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AGENCIES Which agency has the best ratings when you add 'em all up and average it out?
DIRECTORS And if you do the same thing with directors, who's top of that list?
CREATIVES Are you one of the twenty-five creatives who's won a coveted place on this list?
AGENCY PRODUCERS Or are you one of the most highly regarded agency producers in the UK?
FILM PRODUCERS You may have worked out that there's a bit of a theme developing by now.
BRANDS Mind you, this one's a bit different as it looks at the brands themselves.
FILM PRODUCTION COMPANIES Another company list - is your place of employment one of those on this list? If so, demand a pay rise - you're obviously doing something right.
POST / EDITING / SOUND COMPANIES We've bundled together all the tertiary companies into a single list. There are a few prominent companies on here that don't subscribe to DAVID. The fools.
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY Are you one of the best twenty-five cinematographers working in advertising? You are? Then you should be on this list.
This handsomely shot McDonald's commercial portrays breakfast with reverence. Bathed in light as they tuck into McMuffins, hash browns, bacon rolls, and more, each cast member savours their respective happy places.
One diner even breaks the fourth wall as she slots a hash brown into her Egg McMuffin and says: "We all do it". This is a nice, conspiratorial touch, inviting viewers to note their own breakfast habits at home, at work, or on the move.
The ritualistic vibe is enhanced by Natalie Cole's 'This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)', while relatable details like a blob of ketchup in a bloke's beard add further visual texture. You can tell the brand wish to reacquaint as many night owls and early birds with their wares as possible post-lockdown.
Ezra Hurwitz joins OB
OB Management have welcomed Ezra Hurwitz to their independent roster of directors for UK representation.
A former professional ballet dancer, Hurwitz brings a refined aesthetic and innate understanding of movement to his work across commercials, short films, and music promos. This fluidity bleeds into his storytelling style too, as narratives shift and reform themselves unexpectedly to expose the human emotions at their core.
The world's most laid-back hula-hooper stars in this entertaining commercial for Lucozade. Ini Kamoze's dancehall classic 'Here Comes The Hotstepper' provides a fittingly rhythmic soundtrack to the bloke's shopping trip with a twist, as his ever-moving hoop and casual attitude draw curious attention from passers-by. Well, it's one way to keep cardio fun.
Director Max Weiland nails the pacing here, never hurrying the central character's journey home after drinking (and recycling) a bottle of the advertised drink. Subtle moments of skill - including a smoothly executed phone-from-pocket manoeuvre - remind viewers that there is effort being made here, but the protagonist is too cool to show it.
This Procter & Gamble film coincides with the trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer accused of murdering George Floyd in May 2020. As the world watches with bated breath, the ad cuts between three scenarios that are designed to question Black stereotypes.
Thus director Kevin Wilson, Jr. introduces a group of teenagers in a white-run convenience store; a mum loaded with shopping bags; and a man driving to an apartment at night. Narrator Mahershala Ali asks: "If you think you know what happens next, ask yourself why".
Each vignette's pay-off defuses situations that were never 'situations' in the first place. It will take more than a two-minute commercial to shift rigid thinking, but there's a heft to Wilson, Jr.’s effort that demands some urgent soul-searching.
CHEAT elevate Karol Cybulski.
CHEAT's Karol Cybulski has been promoted from junior colourist to colourist.
Since joining the company in 2018, Cybulski has impressed with her strong creative instincts and technical nous. Several TVCs, music videos, and film projects later, the Leicester-born artist eyes further success at her spiritual home.
Retro R&B rules the day in this sumptuous promo for Tiana Blake's 'Interruption'. Director Sheena Brobbey helms the Nineties-inspired effort - a low-fi fever dream of satin, sparkles, and soft-focus shots. Nods to Britney Spears's infamous 1999 Rolling Stone cover as the artist lounges on a pink bed only cement the film's vintage vibe
Inspired by classic Japanese cinema, this monochrome promo for Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth's 'Remember We Were Lovers' delivers a striking watch. Primal Scream vocalist Gillespie cuts a stark figure against a bare beach landscape, while Savages frontwoman Beth lurks deep inside a barren woodland - eventually becoming one with the earth itself.
Directing duo Ewan Jones Morris and Casey Raymond combine surreal animation with a roguish sense of humour in this vibrant promo for John Grant. Similar to 2018's 'He's Got His Mother’s Hips', the film delivers a diverting watch as it sweeps through a dreamlike visual landscape - drifting through hand-drawn/digital animation and puppetry by turns.
After teasing fans with snippets for months, viral sensation Lil Nas X has finally dropped latest single 'Montero', accompanied by a typically attention-grabbing video. Much more than a stunt designed to stir up controversy (and oh, how it's stirred up controversy), the film makes a defiant statement about being yourself - boldly, fully, and unapologetically.
Parody meets escapism in this grimy promo for Sad Night Dynamite's latest track 'Krunk'. Centred on a narcissistic protagonist who meets an untimely end, the film lampoons the sort of bloke who thinks he's Tony Montana on a night out at the Babylon Club: misogynistic, egocentric, and unbearably obnoxious.
The '28 Days Later' aspect may have lost its novelty by now, but that hasn’t stopped artists and filmmakers from pursuing new takes on lockdown Britain. This Jessie Ware promo, for example, is a poignant tour of London that leans more on its protagonist than its setting. Gemma Arterton is the wanderer in question, with director Dominic Savage's camera trained on her throughout.
West Side Story meets generational conflict in this absorbing promo for Purple Disco Machine's 'Fireworks'. Director Greg Barth pits Boomers and Gen-Zs against each other as dance-fighting street gangs, with the initial conflict rapidly fading into indoctrination as the older generation become a corrosive influence on the young upstarts.
