A tale of two production companies shows a dramatic difference on the surface and striking similarities when digging a bit deeper, the newsworthy common bond being their lofty standing in the Palme d’Or derby at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Smuggler won the Palme d’Or for the second time, the first win coming in 2007. This year saw Smuggler not only earn Palme d’Or distinction but also produce the Film Craft Grand Prix winner, Puma Social’s “After Hours Athlete” directed by Ringan Ledwidge for Droga5 New York.
Meanwhile O Positive had its highest Palme d’Or standing ever, finishing second this year as one of the smaller boutique shops amidst a field of companies that for the most part dwarf it in size.
Indeed Smuggler has considerably more size and scale than O Positive. In fact, Smuggler’s London roost–an up-and-coming entity unto itself–finished eighth in this year’s Palme d’Or rankings. And while Smuggler has 20-plus directors, O Positive has but six.
Yet there are some similarities in the mix–the obvious being the top-drawer quality of the two companies’ work. But the body of work for both houses also shares the strong suit of consistency over time. Smuggler won the Palme d’Or in 2007, fell out of the top 10 in ’08, finished second in the Palme d’Or derby in ’09, third in ’10, and won this year. O Positive finished fourth in ’08, fifth in ’09, sixth in ’10, and second this year.
Also, two directors did the heavy lifting for each company in the 2011 Palme d’Or standings. For Smuggler, Ledwidge directed Puma’s aforementioned “After Hours Athlete”–which scored the Film Craft Grand Prix, two Film Craft Gold Lions. one Film Gold Lion, and a Film Craft Silver–and Logitech’s “Kevin Bacon Fan,” winner of a Film Silver Lion and a Film Craft Bronze Lion. (Logitech agency is Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.) And Smuggler’s Brian Beletic helmed Mini Countryman’s “Mini Countryman Flow” for Amsterdam agency BSUR, which earned a Film Craft Silver Lion. (It should be noted, though, that Smuggler had some 35 shortlisted entries that spanned a much wider range of directors on its roster.)
As for O Positive, the two directors registering in the Palme d’Or tally were company partners Jim Jenkins and David Shane. Jenkins helmed Snickers’ “Focus Group” and “Party,” which each earned a Film Silver Lion, Snickers’ “Logging” which took a Film Bronze Lion, and FedEx’s “Exchange Student” which won a Film Silver Lion. (Snickers’ and FedEx’s agency is BBDO New York.)
Shane directed the Land Rover campaign out of Y&R New York consisting of “Dirty Cops” and “Pathological Liar” which won a Film Silver Lion, with “Pathological Liar” also earning a Film Craft Silver Lion, and the ESPN Sportscenter campaign comprised of “Spy-Ovechkin,” “Octagon-St. Pierre” and “Copier-Landon Donovan” for Wieden+Kennedy, New York, which took a Bronze Film Lion.
Smuggler
Brian Carmody, managing partner/co-founder of Smuggler, observed that the Palme d’Or is “a huge honor” and underscores a coming of age for the company. He recalled saying to his colleague, Smuggler founding partner Patrick Milling Smith, last July that “for the first time in our existence [then some eight-and-a-half years for Smuggler], I feel a confidence in what we are. We’re not trying to be something. We are doing what we said we wanted to do from the start, which is great work. We’re helping to make a film that’s a great ad, or an ad that’s a great film. Maybe that comes over time with the maturing of your directors, the trust level that agencies have in you…Agency creatives are essential to any success you have. At the same time I feel that we bring a lot of added value to a project.”
Carmody, who served on this year’s Film Craft Lions jury, said that the judges’ priorities in assessing the work were “honesty, positivity and whether it was something truly new. The jury members were all forward looking and focused on ingenuity and imagination, which they wanted to take back to their agencies or production companies to share…I remember one of the judges telling me that ‘good work costs clients less and delivers more over time than mediocre or bad work.'”
