direction. He says his decision is a sign of the times in the spot business. "People want things that feel more honest," he explains. "Because of all the special effects-heavy movies and commercials that have been done over the last decade, creatives are now in a period where they want to strip things down to an honest level, and write things that ring true and don’t feel contrived."
The aforementioned "Rant" is a fine example of what Donovan’s talking about. The spot, which picked up a Bronze Lion at Cannes, has a sparse set—a simple stage in an auditorium. A 20-something man steps up to a microphone, clears his throat, and begins to speak. A movie screen in the background shows jittery film footage as the man debunks some of the misconceptions about Canada. "We have a prime minister, not a president," he says. "We say ‘about,’ not ‘a-boot.’ " As he notes this, a green rubber boot appears on the screen. The man continues speaking until working himself into an "I am Canadian" frenzy. It’s funny, energetic, but most of all, visually spare. "I can do things more visually complex," Donovan says, "but I always have to look at the concept behind it; that’s what I’m going after." Visually spare or not, the ad has generated a great deal of attention, including the aforementioned Cannes Lion, several notices in Canadian and U.S. newspapers, and a segment on ABC’s World News Tonight.
Has the mental and physical discipline required to play football made him a better director? "Shoots are kind of like athletic events," he replies. "You know—we’re getting ready, we get a kind of excitement going, we get ourselves ready to go out and do the job. It’s kind of similar."
Donovan says that he seems to gravitate toward other football players in the business. "I’ve got a Steadicam guy who’s from Montana who I played high school football against," he relates.
Donovan recently completed Sprite’s "Lazy Ass" and "Bribe Guy" spots, out of Lowe Lintas & Partners, New York; and Gateway’s "Fountain," "Famous Faces," "Kids Trade" and "Roy In Person" via McCann-Erickson, New York. He is ready to take a long-overdue break, and plans a trip to Montana. "It took awhile," he says of his career, "but I think things are going pretty good."µ