Nick Jonas—one-third of the Jonas Brothers (the others are Kevin and Joe, as if you care)—has navigated life post-Disney Channel well thanks to some polished solo work. New single 'This is Heaven' is another respectable calling card, with lively production and fan-pleasing lyrics ("Every kiss with you, it's like a prayer falls from my lips") aplenty.
Modern dating is a minefield even when not stymied by a pandemic, with apps galore and social media stalkers complicating the already thorny business of finding love. This tongue-in-cheek promo for Joel Corry's 'BED' takes things to their logical conclusion in humorous fashion, as it depicts Perfect Partner - a service which creates dates tailored to client specification.
The hypnotic pulse of DJ duo Dense & Pika's latest track 'Honey' is matched by an equally enthralling promo. Directed by Maxim Kelly, the film uses C.G.I to create a virtual world which evokes the likes of sci-fi classic 'Tron' - guiding regimented gig-goers through a sparse digital space. It's one way to shoot a nightclub scene during a pandemic.
Filmed at St John-at-Hackney Church, this stripped-down promo for Griff captures a live performance of latest track 'Black Hole'. Accompanied by a drummer and a keyboard player, the electro-pop singer soon embraces her ample surroundings and strides across the church's dark wooden floor. Meanwhile, occasional shifts into darkness add welcome visual variety.
Ireland's Biig Piig opts for Spanish in her latest single 'Cuenta Lo', as the bilingual singer/former croupier targets elitism, greed, and inequality. “Papel en mis manos sienta bien" [The paper in my hands feels good] is repeated throughout Jess Smyth's hip-hop-inflected track, and the promo sees co-directors Nono and Rodrigo Inada run with the sentiment.
Anyone with fond memories of the glossy R'n'B promos which flooded MTV during its glory days will feel a spark of nostalgia upon viewing Mahalia's 'Jealous'. From styling choices (PVC and pigtails) to neon lighting and screens-within-screens, director Melody Maker toys with promo tropes while a home invasion with a twist plays out onscreen.
The phrase 'cosmic puppet romance' doesn't usually make it into reviews here at DAVID, but then there's nothing routine about this promo for Alfie Templeman's 'Everybody's Gonna Love Somebody'. The film sees the Bedfordshire singer take a ride with an unexpected companion: a green, furry puppet trying to track down its lost love.
Iceage frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt describes new single 'Vendetta' as "an impartial dance along the illicit lines of infraction". We half-expected the promo to feature an edgier version of the hokey-cokey, but director Jonas Bang responds with a moody blend of performance and criminal elan from Croatian-Danish actor Zlatko Buric instead.
This striking promo for Dublin artist David Balfe's 'Birthday' is a testament to loss, sketched in the dusty dregs of memories both barely recalled and still so painful. 'For Those I Love' is the artist's solo project, whose debut album was conceived and created following the untimely death of a close friend. As such, it's no surprise that grief is writ large across the hazy, monochrome visuals here.
Fans of 'John Wick', 'Killing Eve', and the 'Hitman' video game series will appreciate this ballistic promo for disc jockey Solomun. Knives, silenced pistols, and the odd syringe filled with a luminous green substance appear throughout Chehad Abdallah's film, as the protagonist (played by guest vocalist Inéz Schaefer) shows why she is the boss.
Separation has preoccupied many of us throughout the past year, and this quirky animated promo for Teddi Gold's 'Thought Bubbles' explores the idea of connection in colourful fashion. Revolving around a character who is present in their absence, the film plays with the idea of one's personal bubble as it offers a fantastical take on distance.
Femi Ladi directs this shadowy promo for grime MC Ghetts, who—despite the repeated chant of "no-motherfucking-mercy"—is in a nurturing mood. He's joined by newcomers Pa Salieu and BackRoad Gee, advising them to maintain "the same workrate and passion" that brought them to his attention in the first place. Solid career advice there.
Up-and-coming UK duo Sad Night Dynamite take a turn for the sinister with latest single 'Smoke Hole'. The track pairs a retro, Dr Dre-style beat with melancholy flares of piano and synth, all tied together by dreamlike, drifting vocals which increase the sense of sonic menace. The accompanying promo only enhances the track's foreboding vibe.
Wingmen around the world were forced to stand down in 2020 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, and the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon. French rapper Mowdee, on the other hand, still has the ultimate wingman by his side: himself. Alas, Mowdee² is a violent, puerile, sleazy menace to society.
Tamil-Swiss musician Priya Ragu is an artist who truly refuses to be pigeonholed, defining her own unique mix of soul, hip-hop, and South Indian music as 'Raguwavy'. This colourful promo for 'Chicken Lemon Rice' provides an appealing gateway to the genre, as director Dumas Haddad embraces the singer's globally-inclusive approach.
A model village provides the platform for social commentary in this beautifully designed promo for Rag'n'Bone Man's new track 'All You Ever Wanted'. The artist himself serves as a passenger on a train travelling around the idyllic hamlet in question, observing as layers of artifice are stripped away to reveal the real social ills beneath.
Nature fights back in this darkly comic promo for Ben Howard's latest single 'What A Day'. Director Cloé Bailly takes the audience on a surprising ride through the Bulgarian countryside, which is replete with rolling fields, peaceful woodlands... and rabbits who don't take kindly to being killed for sport.
The Strokes are attempting to return to their roots of late, with latest album 'The New Abnormal' capturing some of their spiky sound from classic record 'Is This It'. Yet the promo accompanying 'The Adults Are Talking' is very much looking forward, as the band face off against a team of cyborgs in what feels like an unfairly-matched game of baseball.
