackson and Spears.
Look For Surprises
But Pytka leads by expecting the unexpected. The Pytka who lifts celebs and everyone around him to do better is a perfectionist the likes of which Ad Land had not seen before. He subtly helped to set the trends on Madison Avenue throughout the 1990s and well beyond. He is arguably one of the most widely loved, feared, yet admired commercial directors to ever work his craft. He is a leader who has led by only comprising when it actually resulted in a better commercial.
"What we do is so difficult that if you don't fully believe in it, you will fail," said Pytka, who founded PYTKA in 1984 in Venice, Calif., and still operates from there. He is in the process of setting down his commercial camera lens and is now focusing on documentaries and feature films.
Find People You Like To Work With
The celebrity Pytka admires most is Michael Jackson. Pytka directed commercials and music videos that starred Jackson. Among them: the music video "The Way You Make Me Feel" and a two-minute Pepsi spot with Jackson singing and dancing to his hit song "Bad."
"Michael was always coming up with ideas and taking your ideas to another level," said Pytka. The key — like with any great talent — was to let Jackson run with even the germ of an idea just as far as he could take it, he says.
Jackson and Pytka shared one common trait: insanely high standards. Never mind that some ad agency creatives so feared Pytka's standards that they actually refused to work with him.
"Their loss," says former Pepsi creative director Michael Patti, who knows Pytka better than most. Patti still recalls a Pepsi spot where the creative team on site from the ad agency BBDO boarded a plane and flew back to New York from Los Angeles after one day of working with Pytka. Patti says the commercial turned out better without them, and the creative team lost a chance to learn from the industry's best director.
Pytka: Relate With Others Using Your Style
Pytka insists he has no particular style as a director. Patti disagrees. "His style is class," he said.
Sometimes success in business is simply showing others who you really are. One particular moment that Patti remembers vividly is how Pytka dove deep into his Pittsburgh self — not his Hollywood self — to relate to Paul McCartney and George Harrison the day they first met at Abbey Road Studios in England.
The former Beatles were interviewing Pytka to direct their "Free As A Bird" music video that would ultimately win a Grammy. The outside-the-box video reunited the Beatles visually and in song even though John Lennon was dead. The Beatles had already rejected two previous candidates to direct the video before interviewing Pytka. Patti remembers because he was there representing Pytka as creative director.
Harrison nonchalantly turned to Pytka and asked, "Where are you from, Joe?" Without missing a beat, Pytka responded, "I'm from the Liverpool of America — Pittsburgh." By relating so naturally to the Beatles' hometown, he'd instantly won them over. With a big smile, Harrison shot back, "Is that how you got the name Joe Pittsburgh."
Maintain Your Passions
Joe Pittsburgh, indeed. For what it's worth, Pytka is the guy who was a high-school all-star basketball player in Pittsburgh then, in 1958, was a self-described "scrub" on the University of Pittsburgh basketball team. Perhaps that's one reason why — on the side of every commercial set — Ptyka routinely sets up a basketball court. Why? Well, he smirks, "It's a good way to keep away from clients during the shoots."
In fact, he says, he does this to keep the creative juices flowing. "It's a great way to clear your mind," he said.
Never mind that some of the celebs he filmed took umbrage at this. Among them was basketball legend Larry Bird. Pytka still recalls Bird calling him the worst basketball player he'd ever seen. "I had a great scrimmage with him," says Pytka. "He forced me to play good defense."
Pytka is also the guy whose father initially convinced him to study chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh — which he hated — before switching to fine arts at what's now Carnegie Mellon. That's how Pytka ultimately landed his first gig making industrial films with a small Pittsburgh studio. That forever hooked him on film.
But he's also the guy who purchased Madonna's castle-like home in the Hollywood Hills, which Pytka insists was haunted. Pytka lived in the multistory edifice for more than 20 years before he sold it after his daughters, Sacha and Arielle, moved out. He felt spooked by the loneliness. "I felt like the Beast from 'Beauty and the Beast' living there alone," he said.
Know What's Most Important Like Pytka
Pytka, who is divorced, says his two daughters are the most important part of his life. His daughters, who are dual American and French citizens, traveled around the world with him when he was shooting ads globally, and both are fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Earlier this year, he became a grandfather for the first time. The arrival of his granddaughter, Fabienne, has rocked his life, Pytka says. "The birth of a grandchild takes you to another level. It's the beginning of a new life and the hope for something better," he said.
Back in the day, that's virtually how he felt about each of his commercials and music videos. He treated each like a rare piece of artwork that had its own unique life. On more than one occasion, says Patti, he witnessed Pytka spend hours reshooting commercials on his own nickel in order to get them right. "Joe is one part exhilaration and one part exasperation," said Patti.
And another part Pittsburgh.
"There are directors who are comedy guys. And directors who are special-effects guys. And directors who work with animals. But Joe does it better than any of the guys who specialize. He is one-stop shopping for quality," said Patti.
Find Your Unique Angle
As the recognized leader in his field — known for his hardheadedness — Pytka says it wasn't that he was ever against compromise. Success, he says, requires hiring only the very best people — which he always does — then moving out of their way and giving them room to create. He typically only compromises with clients after long — often heated — discussions that usually result in a bigger, better idea. After the discussions are over, he says, the key as a true leader is to always move forward with no animosity.
"All ideas come from God," Pytka said. "You have to protect it. If you have a great idea and are not protecting it, I'll fight for it if you can't fight for yourself."
Even while playing hoops. One way or another, Pytka controls the boards.
Joe Pytka's Keys
- Legendary commercial and music video director nominated for the Director's Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials more than anyone. Directed more than 80 Super Bowl spots.
- Overcame: Resistance to trying new, bold ideas in commercials by timid brands and executives.
- Lesson: "What we do is so difficult that if you don't fully believe in it, you will fail."
