Paul Gold, a former senior VP/associate creative director/executive producer at Bozell, New York, has signed with The Story Companies for exclusive representation as a commercial director. Gold has extensive experience helming spots, both in-house at Bozell and through projects as a freelancer. He will be repped via The Story Companies’ Chicago headquarters, and through its satellite offices in New York, Santa Monica and Dallas.
"Paul brings a lot to the table," said The Story Companies’ executive producer Mark Androw, citing Gold’s storytelling and visual sensibilities as well as experience in directing talent, managing large-scale productions domestically and internationally, and bringing optimum production value to the screen.
Gold has been working as a freelance director since July, when he left his post at Bozell. During that time, he has directed commercials for Liberty Medical, Laser One, and Bristol-Meyers, all for New York agency Della Femina/Jeary & Partners; he has also worked as a freelance creative/producer through Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, on Beck’s Light Beer and Honey Nut Chex.
At Bozell, Gold served as a creative and executive producer on such accounts as Merrill Lynch, Mass Mutual Insurance, Vassarette and Ray-Ban/Bausch & Lomb. He directed many broadcast efforts for Bozell, including a Pfizer spot, "Swimmer," which tells the story of an elderly man who battles high blood pressure to return to competitive swimming; a Federal Emergency Management Administration PSA, which simulated a flood and the plight of a couple in a water-damaged home; and a London Film Festival Award-winning Merrill Lynch ad, "The Barn," which shows a farm engulfed in a thunderstorm. The storm, which ultimately dissipates, symbolizes troubled financial times, while the bull-shaped weathervane glimpsed atop the barn in the final shot signifies Merrill Lynch’s commitment to "be there" for its clients.
Gold’s tenure at Bozell spanned 10 years. Prior to that he worked at BBDO, New York, on Apple Computers, Pepsi, Visa, Pizza Hut and Polaroid. His background also includes a stay at Young & Rubicam, New York, where his endeavors included Dr Pepper, Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. Postal Service. His work as an agency creative and producer has earned awards from such competitions as Cannes, Clio, the British Design and Art Direction Awards and the Directors Guild of America. The last was for Merrill Lynch’s "Sisters," one of the spots for which director Rob Lieberman, now of bicoastal The Lieberman Company in association with bicoastal Straw Dogs, won the DGA Award as best commercial director of ’95.
Gold was formerly represented as a director via The Directory in London for a little less than a year (July ’98-May ’99). He currently teaches film and film design at the School of Visual Arts, New York.
In the six-plus months since he left Bozell, Gold had been looking for a production company to call home. "I took a long time because I wanted to be sure to find the right place," he explained. "I like The Story Companies because it has representation in a lot of markets, and it’s a company that has proven itself over and over. I also like what the company represents. It’s a company that cares about the client, the director and the work."
