Director George Jecel, formerly of bicoastal/international Believe Media, has joined Santa Monica-based TWC for exclusive spot representation in the U.S. He has already wrapped his first job under the TWC banner, a Campbell’s Soup assignment for BBDO New York.
Jecel’s recent credits include campaigns for California Tourism, McDonald’s and Boeing, a mix showcasing an affinity for dialogue as well as beautiful image-driven fare. The director said he made the move to TWC in order to continue building on his commercialmaking career while also hopefully at some point gaining the opportunity to diversify into features. On the latter score, Jecel said he was intrigued by TWC’s connection to theatrical motion pictures through co-founder Ralph Winter, producer of Fantastic Four and X-Men, among other films.
Believing he has reached a career juncture where he is ready to take on a feature, Jecel said TWC is well positioned to help him find such a project with “a story that I can live with for a long period of time.”
Meanwhile TWC executive producer Mark Thomas characterized Jecel as a major addition to the company’s roster of spot directors, citing the helmer’s prowess in storytelling, casting, visuals, and in capturing moments that ring true, even if the concept is extreme or surreal.
Jecel’s initial success was in high production value sports commercials, spanning such clients as Nike and Gatorade. Later he broadened into numerous jobs centering on human portraits. More recently, he has focused on dialogue-driven fare, including work shot in South Africa for Union Bank of California, which presented “what if” scenarios as people imagine owning the bank.
After studying theater at the University of Vienna, Jecel started his career as a playwright and stage director. He continued to work in the theater after coming to the U.S. in the early 1990s. Additionally, he worked in development for Universal. In the mid-’90s, Jecel began directing commercials, working both stateside and in Europe. He was initially affiliated with Tate & Partners (now Tate USA), Santa Monica, and later joined the now defunct BFCS and then The End. Jecel came aboard Believe Media when it was launched in ’00.
Among Jecel’s spot endeavors is the PSA “Aktion Mensch” for Austrian charity Vienna Point via GGK, Vienna, which won Gold at the Clio Awards and New York Festivals. He has also helmed commercials for such clients as Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Motorola, Canon and Travelocity.
Jecel comes aboard a TWC directors’ lineup that consists of Suthon Petchsuwan, Jeff France, Michael Fueter, David Jellison, Seamus Masterson, Martin Brierley, Elliot Hegarty and Brian Baderman.
