So I'm working on research for an assignment that I'll be using in my History of Animation class--one that fills in gaps within the textbook we're using. No shade here, there's only so much you can cover within a reasonable page-count. It's a problem I'm sure that every historian struggles with.
I've already added sections in my class that cover the Internet animation boom of the late-1990's to the late-2000's--around a twenty year timespan. And one of my assignments showcases music videos and some of the techniques used to make them. Still another focuses on the "outside the entertainment industry" field of forensic animation, ranging from court cases to museum displays (drawing on many examples from my career in animation). But when I wanted to add an assignment that covers animation in advertising, it was pretty clear that I couldn't get it done in time for this Fall's class. So I ended up gathering resources for my plan to make it into an assignment for 2026's class. The first part of my research was reading the book "Animation and Advertising" by Malcolm Cook and Kirsten Moana Thompson -- one of the few books on the subject of which I'm aware.
Shortly after ordering it, I logged onto Facebook where a post in the History of Animation group popped up in my feed. Turns out J.J. Sedelmaier reposted a link from Donna Dazzo about an auction that contained material her father, Jack Dazzo, had animated for commercials back in the 1980's. A quick review showed that there was production material from M&Ms and Alka Seltzer. But the one lot which immediately caught my eye was the production material from a Clairol Herbal Essences commercial. I fondly remember those commercials from when I was a kid and was actually showing one of them on the last day of class--sort of a catch-all screening of animated shorts that weren't in the book but were worth watching anyways. And what a treat it would be to show students actual production drawings and storyboards from a commercial they just watched in class. So, just like the Brenda Banks production drawing from Wizards, I had to have this set of Jack Dazzo drawings from the Clairol commercial.
It was a rare pleasure to page through this material when it arrived at my doorstep.
I quickly discovered that they were kind enough to include a matted and painted cel.
There are also little things here to learn. It appears that Mr. Dazzo used 10.25" x 14" animation bond with the Acme hole punch style for many of these drawings. And if you look closely in the lower right side of several of these drawings, one can see his notes: mostly calculatons as well as timing charts.
There are also a number of "X"s in the hair, notations that I often see in anime drawings. These are usually notes to the cel painters denoting lighter and darker areas. The "X"s are usually drawn in red or blue pencil that won't show up on the photocopied cel but are visible in the production drawings.
This was an interesting one: a series of photocopies that have the television field safe areas marked out--these are zones where you can and cannot see the picture on a television. I believe what we're looking at here are the title-safe area (the inner rounded rectangle) and the action-safe area (the outer rectangle). Basically, you're trying to prevent important parts of the drawings from being clipped when viewed on a television screen.
Well, after going over the material, I'm pretty sure that some of this artwork was used in this commercial from 1976.
I'm hoping to bump into Mr. Sedelmaier at the Ottawa festival if he's there. Would like to thank him personally for pointing out this auction. Also hoping that he might be willing to introduce me to Jack Dazzo's daughter. I'd love to talk to her about her father and his work in the New York animation scene.
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