"The Wizard of Oz" Cowardly Lion tactile model - Comcast model

Object Details

Description (Brief)

A tactile model of the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz, as imagined by a child named Emily. The front two feet of the creature are deep brown, and appear similar to duck feet. The body of the creature is covered in a brown, shaggy chenille fabric, and the back limbs and tail are of burlap. The mane and tail fur of the creature are of orange-brown fake fur. The molded face has two large eyes with red irises and an open mouth in which a curled red tongue can be seen. The creature is positioned with its front two feet on the ground, while it kicks its two hind feet into the air. The model was used for a Comcast commercial titled “Emily’s Oz.” The commercial, which utilized seven year-old Emily’s imagined version of The Wizard of Oz, promoted Comcast’s new voice-controlled interface for individuals with visual disabilities.

[For more information, see the accession file and “’Emily's Oz’ brought a little girl's imagination to life,’ a 2016 post by curator Katherine Ott on NMAH’s blog.]

“Emily’s Oz” is part of an advertising campaign to support Comcast’s new voice-controlled interface. The ad design was developed by creative directors Paul Caiozzo and Nathan Frank of Goodby, Silverstein, & Partners New York. The organization conducted a national search for young individuals who loved movies, but had difficulty viewing them due to blindness or low vision. After searching schools for the blind and other accessibility-focused organizations, they chose a seven year-old named Emily who was born blind. Emily’s concept of The Wizard of Oz characters based upon her imagination was then realized for the Comcast commercial, which aired during the 2015 Super Bowl. The new interface was created by the head of Comcast’s Accessibility Lab, Tom Wlodkowski. The program features voice commands and one-touch access to closed-captioning. Wlodkowski, who was also born blind, aimed to create a program to maximize the television experience for those with visual disabilities.

Location

Currently not on view

Credit Line

Gift of Sherri Davis, Comcast

ca 2015

ID Number

2016.3161.01

nonaccession number

2016.3161

catalog number

2016.3161.01

Object Name

tactile model

tactile prop

Measurements

overall: 17 in x 17 in x 16 in; 43.18 cm x 43.18 cm x 40.64 cm

See more items in

Medicine and Science: Medicine

National Museum of American History

Record ID

nmah_1820194

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-1e25-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa