"Beauty is its own reward. The best commercials can be pure little pieces along these lines."
Joe Pytka

Joe Pytka is one of the most influential and prolific commercial directors of our time. Filmmaker and director of numerous acclaimed television commercials, Pytka's stylized images have ingrained themselves into America's consciousness for three decades.

One of the most enthusiastic in the business, Pytka is a guerrilla-style filmmaker who transferred his early documentary skills into commercial vision when he decided to shoot commercials to finance the documentaries. Working with real people in real situations, he moved beyond the theatrical quality of commercials at the time. He started by shooting the local Iron City Beer spots in real taverns with real people. His pioneering style catapulted the advertising medium and his career.

Now king of his craft, Pytka has directed more than 5,000 commercials – and made billions of dollars for many of the largest corporations. Using every style, tool, and kind of actor – athletes, animals, rock stars, and everyday people – Pytka sells trucks, food, carpets, and beer. Sometimes with special effects, other times with a baby's smile, he instills satire, color, mood, and ebullience. Pytka is responsible for countless star-studded ads for clients like Pepsi, Nike, and McDonalds's. Among his achievements, his commercials have debuted more than 30 times on the annual Super Bowl telecast.

To encourage economic redevelopment of New York City following September 11th, Pytka directed four of the NYC Miracle spots including Woody Allen skating, Henry Kissinger sliding into home plate, and Yogi Bera conducting the Philharmonic.

His influential branding encompasses Ray Charles' "Uh-huh" for Pepsi; "This Is Your Brain on Drugs" PSA; superstar athletes Larry Bird and Michael Jordan in "Nothing But Net" for McDonald's; and Ed and Frank of Bartles & James saying, "Thanks for Your Support." He has earned three of the DGA's Commercial Direction Awards and 14 nominations — the most for the category.

Beyond commercials, Pytka has also directed two feature length films. With Let it Ride (1989) Pytka used his considerable skill in storytelling and comedy to follow a gambler (Richard Dreyfuss) through the luckiest day of his life. Then in Space Jam (1996), he brought animated Warner Bros. characters together with real NBA athletes to battle the forces of evil.

Pytka began his career producing documentaries for the fledgling Public Broadcasting Service in the '60s and '70s. He learned to shoot, edit, and record at WRS Motion Picture and Video Lab in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For WQED, Pytka worked on documentaries and other programs including Steeltown Blues, Maggie's Farm, and a documentary on air pollution narrated by Orson Welles. He also shot a forerunner to music videos called High Flying Bird featuring Steve McQueen.

Related Items:

Joe Pytka - All about the award-winning commercial director. - DGA Magazine: September 2002