Tim Matheson–whose directorial career spans varied TV series (Burn Notice, Criminal Minds, the recent pilots for USA’s Covert Affairs and Fox’s The Good Guys) and an ongoing Unilever campaign tailor-made for airing during Mad Men as part of a season-long sponsorship–has joined the roster of Santa Monica-based Aero Film for exclusive representation in commercials.
The Unilever work sprung out of that advertiser’s self-described “reverse upfronts” approach in which brand managers work with media companies to develop ideas on how to best showcase brands across platforms–all well ahead of the annual upfront ad sales market. Unilever, media agency Mindshare and creative/production shop Generate came up with a campaign that weaves six leading Unilever brands–Dove, Breyers, Hellmann’s, Klondike, Suave, and Vaseline–into a storyline centered on fictional circa 1960s’ ad agency Smith Winter Mitchell and its founding creative partners, copywriter Phil Smith and art director Tad Winter. Messrs. Winter and Smith are tasked with developing ad campaigns for each of these brands. We see them in various states of brainstorming, inspired and not-so-inspired creative moments, even in the throes of what turns out to be a mock creative pitch.
The latter was for Klondike in which Smith and Winter look into the camera and take us via storyboard frames through their idea for an engaging, somewhat grandiose commercial. They’re delivering their presentation to a client who is yet unseen. Eventually the camera reveals the “client” to be an office janitor who is seated before them at a conference table and chomping on a Klondike ice cream bar. The janitor says he’d do just about anything for a Klondike and then leaves to continue his cleaning.
The 1960s’ ad mavens at Smith Winter Mitchell are cut from Mad Men entrepreneurial and stylistic cloth, dovetailing nicely with the hit AMC series and thus making the messages a bit more TiVo- and zap-proof. The Unilever spots are not only running during the current fourth season of Mad Men but also online, including on a dedicated YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/smithwinter). Mindshare gravitated towards Matheson to direct the campaign which takes us into the inner workings of this agency from the so-called Golden Age of Advertising era. “We created a period ad agency, but with contemporary Unilever products,” related Matheson.
Lance O’Connor, executive producer at Aero, saw the initial Unilever vignettes on Mad Men and was impressed enough to seek out who directed them. “I saw great direction, location, period, character and dialogue,” assessed O’Connor. His search led to Matheson who turned out to be a long-time friend of fellow Aero partner/exec producer Skip Short. Matheson in turn found Aero and for that matter commercialmaking appealing. The director had contemplated directing spots several times but his acting, producing and directing endeavors for TV had detoured him from exploring ad prospects. Since he found the Unilever experience creatively gratifying and enjoyable, Matheson decided to more proactively go after select commercial work by signing with Aero.
Matheson’s career spans not only directing but also producing and acting. Among Matheson’s other TV show credits as a director are the primetime shows Psych, White Collar, Cold Case, Without A Trace, even an episode of West Wing, a series for which he received two Emmy nominations as an actor. His TV directorial debut was an episode of the acclaimed ensemble drama series St. Elsewhere, which then led to him helming the telefilms Breach of Contract (starring Peter Coyote and Courtney Thome-Smith), and Buried Alive II (in which Matheson starred). Matheson’s exec produced Breach of Contract and served as a producer on multiple episodes of the TV series Cold Case.
Matheson made his first industry splash as an actor, perhaps initially best known for his portrayal of the smooth talking Eric “Otter” Stratton in the box office comedy hit Animal House. His other feature film roles included playing one of the three vigilante cops in Magnum Force, which starred Clint Eastwood as San Francisco police detective Harry Callahan, a.k.a. “Dirty Harry.”
At Aero, Matheson comes aboard a directors’ roster that also includes Klaus Obermeyer, Ken Arlidge, James Mangold, Jason Farrand, Sam O’Hare and Gary McKendry.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More