Walker Art Center Presents the 2009 British Television Advertising Awards
The
British Television Advertising Awards
program returns for another smashing run of screenings at the Walker Art Center, December 4–January 2, where over 20,000 people saw the 2008 award-winning spots. Awards Administrator Peter Bigg will reprise his annual role as host of the opening-night screenings on Friday, December 4, at 7 and 9:30 pm. Remaining programs include both evening and matinee screenings. To complement this popular December tradition, Wolfgang Puck offers an array of hearty fare at the Walker Pub in the Bazinet Garden Lobby and in 20.21 Restaurant & Bar, as well as evening pre-show drinks in the Hennepin Lobby.
Brimming with creativity and chosen by top advertising executives and producers across the globe, the sly, sexy, hilarious, and thought-provoking British spots have been a Walker highlight for 21 years. The program this year includes dancing marionettes, monkeys, and nudists as well as American celebrities Snoop Dogg, Rob Lowe, and Anjelica Huston hawking products to UK audiences. Also featured are an ’80s flashback for Virgin Airlines, a scandalous piece for Guess apparel, and highlights from the history of 20th-century Britain condensed into 120 seconds for a bread commercial. Among the standouts this year is a spectacular skydiving stunt for Honda that was broadcast live. Not to be missed. 2009, video, 80 minutes.
Since the early 1980s, BTAA has exhibited its annual showreel at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where the award-winning spots subsequently enter the museum’s permanent collection. When the screenings began, they offered an American audience exposure to the originality, wit, and creativity of British advertising as well as a showcase for the early work of film directors such as Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Hugh Hudson, and Alan Parker as they were becoming established Hollywood directors. Since then, the showreel screenings have developed an influential reputation in the U.S. for creative excellence. Public and professional interest have spawned further screenings across the country. Besides the Walker, the 2009 awards will be shown in venues around the country, including the Detroit Institute of Arts; the Cleveland Museum of Art; Cleveland Cinemateque; Northwest Film Center, Portland; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Honolulu Academy.
Tickets for the British Television Advertising Awards screenings, which sell out quickly, are $10 ($8 Walker members) and can be purchased by calling the Walker box office at 612.375.7600 or online at walkerart.org/tickets. ($3 service fee per order applies to phone and online orders.) Become a new Walker member and receive two free tickets for joining. Special rates for groups of 10 or more; call 612.375.7569 or e-mail groups@walkerart.org.
Screening Schedule
Friday, December 4
7 and 9:30 pm, Walker Cinema
Introduced by Awards Administrator Peter Bigg
Saturday, December 5
4, 7, and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
Sunday, December 6
3 pm, Walker Cinema
Thursday, December 10
7 and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
8 pm, McGuire Theater
Friday, December 11
3, 7, and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
8 pm, McGuire Theater
Saturday, December 12
3, 7, and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
2, 6, and 8 pm, McGuire Theater
Sunday, December 13
2 and 4 pm, Walker Cinema
3 pm, McGuire Theater
Thursday, December 17
3, 7, and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
8 pm, McGuire Theater
Friday, December 18
3, 7, and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
8 pm, McGuire Theater
Saturday, December 19
3, 7, and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
2, 6, and 8 pm, McGuire Theater
Sunday, December 20
2 and 4 pm, Walker Cinema
3 pm, McGuire Theater
Saturday, December 26
3, 7, and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
2, 6, and 8 pm, McGuire Theater
Sunday, December 27
2 and 4 pm, Walker Cinema
3 pm, McGuire Theater
Monday–Wednesday, December 28–30
2, 6, and 8 pm, Walker Cinema
3 and 7 pm, McGuire Theater
Saturday, January 2
7 and 9 pm, Walker Cinema
8 pm, McGuire Theater
Prescreening Gallery Tours: British Television Advertising Awards and Event Horizon
December 11, 17, and 30, 2 pm
Free with event ticket
Meet in the Bazinet Garden Lobby
Whether they’re peddling soda pop or pushing a more personal vision, advertisers and artists of all kinds draw from pop culture and spectacle. Before catching the awards show, learn a bit about artists who work along this spectrum.
Tours allow plenty of time to grab a pint before heading to the Cinema. Tour the Walker’s exhibitions before or after the show. Your ticket includes complimentary gallery admission on the day of the screening. Free public gallery tours are offered Thursdays–Sundays at 2 pm, departing from the Bazinet Garden Lobby near the Cinema.
Hold Forth at the Walker Pub
Before or after the screenings, gather with friends and enjoy hearty fare: Scotch eggs, cranberry bread pudding, sweet shrimp cocktail, or a Beef Wellington sandwich, along with classic British libations such as Buck’s Fizz, Pimm’s Cup, or Ginger Tonic.
Indulge Your Inner Anglophile
Tuck into a four-course dinner from the 2009 Brits Tasting Menu, including chicken samosas, tandoori Arctic char, and grilled lamb chops. An excellent value at $50 per person. Reservations: 612.253.3410 or walkerart.org/2021.