David Reviews

 "You're not an artist, Peggy. You solve problems." Don Draper.

A CALL TO ARMS FROM THE AICP
24 March 2024

A pair of entertaining films by O Positive's Brian Billow draw attention to the interference suffered by directors when the unveil their work to agencies and clients, by asking how Vincent Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo might have reacted if they had faced the kind of feedback that is de rigueur in the advertising industry.

The punchier (and funnier) of the two films depicts an 1889 focus group taking a look at Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night and offering their verdict. Everything they say is, of course, idiotic and typical of the kind of feedback upon which major decisions are made in the advertising industry.


The humour in the other film is based on the feedback received by a director once the agency has spoken to the client, and the beauty of it lies in the way negatives are presented as positives. Neither of the artists is particularly interested in what they are being told because they are fully wedded to their vision, but that doesn't deter the agency apparatchiks from pursuing their dreary agenda.


The films present AICP Week as a perfect opportunity to have work judged by peers instead of by the people who write and commission it (except, of course, that all of the work submitted to these awards will actually have been filtered by the aforementioned forces of constraint!)

Stories

MARIA LAX JOINS ART PRACTICE.

Art Practice, the company founded by James Allen, Dan Tobin Smith, and Mike Skrgatic, has signed Finnish director and photographer Maria Lax for representation.


BLINK SIGNS JOSEPH WILSON.

Blink's global roster now boasts director Joseph Wilson for commercials and music videos.


BLAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT.

Sam Gainsborough's favourite artist must be William Blake, right?


NEW—LAND WELCOMES SHARIF ABDEL MAWLA.

Dutch-Egyptian director Sharif Abdel Mawla is now represented by new—land in the UK and Scandinavia.


WAYLON HITS THE BIG TIME THANKS TO IAMS.

Waylon hits the big time thanks to a larger-than-life campaign from IAMS.


BIRTH WELCOMES BEN MIETHKE TO THE UK MARKET.

Ben Miethke is the latest director to call Birth UK home.


PSTH BOARD THE FRIEND SHIP.

French directors PSTH (Léo Sattin and Théo Gottlieb) have joined Friend for UK representation.


ABIGAIL WILSON JOINS PARK PICTURES.

Christmas has come early for Park Pictures in the form of director Abigail Wilson.


IT'S JELLY FOR LUCY HARDCASTLE.

Multidisciplinary director Lucy Hardcastle is now part of Jelly’s global roster.


COMEDY KING TIM BULLOCK BOOSTS ROGUE'S OFFER

Rogue have secured the talents of hugely talented comedy director Tim Bullock by adding him to their roster.


SOMESUCH LANDS SOPHIE JONES.

Somesuch has signed director and photographer Sophie Jones for UK, US, and Dutch representation.


STARS OF 2024: ELLIOTT POWER

Elliott Power ascendancy as a director began last year and has continued with incredible energy to make him one of the hottest talents in the business.


LÉA ESMAILI ARRIVES AT BLINKINK.

Blinkink has added the "insanely talented" Léa Esmaili to its roster.


BARNEY JORDAN IS A COMPANY3 MAN.

VFX doyen Barney Jordan is Company3’s new Senior Finishing Editor in London.


CMN PPL FLMS SIGNS DOROTHY ALLEN-PICKARD.

Dorothy Allen-Pickard, a director who "merges the real with the performative", has joined CMN PPL FLMS for UK commercial representation.


JELLY WELCOMES SAVANTS.

Savants is a lively band of continental directors focused on illustration, design, and animation.


FOUNDATION STORIES - NEVERLAND

Jon Forsyth and Simon Massey share the story of Neverland in the first in a new series of podcasts.


ARMOURY LIKES THE TASTE OF SALSA.

Brazilian directors Salsa (Guto Azevedo and Diego Santana Claudino) have joined Armoury for UK representation.


O2'S SUPERGRAN BAITS THE SCAMMERS

O2 have found a good use for AI... a computer generated gran with a wicked sense of humour and a penchant for playing scammers at their own game.


PRETTYBIRD SWOOP FOR LUCRECIA.

Director, photographer, and nail art whizz Lucrecia is now part of PRETTYBIRD US for commercials and music videos.


STARS OF 2024: EMMA BRANDERHORST

Dutch director Emma Branderhorst has had a stellar year that included a much lauded pop promo spreading an important message about online privacy.


PARK VILLAGE PLAYS THE LONG-FORM GAME.

Park Village has a taste for long-form content - so much so that the company has launched Park Village Originals (PVO).


ABSOLUTE SCORES A HAT-TRICK.

Absolute has trebled its pleasure with the arrival of producer Leianna Gilmartin and colourists Peter Oppersdorff and Philip Hambi.


JILLIAN ISCARO'S ON TOP FORM.

American director Jillian Iscaro is now represented by FORM in the UK and the Netherlands.


IT'S FILMAWI FOR KNUCKLEHEAD.

Mononymous director and photographer Filmawi says he is "honoured to be part of such a visionary collective of directors" at Knucklehead.


Stories

Address: Woodbourne House, Seven Sisters, Lenzie, G66 3AW. Telephone: +44 141 776 7766. Editor: Jason Stone.