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Ever wonder what Fight Club has in common with the IPhone 3GS? Or what The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou could possibly have to do with your American Express Card? Could that GAP t-shirt you’re wearing possibly share any similarities to the 2013 Best Picture nominee, Her? On the surface, the answer would be no. However, a little known fact is that commercials for these products may share the same directors as some of your favorite films. “How could this be?” You may wonder. “Why would the brilliant auteur who brought us The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button also be interested in promoting Apple products?” The answer may have everything to do with style, practice and of course, money. 

To put it simply, it takes a long time to make a movie. This is why you may notice that there are notable gaps in between your favorite director’s films, and long waits to see the next installment in a franchise you’ve invested so much time in. Between writing, casting, shooting and editing a film, directors may put two to three years into a single project, perfecting their vision. This leaves the question as to what to do in between films? How can these filmmakers continue to sharpen their creative skills on projects that don’t take up so much of their lives? The answer in some cases is television commercials. 

Oddly enough, Hollywood directors have created some of the commercials that you watch over and over on a daily basis. Being that TV commercials don’t often directly credit their writers and directors, this may have gone right over your head. What makes commercials appealing to a Hollywood director is the chance to turnaround quick and challenging work; a way to tell a story in only a matter of minutes or sometimes seconds. Furthermore, directors see it as an opportunity to expand on a creative style they may have developed, or are working to develop, on film projects. 

After Academy Award nominated director, Darren Aronofsky created Black Swan, a film about the cutthroat world of ballet, he decided to take on another sort of dance-focused project. His 2012 Kohl’s commercial featured Jennifer Lopez singing a song titled “I’ve got the Music in Me” while sporting flashy Kohl’s outfits. David Fincher also tackled a commercial which reflected one of his films in 2009 when he did a TV spot for Nike, which featured Football stars LaDainian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu as we followed their life cycles in chronological order. One could easily draw heavy comparisons to Fincher’s Oscar winning film released the previous year, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in which we follow the titular character’s journey through life.

Atonement director Joe Wright tried his hand in the field in 2011 when he directed a sexy, stylized commercial for Chanel Coco Mademoiselle featuring his frequent collaborator, Keira Knightly. The ad was scored by Joss Stone’s rendition of It’s a Man’s World as we watched Knightly race motorcycles, appear in photoshoots and seduce a photographer. The ad does well to keep Wright’s signature elegant style intact. When Michael Bay isn’t too busy blowing up large cities with oversized children toys, he’s collecting checks from Victoria’s Secret, America’s leading brand in woman’s lingerie. Bay has directed multiple ads for the brand, and even ended up borrowing one of the models to replace Megan Fox in his 2011 installment to the Transformers franchise, Transformers: Dark of The Moon. 

In the past, commercial directors certainly weren’t considered celebrities, and many people would be pressed to even remember their names. Nowadays, it is safe to say that this has drastically changed. With brands like Nike, Chanel, Gucci and Ikea, more and more popular filmmakers are finding outlets for their creativity through the art of commercial directing. Whether the reason be an exercise to show off their creative muscles, paychecks in-between projects, or a way to introduce/expand upon a new style, Directors continue to showcase their skill through this medium. Next time you’re about to flip the station to avoid commercials in between your favorite sitcom, remember that you might be missing a new short by a world class filmmaker. I don’t know about you, but that will certainly keep me from grabbing the remote. 

Here at Marcus Thomas, we’ve worked on a few commercials with directors who have gone on to do big things on the silver screen. Academy Award nominee Bennet Miller (Foxcatcher, Capote) assisted our team with a Kelly Tire campaign. Miller has continued to work on commercials throughout his career for big brands like American Express and Quilted Northern. For our Dexcom “Superpower” campaign this year, we enlisted the help of Joshua Seftel, who has gained recognition in the television world for his work on the Emmy award winning first season of Queer Eye as well as The Secret Life of Muslims. Seftel also directed Hilary Duff and John Cusack in the 2008 feature, War Inc. 

When working on the tricky stop motion for our “Joy is More Joyful” holiday spot for The Ohio Lottery, we sought out a true talent who knew the platform very well. Aaron Sorenson created the visually striking end credit sequences for the Academy Award nominated films, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. He’s also worked as an animator on several other films and projects. Even our Account people here at the agency like to dip their toes in the filmmaking world. Marcus Thomas’s own Account Supervisor, Dave Evans has directed both short and feature films which have gained him acclaim and accolades at festivals all across the Midwest. Most recently, his short film, Wish You Were Here won awards for directing and editing at the Indie Gathering International Film Festival.