European Spotmaker Debuts In U.S.
Independent Artists, New York, has signed Julian Griffiths, a director whose work has not yet been widely seen in the U.S. Griffiths, who works for the European market out of his own shop, Woof, London, has aligned with Independent Artists for spot representation in the U.S., Canada and South America.
Griffiths’ show reel contains spots of higher-end cars, including "Docks" for Alfa Romeo via agency Conquest, Milan, Italy; "Earthquake" for Ford’s Mondeo Zetec and "Bridges" for Ford, both through Ogilvy & Mather, London. Prevalent in all of Griffiths’ commercials is a majestic, sweeping feel. None of the spots on the reel contains dialogue.
"I quite like big [spots], big, difficult, complex things," Griffiths said, citing the production of "Bridges," which cost the client about $3 million. Due to unexpected rain and an extremely tight schedule, Griffiths moved the entire set, including about half a dozen Ford cars, from Glen Canyon, Utah, to the northern Sahara Desert in Morocco. "We got all the cars there by a Russian transport plane," Griffiths recalled.
Equally expansive in style is the director’s present project: the spot "Enigma" for British American Racing via Bates Dorland, London. "Basically, we are … using the universe and deep space [as] an allegory for traveling fast. We are going to use a light source to represent the car as it races around the universe," said Griffiths, who has also included CGI effects in his work.
Considering the scenic components integral to Griffiths’ spots, it is perhaps fitting that the director started his career as a freelance location manager/assistant director in the British feature film industry. He joined the business in ’84 and, over four years, assistant directed movies such as The Mission, Mona Lisa, Empire State and The Whistle Blower.
Eventually, Griffiths’ skills in the film industry became a commodity in the spot world, too. After a few years of assistant line producing commercials, Griffiths made the move up to directing in ’93, helming spots for Odour Eaters and Heinz before taking on car manufacturers as regular clients.
Today, Griffiths collaborates on spots with Peter McMillan, producer/co-owner of Woof. The partners met at now defunct London production house Taylor McMillan. "I got a lot of work quickly [at Taylor McMillan] and I wanted to be in control of that and where it was going," Griffiths said of his tenure there and why he and McMillan departed in ’97 to form Woof.
The director’s ability to use extraordinary locations to advance an idea led to his later being signed by Herb Sidel, Independent Artists’ general manager/executive producer. Sebastian Kemp, a location manager who was impressed with Griffiths’ work, recommended the director to Sidel.
"[Griffiths] is like a new entity," Sidel said. "After I screened his reel, I said it was phenomenal. … He brings a whole different point of view to [spots]."
At Independent Artists, Griffiths joins a directorial roster that includes Ken Bates, Ian Leech, Mike Berkofsky, Penny Marshall and Garry Marshall. Sidel is currently looking for reps in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More