Ralph Laucella named 2024 AICP Show chairperson

Ralph Laucella, Founding Partner and Executive Producer at O Positive, one of the most awarded production companies in the advertising industry, has been named Chairperson of the 2024 AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial. His appointment was announced today by Matt Miller, President and CEO of AICP.

The entry deadline for the AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial, along with the AICP Post Awards and the AICP Next Awards, is March 5, 2024. Full entry details can be found here. The results of each show will debut during AICP Week in New York, from June 4 to June 6, and be featured at a gala celebration at The Museum of Modern Art on June 6, 2024.

Laucella is an integral part of AICP, having served two terms as AICP National Board Chairperson, and is a long-standing member of the AICP Labor Committee, among others. “I’m truly honoured to be asked to serve as Chairperson of the AICP Show,” Laucella says. “When I was asked by Matt and the AICP Show Board of Governors, I wondered if I could do this justice. When I asked Trisha, my wife, what she thought, she pointed out that I already spend so much time working with AICP’s boards and committees, then added, ‘Why wouldn’t you?’ I had to agree with her.”

“Ralph has played such a vital and visible role at AICP for so long,” says Miller, “tapping him for this role is richly deserved. Given his passion and commitment to our industry, as well as his long association with award-winning work, we know the competition will be in good hands as we head into 2024.”

Laucella, along with director Jim Jenkins, founded O Positive in 2007. Director David Shane and Executive Producer Marc Grill joined shortly thereafter as O Positive  partners. Since then, O Positive has grown to be a globally renowned production company with a roster of directors specialising in comedic storytelling and performance. Its work has been recognised with every major award in the industry, including the AICP Show, D&AD, One Show, Cannes Lion and Clio honours. 

“For me, the importance of the AICP Show is that it’s about underscoring the value and importance of the production crafts,” Laucella notes. “Jim, David, Marc and I have always been focused on making great ads, and one of the reasons we’ve thrived is that competitions like the AICP Show exist to honour great work. What the AICP Show has done is keep the bar high, and we never want to lose track of that. It means the world to me to be chairing the show, because I want to really push the bar and find the gems that deserve to be so honoured.”

A New York native, Laucella was interested in pursuing a career in film from an early age, and briefly gave L.A. a try before returning to New York, where he politely rebuffed his family’s efforts to get him into the family trucking business. It did provide him with a certain advantage on production logistics, and he quickly found himself sought out to work on low budget productions, ferrying gear to sets and locations. 

“I knew I had to give it a shot, and try and succeed on my own,” he says about his early days in the industry. He first met Grill early on in his production career before landing at Hungry Man. At Hungry Man he also met Jenkins and Shane, and worked his way up from production manager to executive producer. After over a decade with that iconic company, he and Jenkins went out on their own to launch O Positive. 

AICP Show Curatorial Committee 

As Chairperson of the AICP Show, Laucella is tasked with assembling a Curatorial  Committee, which will determine appropriateness to each respective category and the final disposition of the winners of the AICP Show. His panel, which includes experts from across all categories and disciplines of the industry, reflects his desire to find  people whose perspective reflected the full spectrum of creative talents and skill sets.

“I based my selections on experience, and not necessarily the experience of sitting on a judging or curatorial panel, but on a deep understanding of craft,” Laucella comments. “It was more about finding the right taste level and having respect for the concept and for what went onto the page when it came to the script or storyboard. For example, if a campaign looks great, that means the creators understand what went into each department to make it look that good. And this extends to all aspects of what makes an ad stand out, whether we’re talking about the creative, the cinematography, the music and sound, the post production, etc. Our curators represent a diversity of tastemakers who’ll be well suited to evaluate the work.”