David Cameron’s work reflects his previous career as a fashion designer. In spots like Olay Cosmetic’s "Hope" via Saatchi & Saatchi New York, and Avon’s "Beach," via N.W. Ayer & Partners (now Ayer), New York, his affinity for color and style is noticeable. But Cameron is not just about beautiful images.
His flair for comedy is apparent in the goofy MCI spot "Cash Cows," out of Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, New York, which features vignettes of people in everyday situations—like commuting to work, chatting with neighbors and eating lunch—mooing at one another, to illustrate how the local phone company views its users: as cash cows. MCI then encourages people to push for more competition in the telephone market.
Cameron’s elegant use of visuals is apparent in Quaker Oats’ "Snow Angels," via FCB Chicago. The ad shows portrait-like images of kids playing in the snow—making angels a nd catching flakes on their tongues. The playful scenes are intercut with those of kids enjoying a hearty oatmeal breakfast, which will presumably provide the fuel necessary to frolic in the snow. The tag: "Quaker Oatmeal. Warms you heart and soul."
The California native, who lives in Santa Barbara and works out of Los Angeles, has been behind the camera for about 10 years. Cameron has been with bicoastal The A+R Group since 1991. "For a lot of people there’s a ‘the gras s is always greener’ scenario in terms of representation," he says of his long tenure at the shop. "I think that there’s a certain trust that’s been established, and a great understanding between [bicoastal/international The Artists Company and The A+R Group president/executive producer] Roberto Cecchini, his staff, reps and me."
FASHIONING A CAREER
Cameron never intended to direct commercials—he wanted to be a fashion designer, and he graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles, with an associate of arts degree in design in ’81. He moved to New York and soon established himself as a designer, running his own eponymous company from ’85 to ’88. Cameron’s first foray into advertising actually came in ’88, when Absolut Vodka commissioned him to design a dress inspired by the company’s bottle, which Cameron dubbed "Absolut Cameron." He became interested in fil m as a way to promote his collections, and without any formal training, he started making fashion videos to be shown in the stores that sold his clothes.
In the late ’80s, Cameron decided to focus on film. He started di recting image pieces for other designers—a burgeoning field, as he remembers. "The crossover between fashion and entertainment was just starting to happen," relates Cameron, "and people were looking for ways to promote their collections in addition to print." Cameron recalls he was "fortunate enough to have friends in the industry ask me to do some fashion videos to promote their lines. So I ended up doing videos for [designers] Michael Kors and Anne Klein and [makeup brand] Elizabeth Arden."
Cameron produced his fashion work in conjunction with the respective companies’ PR departments, and the videos ran in stores and, in the case of the Anne Klein project, on the Sony Jumbotron screen in Times Square. "It was a great experience," relates Cameron. "I was able to make connections with DPs and producers in New York, and really start to immerse myself in the business."
The videos caught the eye of Cecchini, who contacted the fledg ling director, who was soon working through the company on music videos (for such artists as Eric Clapton, Suzanne Vega and Sheryl Crow). Cameron credits Cecchini with helping him to develop his reel in anticipation of a career in commercials. When he sta rted directing commercials full-time around ’95, Cameron moved back to California.
For several years, fashion and beauty formed the bulk of his directorial assignments, and while he still works on spots for clients like Sears’ clothing and Oil of Olay, today Cameron’s reel has grown to become more eclectic, with self-described. "people and portraiture, which has more storytelling in terms of capturing a certain lifestyle or a given situation."
He uses as an example Sealy’s " Mom, I Love This Bed," out of Long Haymes Carr (now Mullen/LHC), Winston-Salem, N.C." The Sealy ad features a black-and-white montage of family scenes that manage to convey the woman’s life. "I’m able to explore a person’s world in a natural, empathetic way that heightens that person’s experience," he explains.
Cameron cites his previous career for the emphasi s on art direction that pervades his work. "The main thing I really took away from fashion was knowing what colors work together, what colors will read successfully when put in pairs," he says. "I make a real conscientious effort in terms of palette and t exture."
In his experience, nowadays clients want to apply the fashion and beauty aesthetic to the portraiture spots, and take a more naturalistic approach to fashion and beauty work. Cameron has forged an interdisciplinary approach. "We just worked on a big Dove campaign," he relates. (The campaign, which was done via Ogilvy & Mather, New York, includes the ad "Katherine Worsham.") "The challenge there was to take these real women they had cast, and apply a little bit of fashion sensib ility to the spots while still capturing them in an organic way."
In the future, Cameron would like to apply his innovative style to a different type of commercial, too. "I’d like to do more dialogue and performance-based work," he states. "Working with actors or real people, and trying to capture their feelings, is exciting and challenging."
