Big Picture Communications, New York, has signed director Gene Cernilli. Most recently at New York-based The Sussan Group, Cernelli is best known for his youth market ad fare. His spots piqued the interest of Big Picture exec. producers Ava Seavey and Marc Campana.
A lot of the kids stuff out there seems outdated but I saw something in Genes work that was superior. It was high-impact and very contemporary, said Seavey.
Seavey and Cernilli met through mutual friend Betsy Rosenblum, a senior producer at Avrett, Free & Ginsberg, New York. At the time Cernilli was shopping around for a new production company and Rosenblum suggested that he work with Seavey on a project. When we met, it was love at first sight, mused Cernilli. What I like about Ava and Marc was that they are aggressive; they have a vision and are very much involved with my work.
Cernilli made a name for himself as a director and one of the creators of MTV Sports, which won him an Emmy Award. After seven years at MTV, Cernilli took his extreme sport sensibilities to the commercial side, first at Five Union Square, New York, and then The Sussan Group.
His work for Kelloggs, Mountain Dew, McDonalds and Swatch demonstrate his ability to tap into youth oriented energy and perspective. For instance, Calvin and Charity, two Kelloggs Frosted Flakes spots Cernilli directed with Five Union Square via Leo Burnett Co., Chicago, feature child icon Tony the Tiger water skiing and skateboarding with kids who are masters at these sports. Cernilli has worked on Frosted Flakes, including doing the voiceover, for seven years.
The final push for Seavey came with a PSA Cernilli directed for the Presidents Initiative on Race through Griffin Bacal, New York titled On Target. Cernilli separately interviewed and filmed people of different race, class and gender, including one woman with Downs syndrome, and then edited together the footage to create a montage of people giving their ideas on different racial issues. The Ad Council awarded the PSA a GD Crain Award last year. The ad really spoke to me because it paralleled the entire initiative of my company, said Seavey, who recently shifted the focus of Big Picture to concentrate on minority and female talent (SHOOT, 1/8, p. 8).
Cernilli joins directors Joe Chapura, Bill Mason and Wendy Hammond. Big Picture Communications is represented on the East Coast by exec. producers Seavey and Campana, on the West Coast by independent rep Terry Seward, and in the Midwest and Texas by indie rep Anita Holmes.
