2016 Promo Talent Sparks Debate

By Kalyn Belsha in News on Mar 21, 2009 6:40PM

The use of some out-of-town directors and crew members to shoot promotional videos that will be presented to the International Olympic Committee when it comes in early April to evaluate Chicago as a hosting contender is causing quite a ruckus. On Monday the editor of ReelChicago.com, a site that monitors the local film industry, posted a story criticizing local ad giant Leo Burnett for hiring production companies that brought talent from Los Angeles and New York to shoot some of the bid footage.

The author, Ruth L. Ratny, contended that Leo Burnett had shunned local talent in favor of more glitzy out-of-town directors and shooters. She also said the company convinced Chicago vendors to work for lower-than-normal rates. Leo Burnett oversaw five shoots that will be used to edit seven of the 10 to 16 promotional videos. On Friday, Leo Burnett spokeswoman Abby Lovett responded to Ratny's claims by asking that a corrected article be printed to better represent the agency's use of local talent during the shoots, which took place from Feb. 20 to March 15. Of the total 123 crew members used in Burnett-orchestrated shoots, only 15 were non-local, Lovett said.

Lovett told the Tribune Friday she was "blown away" by the claim Leo Burnett hadn't tried hard enough to scout and use local talent for the promotional shoots. But Ratny said the 15 hired were still too many -- especially in the current economic climate. The debate, some say, is evidence of a decades-long dispute that local production companies are often overlooked by Chicago ad firms.