A recent London sojourn by two of its founding partners has yielded three U.K. directors for Santa Monica-headquartered production house Thomas Winter Cooke (TWC). The helmers are: Seamus Masterson, who’s been hot on the viral spot trail; Elliot Hegarty, known for offbeat comedy and a family advertising pedigree; and Martin Brierley, whose reputation is in documentary-based storytelling.
Feature film producer Ralph Winter ( X-Men, X-Men 2) and spot executive producer Mark Thomas–who teamed with director Philip Cooke to launch TWC a little more than a year ago–trekked to London to secure directorial talent for stateside representation. “That impressed me,” related the U.K.-based Masterson. “Mark and Ralph took the time to target and go after directors they liked. It convinced me that they would be positive and proactive in promoting my career.”
Masterson, who is handled in the U.K. by Maverick Media, London, has seen that career, largely steeped in comedy, gain momentum via both mainstream broadcast and viral ads. Among his recent endeavors in the latter discipline is “Gentleman Farmer,” which launched SEGA Europe’s Football 2005 game. The piece shows a gentleman farmer on the English countryside watching his dog herd sheep. But man’s best friend isn’t treated as such when the pastoral farmer turns into an aggressive coach, berating the dog for its poor herding performance. The tongue-lashing is ripe with earthy locker room language; a second version is considerably more tame in its choice of words. Viral agency was ASABailey, London.
Another notable Masterson-helmed viral piece, which gained widespread exposure a couple of years ago, is Mazda’s “Smooth Parking,” out of London agency DMC. In the spot, a woman driver pulls up to a cramped parking space, blocked off by a large truck. Nearby construction workers laugh derisively at the woman who, unperturbed, drives up and over their truck–which is laden with wood planks–and drops the car neatly into the tight parking space. According to an ad chart maintained by the Web portal Lycos, “Smooth Parking” was the most popular viral spot of 2003.
Beyond the viral space, Masterson has directed commercials for Pepsi and Alka Seltzer, among other clients. He has also helmed longer form fare for video game makers, including cinematic work for EA Sports title Euro 2000.
TWC is no stranger to London directors with viral ad prowess. The company introduced director James Rouse to the U.S. on the heels of his risque Trojan condoms’ Web campaign. Rouse, who directs through Outsider, London, recently shifted his stateside representation from TWC to Outsider’s newly formed U.S. shop (SHOOT, 2/25, p. 1).
HEGARTY, BRIERLEY
Like Masterson, Hegarty specializes in humorous fare, with credits that include campaigns for Kellogg’s, Foster’s Cougar Bourbon and London’s Daily Telegraph. His U.K. production company roost remains Infinity Productions, London.
Hegarty grew up in advertising. His dad, John Hegarty, is a principal in Bartle, Bogle & Hegarty, the famed U.K. agency, which also maintains an office in New York. After attending NYU and London International Film School, the younger Hegarty directed 10 short films, as well as a feature, Country Kilburn, about an Irish pub in London. The film drew critical acclaim and was distributed theatrically in the U.K.
Elliot Hegarty began his spotmaking career at the London office of bicoastal/international @radical.media. He also earned inclusion in the 2001 Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase at the Cannes International Advertising Festival on the strength of APF’s “Bra” and Club 18-30’s “Lipstick.”
While also repped in the U.K. by Infinity, Brierley, unlike Hegarty, is not based in London. Brierley has moved stateside to step up his involvement in the American ad market. Brierley was repped years ago in the U.S. by now defunct Limelight Commercials. Earlier, as part of the directing team the Molotov Brothers, Brierley gained global recognition when Maxell audio tapes’ European spots “The Israelites” and “Into The Valley” won the Grand Prix at the ’90 Cannes International Advertising Festival. In ’98, a Brierley-helmed commercial for Crackanut took a Silver Lion at Cannes.
Brierley’s other credits as a solo director include European spots for Revlon, MasterCard and Kellogg’s. He recently wrapped a campaign addressing world poverty for the United Nations, a project that tapped into his experience as a documentarian. Earlier in his career, Brierley made documentary films for the BBC. He also has several shorts to his credit, including Little Man and Drifting which successfully ran on the festival circuit.
TWC also represents directors Jeff France, Michael Fueter, David Jellison and Greg Kiefer.