Radical Media, which handled director Quentin van den Bossche in the U.K. and Germany, has now extended that relationship to worldwide representation, including becoming what’s believed to his first production company home in the U.S. ad market.
While at Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) Amsterdam, van den Bossche made his initial major directorial mark with the film portion of the Heineken “Legendary Posters” campaign which won a Cannes Silver Lion and four Bronze Lions in 2014. A couple of years later, he earned a slot in SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase on the strength of Booking.com’s “Wing It.” His short documentary, Part Time Heroes, a portrait of the Sea Shepherd conservation group which proactively fights poaching and habitat destruction, was released by CNN’s Great Big Story, and selected for Best Short Doc at the St. Louis International Film Festival.
Van den Bossche honed his directorial chops at W+K’s creative incubator, The Kennedys. Most of his work generally features real-life characters in exotic locations, with a conceptual hook and a visceral as well as observational style.
Van den Bossche recently directed a series of spots for Corona’s “Lime Ritual” campaign, as well as a commercial for Nike Basketball, “Mt Olympus,” which celebrates Greek native, Milwaukee Bucks star and NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. For the release of Antetokounmpo’s signature Nike shoe–making him the first European player to attain that honor–van den Bossche and W+K put a hoop on the top of Mount Olympus, the highest point in Greece and the ancient home of the Greek Gods. This lofty perch reflects the amazing journey Antetokounmpo has taken from one of Athens, Greece’s most impoverished suburbs to the very top of the NBA, propelled by a strong work ethic and a dream of attaining greatness. In the spot, which was produced via Athens-based production house Yard, the basket’s backboard has a message spanning across it which reads, “Fate can start you at the bottom. Dreams can take you to the top.”
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More