By Michael Rosen-Molina
Daily Bruin Staff
Screen Actors Guild members gathered Wednesday to protest a
variety of entertainment issues in front of the Westwood offices of
Sprint, Saban and BBDO advertising on Wilshire Boulevard.
Starting at 10 a.m., protesters marched down Wilshire, leaving
groups to picket each of the buildings as they passed.
SAG members carried signs with messages such as “Honk for
Fair Pay,” encouraging passing drivers to show support by
tooting their horns.
Protesters carried signs that called attention to a variety of
issues ““ including affirmative action and representation of
women, minorities and seniors ““ but the main topic at stake
was the payment policy of advertisers.
Since May 1, SAG and the American Federation Television and
Radio Artists (AFTRA) have been on strike against the advertising
industry.
“Advertisers want to pay actors a flat rate, instead of
paying actors for every time they play the commercial,” said
Mark Carlton of the SAG’s National Board of Directors.
“That would allow them an unlimited run of the commercials
during the 13-week season cycle, without paying the actors
anything.”
Carlton said that advertisers are planning to do away with
residuals that give the actors more pay per commercial, thus
reducing actors’ incomes anywhere between 60 and 80
percent.
“If you divide the flat rate by the 13-week season cycle,
that only comes out to about $11 a day,” Carlton
explained.
Some advertisers tend to overplay their commercials, added
Carlton, leading to the danger that an actor would become too
closely tied with the product to be able to easily find other
work.
“For example, the Geico commercial is played all the time,
so you might think that the guy who plays the Geico Man is getting
rich,” said SAG member Jerry Giles. “In reality,
he’s only making $11 to be tied to that role.”
Carlton also pointed out that the cost of an actor comprised
only 2 percent of the total cost of a commercial.
SAG is also demanding that payment for cable commercial work not
drop below 37 percent of what their network counterparts pay.
“This is an especially timely issue as the cable
viewership is now surpassing network viewership by 5.3
million,” said Carlton.
The protest began at 10 a.m. and ran until 2 p.m. But the
refusal to work began five weeks ago on May 8, and has included
protests in cities all over the country, such as New York, Chicago,
Miami and San Francisco. In previous weeks, L.A. protests have
included a picket of a Texaco location shoot in Malibu and another
in front of the Nestle building in Glendale.
“Advertisers refuse to pay fair pay for work,” said
Anne-Marie Johnson, SAG member and star of TV’s “In the
Heat of the Night.”
“We’re also concerned about work appearing on cable
and the Internet,” she added.
SAG member Julie Sanford also emphasized the need for an
agreement regarding Internet publication.
“The Internet is taking over, and soon computers and TV
will just be the same thing. It’s important that we figure
out what to do with this now.”
She explained that SAG also demanded a monitoring system to
count the number of times that an ad is played. Under the current
system, she explained, companies have the possibility to
under-report the run number, and thus pay their actors less.
Besides monetary matters, the organization’s grievances
also addressed concerns about using non-union actors.
One protester carried a sign reading “Marcus Nispel: Got
Brains?” referring to an ad by commercial director Nispel for
RSA USA, Inc., Ridley Scott’s production company, that ran in
the May 12 issue of Shoot magazine.
“The ad shows an elderly African woman’s breasts
with the caption, “˜In South Africa, this is what SAG
means,’ said SAG member Sindy Hawke, “It was very
offensive.”
The ad encouraged producers to film commercials in South Africa,
using non-union actors. SAG and AFTRA are demanding that RSA USA
apologize, sign an interim agreement, and abandon plans to open an
office in South Africa for the purpose of shooting non-union
commercials. Sprint is a client of Marcus Nispel. Neither Sprint,
Saban nor BBDO advertising could be reached for comment.