SANTA MONICA—Amy Hill and Chris Riess, a.k.a. the directing duo Riess/Hill, have joined bicoastal GARTNER for exclusive commercial representation. They come over from bicoastal Anonymous Content, where they had been since summer of 2002.
Their most recent work includes an Oscar Mayer assignment for J. Walter Thompson, Chicago, and a four-spot campaign for the American Heart Association, out of Campbell-Ewald, Warren, Mich. In a sense, both Anonymous-produced jobs reflect the directorial range of Riess/Hill. Though both pieces are humanity-based and performance driven, the Oscar Mayer fare is fun with kids, whereas the American Heart Association package consists of real-people stories that are emotional and poignant.
Riess and Hill, said GARTNER executive producer Don Block, fit the company’s directorial profile of being able to elicit believable performances from actors as well as real people. "I’ve been attracted to [Riess/Hill’s] work for many years," related Block. "That American Heart Association campaign is a great case in point. The spots are documentary style, allowing people to tell their stories—how heart disease has affected them and their families."
Hill said that she and husband Riess enjoyed their tenure at Anonymous. However, they felt the need to return to a boutique house, which Hill observed is more simpatico with their personal intimate style of people-based storytelling.
Riess and Hill first established themselves as a directorial team at now defunct Tony K (whose principal, director Tony Kaye, is now with bicoastal Supply & Demand).
Riess and Hill gained major industry recognition when they were nominated for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award as best commercial directors of ’98. They became the first co-directors ever nominated for the DGA honor. The DGA Award that year went to Kinka Usher of Santa Monica-based House of Usher Films.
Riess/Hill earned that historic DGA nomination based on work for Saturn via Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco; Long John Silver out of the former jordanmcgrathcase&partners, New York; AmSouth for Slaughter Hanson Advertising, Birmingham, Ala.; and Bronson Medical Center via Biggs & Gilmore, Kalamazoo, Mich.
In ’99, Riess/Hill joined now defunct Palomar Pictures, where they spent the next three years. While there, they helmed assorted projects, including spots for Jack Daniels, Aetna, Zocor and The March of Dimes, among others.
The March of Dimes public service message, "Stork," was featured in SHOOT‘s "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery (5/5/00, p. 15). In the ad, a real stork—symbolizing an unexpected pregnancy—enters a busy office building to deliver the news. The PSA reminds pregnant women, as well as those women planning to get pregnant, to take vitamins in order to prevent baby birth defects. The stork spot was so successful that two more were made in later years, both helmed by Riess/Hill.
Riess/Hill joins a GARTNER directorial roster consisting of James Gartner, Michael Apted, Raymond Bark, Martin Canellakis and Ray Dillman. Gartner and Block founded the company in ’95. GARTNER is managed by executive producers Block and Rich Carter.
The company is repped by Phillip Alden on the East Coast, Renee Case in the Midwest and Andrew Hall on the West Coast and in Texas. Hall recently joined the company as head of business development and marketing.
