The sad loss of Spindle raised an obvious question about what director Greg Hackett would do next. The answer is that he's joined Park Pictures, where he is bound to be a huge success.

Like a great many people, DAVID was saddened to learn of the closure of Spindle, a company whose ethos we much admired. There are few winners in such circumstances but Fran Thompson of Park Pictures has come out of it well as she has secured the enormously talented Greg Hackett for her roster, and Hackett too can consider this a great outcome as there aren't many who combine Fran's sagacity with such empathy and compassion.

Greg Hackett is an unusually versatile director but if you were trying to identify a common theme across his work, it would probably be an ability to combine elements of documentary with narrative storytelling... a merger that amps up that most prized of commodities - authenticity.

This Canadian ad for Rona is a great example of Hackett's skill in doing this as it possesses a quality that DAVID once identified as 'truthiness', an intangible sense that what you are watching is steeped in reality, even though it's come from the minds of advertising creatives. The ability to translate ideas into such relatable content is invaluable.

This addition to the canon of work for Vodafone featuring Roman Kemp could so easily have been a simple continuation of what went before but Greg Hackett takes it interestingly close to EE territory, thereby reminding punters that Vodafone's rival doesn't have a monopoly on representations of ordinary life. These vignettes positively sparkle and the incorporation of Kemp is effortless and cool.

Fran Thompson says of her new acquisition: "I’ve been a fan of Greg’s for a while now. His sensibilities as a director are unmatched, and his unique branded filmmaking experience from his documentary and narrative work makes his commercial work so rich. He’s a very welcome addition to the Park Pictures family."

While the man himself says: "I’ve spent my career trying to make work that makes you feel something real. As I now concentrate on the stories I want to tell, I wanted a home that could hold that ambition, and Park has been making exactly the kind of work I aspire to: cinematic, human, impactful."

To see more of Greg Hackett's work, visit the relevant part of the Park Pictures website where you will also find contact details for Fran and her team.