Accomplice Media has signed comedy director Ben Whitehouse for exclusive representation in the United States. The British-born director launched his career in 2009 and since then has established a reputation in character-driven comedy through work for Subway, Amazon, Enterprise, KFC, Specsavers, Phones 4U and others.
Starting his career as a researcher and treatment writer, Whitehouse collaborated with many top commercial directors including Traktor, Jonathan Glazer, Tom Hooper and Ivan Zacharias. This work was international including many U.S. jobs for shops like Anonymous Content and Smuggler.
Whitehouse credits these early experiences working with top directors for his ability to transform concepts into successful ads. “I learnt from the best how to structure an argument, how to focus on the core idea and how important it is to be brave and wholeheartedly commit to an approach.”
His directing career began through Joy@RSA, a division of RSA films, before joining Agile in trendy East London which continues to represent him for U.K. projects. While versatile, Whitehouse has developed a signature cinematic style combining elements of visual humor, punchy comedy and character-driven narratives.
His latest multi-campaign work for the insurance company Royal London is a classic example. The British obsession with talking about the weather is brilliantly observed through unlikely mundane moments in history ranging from Medieval witch burnings to Napoleonic battlefields.
Whitehouse was attracted to Accomplice Media by its track record in helping European directors break into the U.S. market. “Jeff [Accomplice EP Snyder] and Mel [EP Gragido] have worked around the world and understand the market that I come from,” he says. “They know how to work with directors with a British or European sensibility and how to make that fit the American market.”
