Radical Media, which handled director Quentin van den Bossche in the U.K. and Germany, has now extended that relationship to worldwide representation, including becoming what’s believed to his first production company home in the U.S. ad market.
While at Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) Amsterdam, van den Bossche made his initial major directorial mark with the film portion of the Heineken “Legendary Posters” campaign which won a Cannes Silver Lion and four Bronze Lions in 2014. A couple of years later, he earned a slot in SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase on the strength of Booking.com’s “Wing It.” His short documentary, Part Time Heroes, a portrait of the Sea Shepherd conservation group which proactively fights poaching and habitat destruction, was released by CNN’s Great Big Story, and selected for Best Short Doc at the St. Louis International Film Festival.
Van den Bossche honed his directorial chops at W+K’s creative incubator, The Kennedys. Most of his work generally features real-life characters in exotic locations, with a conceptual hook and a visceral as well as observational style.
Van den Bossche recently directed a series of spots for Corona’s “Lime Ritual” campaign, as well as a commercial for Nike Basketball, “Mt Olympus,” which celebrates Greek native, Milwaukee Bucks star and NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. For the release of Antetokounmpo’s signature Nike shoe–making him the first European player to attain that honor–van den Bossche and W+K put a hoop on the top of Mount Olympus, the highest point in Greece and the ancient home of the Greek Gods. This lofty perch reflects the amazing journey Antetokounmpo has taken from one of Athens, Greece’s most impoverished suburbs to the very top of the NBA, propelled by a strong work ethic and a dream of attaining greatness. In the spot, which was produced via Athens-based production house Yard, the basket’s backboard has a message spanning across it which reads, “Fate can start you at the bottom. Dreams can take you to the top.”
