Daniel Cox–who created and directed the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership’s “Embrace Life” PSA which won a Bronze Lion at the recently concluded Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival–has joined Hungry Man for representation as a director worldwide except for Canada where he continues to be handled by Spy Films.
“Embrace Life” shows a father sitting in his living room, playing and laughing with his family as he pretends to drive a vehicle. He exchanges loving glances with his nearby wife and daughter. Suddenly his facial expression changes as he braces for an impending accident. Immediately his family comes to the rescue. The girl embraces him around the waist, serving as a seatbelt. His wife embraces him diagonally across the chest, serving as a shoulder belt harness. The impact rocks them but all are secure and safe, the human safety belt saving his life.
Cox spearheaded the PSA from start to finish. It sprang from his learning that the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership was looking to produce a positive public service message. He came up with the idea and assembled a team under the Alexander Commercials banner in the U.K. to bring the project to fruition. Cox wrote, directed and edited “Embrace Life,” with Sarah Alexander producing the job. Alexander Commercials was hybrid ad agency/production house on “Embrace Life” but his prime spotmaking and branded content roost from now on is Hungry Man.
The PSA, which debuted in the local Sussex area back in January, has since gone onto attain more than 10 million views online, the Cannes Film Lion honor in the Public Health & Safety category, as well as Gold at the New York International Advertising Awards in Shanghai.
Hungry Man got wind of Cox upon catching him being interviewed about the PSA on CNN. The production house then sought him out, ultimately resulting in his coming aboard its directorial roster.
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More