Chuck Bennett and Clay Williams—an agency creative team for eight years, the last five at TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles—have decided to pursue spot directing careers. The two plan to co-direct commercials, initially via their recently launched, Marina del Rey-based production company, Black Box. The duo just helmed client-direct :60 and :30 PSAs produced by Black Box to promote the upcoming Earth Day.
At press time, Bennett and Williams were wrapping up their duties at TBWA/Chiat/Day, including a new business pitch. They intend to explore their directorial options over the coming weeks. Bennett related that they’ve been in discussions with executives at several commercial production houses. Williams and Bennett are considering such alternatives as building Black Box into an independent, full-fledged shop; making Black Box a satellite of an established spot production company; or simply joining the staff of an existing commercial house. Regardless of the scenario, Bennett and Williams envision maintaining Black Box to at least facilitate their creating and directing new convergent media content for clients.
In determining whether or not to form a relationship with another commercial production company, Bennett conjectured that he and Williams may give prospective roosts a test run on certain directorial jobs to assess the experience firsthand. As agency creative directors and writers/art directors, Bennett and Williams are perhaps best known for the ongoing Taco Bell Chihuahua campaign. But over the past year, the duo has fashioned a reel of spots they directed as a team for Taco Bell and Energizer batteries, both TBWA/Chiat/Day clients.
For example, Bennett and Williams recently conceptualized and directed Energizer’s "Elvis" spot, in which "The King" himself is sighted by a devout fan whose camcorder battery dies out at that crucial moment. Among the latest Taco Bell commercials helmed by the twosome was "Crank Call," in which the Chihuahua phones Taco Bell’s president in the middle of the night to make culinary demands.
The five Taco Bell ads Bennett and Williams directed entailed working with other creatives at TBWA/Chiat/Day. "It was as close as you could get to us serving as outside directors who collaborated with the agency people on the spots," related Bennett. "Working as directors with other people’s ideas was stimulating. In effect, Clay and I caught the directing bug and felt this [leaving the agency to focus on directing] was something we had to do."
Their most recent Energizer and Taco Bell commercials were produced through Los Angeles-based Morton Jankel Zander. An Energizer spot helmed by the duo about a year ago was run through bicoastal Partizan.
Williams noted that as agency creatives, he and Bennett have enjoyed the advantage of working with and learning from top directors, including Kinka Usher of House of Usher Films, Santa Monica, Jeff Gorman of Hollywood-based JGF, Traktor of Partizan and Rocky Morton of Morton Jankel Zander. Bennett added that he and Williams also benefited on the agency side from "the opportunity to work closely with other creatives to nurture an idea and bring it to life. That includes extensive experience in postproduction to finish and craft a spot. I believe this will help us as directors."
Bennett said that TBWA Worldwide chairman/chief creative officer Lee Clow has been "supportive of our decision. The agency is a great place, and we’re leaving it on good terms. This is just the next step in our evolvement."
Williams and Bennett first came together as an agency creative team at now defunct Stein Robaire Helm. After three years there, they moved on to TBWA/ Chiat/Day. They are renting their Black Box space from Marina del Rey agency Ground Zero. While at Stein Robaire Helm, Williams and Bennett worked with creatives Kirk Souder and Court Crandall, who are now principals at Ground Zero.
