A list of the most established and awarded directors of United Kingdom of Advertisement Films. The list follows an alphabetical order and includes the most awarded directors of the last decade:
Sam Brown is a passionate commercials director that started as a music video one. He has directed the Waitrose holiday ad – and there’s a lot of love in the tale of a brave little robin making his way home for Christmas. From the stirring strings to the detailed CG of the determined hero, the careful details show a director who is so totally absorbed in what he does. Sam’s work in commercials spans everything from historical epic "Horse Story" for Lloyds, stylized neon pop "Guinness Black" and detailed animation "Set Yourself Free" for Freeview. One of his most celebrated works is the provocative Made of Black campaign that links the color of Guinness to the vibrant spirit of young Africans. Winner of a Clio Gold, this stirring launch spot fuses elements from different time periods, blending tribal beats and imagery with Jazz Age choreography and modern trappings like a video wall and cutting-edge visual effects. The approach suggests a dynamic cultural heritage powering a self-assured drive toward the future.
PRODUCTION Director: Sam Brown / Production company: Rogue Films | AGENCY: AMV BBDO | CLIENT: Diageo
One of the most in-demand commercial directors for his cinematic eye, achieving the biggest job in British advertising: John Lewis’ Christmas film starring Elton John. Edwards paid loving tribute to the music legend, in an emotional time-travel to his past. The spot was the big winner at Cannes Lions 2019, achieving 1 x Gold Film Lions & 2 x Silver Entertainment Lions, 1 x Silver Film Craft Lions, 2 x Bronze Film Craft Lions, 1 x Bronze Film Lions. He has done campaigns for Sony, HSBC, Vodafone, AT&T and COI for which he won a Cannes Gold Lion in 2009. The mix of a sharp aesthetic with a strong American Indie spirit gives him a modern, realistic and visually strong style.
Director: Seb Edwards
Production company: Academy Films
AGENCY: Adam & Eve DDB
CLIENT: John Lewis & Partners
Ringan Ledwidge is a British top director of commercials, widely well-known and acclaimed by the industry. He has worked with brands like Adidas, Nike and Coke and has picked up awards at D&AD, British Arrows and Cannes. He's the founder along Daniel Kleinman of Rattling Stick, named Best Production Company of the Year in 2013. One of his most awarded and representative work is the dramatic Three Little Pigs for The Guardian. His street-based style and politically critic view are well represented in this powerful piece that won at Cannes Lions and the CLIO Grand Award. One of his latest, an ad for Jose Cuervo also won a CLIO Gold Award.
PRODUCTION Director: Ringan Ledwige / Production company: Rattling Stick | AGENCY: MDC Partners | CLIENT: Jose Cuervo
Aoife McArdle is a multi-award-winning writer-director. Her highly celebrated work includes “From Confusion to Clarity” for Confused.com, “Equal Love” for Absolut, “It Comes From Below” for Under Armour, “Ignition” for Honda and the lauded short film, “Every Breaking Wave” for Irish band U2. She has won several awards including the Cannes Lions, the British Arrows, the D&ADs and UKMVAs. In 2017, Campaign Magazine listed Aoife as one of their top ten directors for the year. Her first narrative feature film: “Kissing Candice” premiered at both the Toronto Film Festival and the Berlinale Film Festival to widespread acclaim.
Director: Aoife Mcardle
Production company: Somesuch
AGENCY: BBH
CLIENT: Absolut
Sam Pilling is an director full of cinematographic potential that have won multiple awards around the world. He's best known for capturing the right-perfect moment with the camera and his music videos and commercial work have built him a powerful reputation as a filmmaker. Sam’s music video work includes DJ Shadow, RTJ, Joe Cole, The Weeknd, etc. His commercial work include brands like Sky Sports (“No More One Horse Race”), BMW (“Inner Child”) and Audi (“Born Restless”) to name a few. His work has collected Cannes Lions, D&AD, Ciclope, Clios, etc.
Director: Sam Pilling
Production company: Pulse Films
AGENCY: Mother
CLIENT: KFC
A director with a tremendous playful energy, that we can witnessed in his ad for Three’s "Phones are good". Ian Pons Jewell has an unconventional thinking that ends in groundbreaking promos, time travelling epics and far out conceptual work. He cans do drama or comedy, always imprinting an hypnotic and surreal originality. He has established himself as one of the new voices in the industry. In 2017 he directed "I Love Doing Dishes" for Finish through Wieden & Kennedy. The film won awards across the globe and properly announced him as one of the most exciting directors working in the advertising industry. Films for Nike, Dollar Shave Club, Google Pixel and most recently Three Mobile further cement his growing reputation and led to a nomination for Director of the Year at the Shots Awards and selection by both Campaign and Televisual Magazines as one of the Top 10 Directors of 2018.
Director: Ians Pons Jewell
Production company: Friend
AGENCY: Wieden & Kennedy London
CLIENT: Finish
Rouse's thing is comedy but he can also mutate to heartbreaking and devastating pieces like the one for the International Committee of the Red Cross’ "Hope" film, in which a father rushes his daughter to hospital in a war zone. He's a talented director of actors, in his own words: "If you don’t believe the actors, everything else falls apart" (quote from Ciclope Festival). His sense of humor is dry witness with bittersweet touch. He has won Cannes Gold Lions, Clio Golds, BTAA Golds, Creative Circle Golds, Andy Golds and many other Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards.
Director: James Rouse
Production company: Outsider
AGENCY: DDB
CLIENT: AA
Made up of brothers Ben and Dan Tubby, they are an award-winning, director-led, creative development and video duo based in London. The specialize in combining compelling and honest real-life stories with beautifully crafted cinematic visuals, they tell fascinating and relevant human narratives that legitimize a brand’s message through truthful and entertaining content that people want to engage with. The pair has worked with agencies including AMV BBDO, BBH, Vice, Grey London, DDB Sydney and JWT London. Their work has also garnered a lot of praise with the pair picking up a raft of accolades from the likes of British Arrows, D&AD, Ciclope Festival, Cannes Lions and LIA Awards. His work for Guinness "Never Alone" narrates the story of the former Wales Rugby Team captain’s greatest fear, the fear of rejection from everything he had known, because of his sexuality. The ad won every prestigious award you can imagine in 2016.
Director: Tubby Brother
Production company: Stink London
AGENCY: AMV BBDO
CLIENT: DIAGEO
Daniel Wolfe is a prolific director with a bold, subversive vision. Through his award-winning work in commercials, music videos and long-form films, he has gained a formidable reputation as a pioneer, consistently pushing the boundaries of his form. Daniel has been a leading figure in music videos for nearly 15 years. He rose to prominence with a cycle of ambitious narrative videos. This included the gritty slasher “Time To Dance” for The Shoes, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a hipster-slaying serial killer. It became an instant YouTube sensation and picked up two UKMVAs. His follow-up “Iron Sky”, an apocalyptic nightmare for Paolo Nutini, won the SXSW Grand Jury Award. In 2014, he released his feature debut “Catch Me Daddy”, premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival, picking up the Caméra d'Or, 5 BIFA nominations and Best Newcomer at the London Film Festival. Daniel has also received industry acclaim for his commercials. He won British Arrows’ Commercial of the Year two years running with “A New Further” for Hennessy in 2016 and “Blood Normal” for Libresse in 2017. These campaigns also won Gold Lions at Cannes and numerous D&AD awards. In 2018, his commercial “World Cup Football” for Nike Russia won a Gold British Arrow.
Director: Daniel Wolfe
Production company: Essity
AGENCY: AMV BBDO
CLIENT: Bodyform
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