LOS ANGELES—Though he set a buzz-generating industry precedent a couple of years ago by winning the coveted Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award, Bob Kerstetter feels that he has just now begun his spot helming career with the decision to join bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures. The move underscores what the noted agency creative described as his recent commitment to focus primarily on directing.
That commitment first translated into his joining bicoastal/ international @radical.media earlier this year (SHOOT, 2/13, p. 1). While he liked the people there, Kerstetter said he felt somewhat lost in the shuffle at such a large company. So he explored other production house options, leading to his renewing discussions with Chelsea, which he described as a smaller shop that is more simpatico with his sensibilities.
Kerstetter stunned the ad world in 2002 with the aforementioned DGA win, which came while he was creative director at San Francisco agency Black Rocket (now Black Rocket Euro RSCG). He became the only active ad agency creative ever to win the DGA Award for commercial director of the year. Kerstetter earned DGA distinction as best spot director of ’01 on the strength of three spots he helmed—"Orphanage," "Worker" and "Birds"—for Black Rocket client The Musco Family Olive Company.
Still, he didn’t immediately jump over to the production house side of the business to capitalize on his DGA recognition. Kerstetter stayed on at Black Rocket for a while, leaving later in ’02 to freelance for a stretch. In ’03, he teamed with executive producer Stelio Kitrilakis to launch Lushadelic, a San Francisco-based creative services/ production boutique. While Kerstetter was handling varied creative assignments at that hybrid shop, he wasn’t as busy as he wanted to be on the directorial front. So he and Kitrilakis went to @radical for what turned out to be a brief stint.
Kerstetter and Kitrilakis continue to maintain a scaled-down Lushadelic for select projects, including those that are looking to tap into Kerstetter’s agency creative prowess. But directing remains the priority for Kerstetter. And if any Lushadelic spot projects translate into production, that work will be done via Chelsea.
Current plans call for Kitrilakis to divide his time between Lushadelic and serving as executive producer on Kerstetter-directed jobs at Chelsea. Kitrilakis is perhaps best known for founding San Francisco production house Complete Pandemonium. Prior to that, he was an executive producer at now defunct (Colossal) Pictures, where some 11 years ago he first met Kerstetter, who at the time was a writer and associate creative director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), San Francisco.
During his five-year tenure at GS&P, Kerstetter wrote for such accounts as Sega, Budweiser, Major League Baseball, Norwegian Cruise Line, Porsche, Foster Farms and the California Fluid Milk Processors Board. In ’96, he left GS&P and teamed with partners John Yost and Steve Stone to launch Black Rocket. Right out of the gate there, creative director Kerstetter helped to shape the brand personality of a then little known startup, Yahoo!
While at Black Rocket, Kerstetter directed select projects for the agency’s clients. After leaving the ad shop, he continued to helm work. Over the years, Kerstetter’s directorial credits include spots for MTV, Yahoo!, Morgan Stanley’s online brokerage and dot-com client Fusion One.
Chelsea partner Steve Wax, part of a company management/ ownership team that also consists of partners Allison Amon and Lisa Mehling, said that he had been in pursuit of Kerstetter for some time. Wax related that he was drawn to both Kerstetter’s directing and creative talent. "Because Bob has written so much high quality work, he understands what’s going on under the hood, relative to the story, concept and strategy of successful commercials," noted Wax. "He’s extremely client focused going back to his agency days—and realizes what a good piece of advertising can do for a client’s business. To have a talented director who is also a smart writer and strategist is an especially appealing combination in today’s market."
