Director Paul Gay is joining bicoastal/international Hungry Man for worldwide representation. Gay had been repped stateside via the now defunct Omaha Pictures, and in his native U.K. by the Paul Weiland Film Company, London.
Gay, who is currently wrapping a Vodafone job–his last via the Paul Weiland Film Company–related that he was looking to consolidate his representation. As Omaha wound down operations, Gay noted that it seemed like a good time for a change to a single shop covering both sides of the Atlantic. “I’d been with Omaha for eight years, and sometimes it’s good to shake things up,” he said. “Last year, I did about fifty percent of my work in the US, so it does make it a lot simpler when you’re talking to one company rather than juggling with two.”
Some of Gay’s recent U.S. work includes the Dreyer’s spot “Spoons,” through Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, which features a city’s inhabitants carrying spoons and descending on a grocery store to taste the new Dreyer’s Slow Churned Rich & Creamy Light Ice Cream, and Dunkin’ Donuts “12 Hungry Men,” a send up of the film 12 Angry Men, out of Hill Holliday, Boston. Gay is noted for his visual prowess coupled with subtle humor.
Stephen Orent, partner/managing director at Hungry Man, noted that Gay’s orientation is simpatico with the company. “He’s a former creative, so he’s like-minded,” he related. Gay had been at what is now BMP DDB London, prior to launching a helming career; several directors at Hungry Man, including partners/directors Bryan Buckley and Hank Perlman have agency pedigrees. “His [Gay’s] work is slightly different–he’s definitely a little more visual than what we tend to be,” observed Orent. “Culturally, he just fits right in.”
Gay, who is based in London, will continue to divide his time between work in the U.S. and Europe. “I just tend to go for the best work, really, and I don’t mind if that’s in the suburbs of London, or if it’s in the glamour of California,” he related. “Wherever the best work is, is where I like to be.”
Gay noted that he spoke to other production companies, but that Hungry Man was “by far, my favorite choice.” Gay was familiar with the shop via his friendship with Matt Buels, executive producer of Hungry Man’s London office. “If you look at the work we do as a company, and the work Paul does, it’s a good, creative fit,” stated Buels. “That was the overwhelming factor.”
Gay’s signing is a bit of a departure for Hungry Man, which has a history of homegrown talent. “The London office is successful in its own right, and I think what Paul’s going to bring to it is a certain level of seniority,” said Buels. “Paul’s been directing a long time, and he’s very well known, and we’ve broken a lot of our talent in London–even the American talent [had been] relatively unknown. It reinforces what we’re doing as a company in both markets, actually, which is why it’s so good.”
AGENCY ROOTS
Over the years, work directed by Gay has been honored at the Cannes International Advertising Festival, the Clio Awards, and other awards shows. A graduate of the Ravesnbourne College of Design and Communication, Chislehurst, England, Gay later studied design and art direction, meeting Steve Reeves. The pair landed at DDB London–now BMP DBB–where Gay served as art director, and Reeves worked as copywriter. The pair eventually began directing, and left the agency in 1995 to join Blink, London. After two years, Reeves and Gay opted to go their separate ways. Gay initially directed via the now defunct Tony Kaye Films, and then Outsider, London, before linking with The Paul Weiland Film Company and Omaha.
Gay joins a Hungry Man directorial roster comprising Buckley, Perlman, Allen Coulter, Brendan Gibbons, David Gray, Owen Harris, Jim Jenkins, Robert Jitzmark, David Levin, Mikko, Bennett Miller, Paul Norling, Sebastian Reed, David Shane, Marcos Siega, Bjorn Stein, Scott Vincent, and Christoffer von Reis. Lauri Aloi is head of sales for the company.
