Signaling its intention to establish a more solid foothold in the U.S. market, London-based shop Gorgeous has signed a deal with bicoastal production company Anonymous. For the past three years, talent management firm Creative Management Partners (CMP), bicoastal and Chicago, had repped Gorgeous.
According to Gorgeous managing director Paul Rothwell, the company parted amicably with CMP, which had served the production house well. But Gorgeous has a slightly different agenda now, said Rothwell.
"The deal with Anonymous gives us access to their production back-up and their vast [production] knowledge," he explained. "We’re growing a little bit here and felt that Anonymous just better matched what we needed in the States. It’s a way of us strengthening our presence in the States, which, in turn, is an indication of our intention to work there. In my opinion, the best work in the world is in the States. I went around the States last year to see several key agencies—which, again, is a mark of how highly we value the American market."
Dave Morrison, director of Anonymous’ commercial division, praised Gorgeous as one of the premiere London commercial houses. "For us, that’s what it’s all about: trying to play at a really high end of the business, and those guys certainly do that," said Morrison.
In return, he added, Anonymous can help bolster the careers of the Gorgeous directors. "Certain directors at Gorgeous would like to be doing more work here, commercial and otherwise," he noted, observing that Anonymous can provide its directors with a "window of opportunity" into the filmmaking business.
Until recently, Gorgeous had been a two-director shop. Director Chris Palmer has remained steadily booked on U.K. projects, and director Frank Budgen has typically directed four jobs a year at most, with the U.S. supplying one of them, reported Rothwell.
But Gorgeous recently formalized deals with two new directors—Peter Thwaites and Tom Carty—whom the company intends to introduce to the American market. Before shifting into directing, director/cameraman Thwaites served as a DP and has worked regularly in that capacity for Palmer and Budgen over the years. Last year, he directed such work as the spot "Subtitle" for Aristoc Tights via Miles Calcraft Briginshaw & Duffy, London, as well as his first American job, a spot titled "Wear," for Price Waterhouse Cooper via Hill Holliday Connors Cosmopulos, Boston.
A well-known creative in the London ad market, Carty recently joined Gorgeous after serving as copywriter at Abbott Mead Vickers/BBDO, London. As a creative, Carty contributed to high-profile award-winning campaigns for Guinness and Volvo, among others. "He and his partner were, by far, the two most awarded creatives here over the last 10 years," added Rothwell, citing the 21 Pencil awards Carty has won at the British D&AD Awards, which is comparable to the One Show.
"I’ve been working with Tom for awhile and he’s finally moved to directing full-time," Rothwell related. Carty’s directorial credits include a Soul II Soul music video and several Abbott Mead jobs—among them, spots for Snickers and for the magazine Exposure.
Affiliating with Anonymous for stateside work is a natural move for Gorgeous, said Rothwell. He noted that Budgen and Anonymous founder/CEO Steve Golin have "known each other over the years," and added, "When Steve left Propaganda, we were interested to see what he would do, and stayed in touch. We’ve been following [Anonymous] for a couple of years. I like the way they go about things. I think they’ve achieved an amazing amount in a short time. I have huge respect for the people behind the company, and they just seem to be attracting all the top guys over there."
Morrison acknowledged that Anonymous has been low-key in pursuing publicity for its roster of directors until now. He added, "Now that things have come together, I want to make sure everybody is aware of what’s going on over here, particularly now, [with the Gorgeous directors]."
In addition to Palmer, Budgen, Thwaites and Carty, the Anonymous directorial roster consists of David Fincher, David Kellogg, David Denneen, Andrew Douglas, Jeffery Plansker, Mark Romanek, Gore Verbinski, Malcolm Venville, Hammer & Tongs, Andrea Giacobbe, Stephane Sednaoui, John Curran, John Dolan, Martin Weisz, Brett Morgan & Nanette Burstein, and John Frankenheimer.
Morrison said Anonymous is bidding Gorgeous directors on several jobs for undisclosed clients. Maya Brewster and Susan Murphy share repping duties for Anonymous on the coasts, while Chicago-based David Wagner covers the Midwest.
