Comedy director Phil Brown has come aboard bicoastal/international Partizan for commercial representation worldwide—with the exception of Canada and Germany, where he continues to be handled, respectively, by Radke Films, Toronto, and Hamburg-based Sterntag Films. Brown was previously represented in the U.S. by Metro Pictures, Marina del Rey, Calif., which he joined a year ago (SHOOT, 7/21/00, p. 7).
Brown has wrapped his debut assignment through Partizan, a spot for Hasbro’s electronic games out of New York agency Jordan McGrath Case & Partners. He is currently in production on a German ad for Loctite glue via DDB, Düsseldorf. In the Loctite spot, a rodeo cowboy glues himself to the saddle of his steed, but later regrets the act when he visits the lavatory. "That’s where I like to be," Brown laughed tongue-in-cheek. "In the toilet."
Indeed, the director has a taste for offbeat and controversial advertising, as evidenced by his spots for Sony and Vancouver-based Canine Equipment. In a pair of client-direct ads for the latter, a sinister dog plots against his master. "Bathtime," for instance, has the dog nudge a radio off a shelf so that it falls into the tub while his owner is soaking, which leads to the man’s electrocution. Sony’s "Dog," meanwhile, features a girl sunbathing at a park while listening to her discman. Sitting beside her is her dog, who, unbeknownst to the gal, is busy licking his nether regions. Then the dog starts licking the girl’s face. Brown said the Canadian ad, which was created by MacLaren McCann, Toronto, was later pulled by Sony’s Japanese headquarters.
Since December 2000, the Vancouver-based Brown has also directed some 30 German market spots for IKEA out of Roche Macaulay & Partners, Toronto, and produced by Radke. Among them are "Flasher," "Love Lesson," "Mustard Drawer" and "Tap Dancer." In "Flasher," a woman standing at bus stop glances at the guy next to her. Covering him from the neck down is a curtain set hung from a curtain rod. When the woman looks away, the man pulls a cord and the curtains open, revealing his naked body. He starts to dance, his privates obscured à la Cops.
The popular IKEA work factored into Brown’s signing with Partizan. After the campaign hit the streets, several stateside production houses began courting the director. Meanwhile, due in part to last year’s actors strike against the advertising industry, Brown’s affiliation with Metro had failed to generate any U.S. spot assignments for the director. In the end, it was Partizan that struck a chord with Brown. "Obviously I knew of their work and their directors," the director said. "And I believe they have the resources, the reputation for quality and a vision. They also seem to like taking risks, which is what I was interested in. My stuff is a bit edgy and rebellious, and they were quite keen on that."
Brown has also directed ads for 7-Up, Molson, Western Canada Lottery, Chek TV, Labatts, Visine, Rostocker Pils and Samsung. His Web site (www.phil brown.bc.ca) was shortlisted in the Cyber Lions competition at the 20001 Cannes Advertising Festival. The site was created by dZinenmOtion. com, Vancouver.
A native of the U.K., Brown began his career in the ad agency arena, working for five years as an art director at Aberdeen, Scotland ad shop Format. The opportunity to make his spot directing debut came by way of a competition sponsored by Creative Review, through which Brown helmed an Absolut vodka ad, "Absolut Intrigue." Then in ’94, Brown moved to Canada, landing an art director position at BBDO Vancouver.
During his tenure at BBDO, Brown took another stab at directing when a friend from Palmer Jarvis DDB, Vancouver, offered him an assignment for Fong’s fresh poultry. "Dead Chicken" was shortlisted at the Cannes Ad Fest in ’98, and won other industry accolades. Shortly thereafter, Brown found spot representation via Radke and bicoastal The Artists Company. Two years later, he joined Metro.
Brown rounds out a Partizan commercial directorial roster that also consists of directors Anthea Benton, Federico Brugia, Quentin Dupieux, Michel Gondry, Jim Hosking, the mono-monikered Jaume, Barbara McDonough, Dominic Murphy, Doug Nichol, Aaron Priest and the directing collective Traktor. The company also represents several directors through its music video and graphics/animation divisions.
Partizan is represented by Los Angeles Michael Di Girolamo on the West Coast; Chicago-based Tracy Bernard in the Midwest and New York-based Geren Lockhart on the East Coast.