Gratified over the judges’ response to Puma, Carmody noted that this and other work resonated for the jury. He cited as examples Chrysler’s “Born Of Fire” (directed by Samuel Bayer of Serial Pictures for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.), “which makes me feel tingles whenever I see it,” Levi’s “To Work” (directed by John Hilcoat of Skunk for W+K, Portland), and Silestone by Cosentino’s “Above Everything Else,” “a spectacular animation piece” done by Alex Roman in Madrid.
“I think it was a good year at Cannes, particularly when the industry has been trying to help the economy to recover. It’s harder to do great work, to do more with less time and tighter budgets,” related Carmody.
Hearkening back to 1997 when he was part of the Propanda/Satellite contingent that came on stage to accept the Palme d’Or, Carmody recollected, “I remember being on stage, leaning over to Colin Hickson [Propaganda’s VP of commercials] and saying, ‘You do realize this is where the hard work starts.’ This kind of an award serves as a kick in the ass, a reminder that you better stay awake, stay current, keep learning. You can never rest. For us at Smuggler, you don’t set out to win the Palme d’Or. The goal is not defined as winning at Cannes. The goal is to keep your eye on the ball, to strive for excellence, to make important pieces of work.”
The eighth place finish in the Palme d’Or rankings for Smuggler, London, also was a source of pride for Carmody who cited the work of director Henry-Alex Rubin for Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile and Renault. Carmody said that for the U.K. operation of Smuggler to break into the Palme d’Or top 10 represents quite an accomplishment for a production house started just a couple of years ago. He added that over the past four years, Rubin has directed work that’s garnered close to 20 Lions.
O Positive
Director Jenkins of O Positive said that Smuggler deserved to win the Palme d’Or just on the basis of Puma’s “After Hours Athlete.” “I think that’s my favorite ad of the year–Ringan did a tremendous job on it,” said Jenkins who founded O Positive with exec producer Ralph Laucella in the spring of ’07 and was several months later joined by Shane. Starting with its first year of eligibility in ’08, O Positive has gone on to place in the Palme d’Or’s top six every year–with its highest finish, second, coming last month at Cannes.
As to how a smaller-sized shop like O Positive has managed to stay in such select Palme d’Or company over the years, Jenkins and Shane credited their agency collaborators. “It’s very much about who we work with. David [Shane] has a history of directing for Wieden in New York. And ESPN this year continues to win awards. I have a history of working with the creatives at BBDO. And Land Rover and Y&R have been very good to both of us.”
“We’re ridiculously fortunate to have access to great creative agency people who are not just smart and funny but also collaborative,” said Shane. “The best creatives watch what’s being shot. They still act like they did when they were art directors and writers. They serve the clients by watching and collaborating–not by telling the client a funny joke while the shoot is going on. We’ve been lucky to work with those kinds of creatives.
In that vein, Jenkins described FedEx’s “Exchange Student,” which won a Silver Lion, as being “a gift. When I first read that script from BBDO, I knew it would be a terrific commercial. You can’t screw it up.”
Another dynamic figuring in O Positive’s positive Palme d’Or track record is that being a small shop has its advantages. “We keep our overhead low, making sure we can turn down work that doesn’t excite us,” said Shane. “Being more selective means proportionally that the work we do tends to be better work.”
Jenkins added that a smaller company inherently lends itself more to directors talking to each other. “David and I are super collaborative and use each other as sounding boards on ideas. We show each other our scripts. We operate under the assumption that if we can make each other laugh and spark something, then it’s going to be funny to a larger audience. It takes a certain amount of humility to take criticism from another director but that’s what works for us–and it’s something that’s easier to come by at a smaller boutique operation. So by the time we get on conference calls, the ideas have been criticized and thought out internally at our company.”
Still, Jenkins said he’s always surprised and grateful to have O Positive included in the annual top 10 Palme d’Or rankings. “Considering how selective we try to be and how few directors we have, it’s an accomplishment we never take for granted.”
Top 10
Here’s a recap of the Palme d’Or rankings for 2011:
1. Smuggler, USA
2. O Positive, USA
3. MJZ, USA
4. Stink, U.K.
5. Hungry Man, USA
6. Primo, Argentina
7. Independent, U.K.
8. Smuggler, U.K.
9. Rabbit Content, USA
10. Sonny, U.K.
