Let’s dream for a minute. Pretend that your next marketing video has no budget restrictions and, more importantly, no artistic limits. What would happen? What kind of video or campaign would you create? What creative talent would you hire? If you could have your pick of directors…
How about a famous director for the video?
Accomplished directors bring their own unique voice and style, giving the project more personality than a video envisioned by a group or team. If that style fits with your brand or campaign then you can present something truly original.
Although we’re just dreaming here, there are some things we can learn from this to take into our next marketing video. So here is a selection of 5 incredible ads by famous directors.
Derek Cianfrance – Dick’s Sporting Goods “Every Pitch”
The director of Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond The Pines has a very naturalistic style. After months of totally immersive rehearsals, he starts filming without anyone realizing the movie has officially begun. As a result, he captures incredibly natural, honest moments in acting and you can see how he brings that style to this video.
Spike Jonze – IKEA “Lamp”
Jonze loves to find emotion and stories in odd places. The Director of Her, Adaptation, and Being John Malkovich has proved this again and again with his increasingly odd project choices. This ad does a great job of injecting his ability to tell offbeat stories and his playful irreverence.
Wes Anderson – Stella Artois “Le Apartomatic”
There’s no style quite as instantly recognizable as Anderson’s. The man behind The Royal Tennenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel is meticulous, over-choreographing everything. It shows that each of his stories take place in an entirely different world than ours and draws us in, making it a place we’d like to visit.
Jonathan Glazer – Guinness “Swim”
A lesser known name unless you dive deep into the arthouse movies, but there’s no mistaking the powerful tone that Glazer is able to strike. Sexy Beast, Birth, and Under The Skin all may leave you a bit confused at times, but it never takes away from the feeling you get when watching them. This ad is more straightforward, but still buzzing with his signature energy.
David Fincher – Nike “Fate”
With films like Fight Club, The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, you don’t need the ad to be titled “Fate” to pick up on his main theme. His camera moves are precise, even when handheld, giving the sense that what is happening can’t be avoided. This video demonstrates “fate” through opposing athletes and distills his style down to it’s most plain.
Though getting a famous director is probably impossible, you can still hire unique and talented voices to add their personality to your marketing video. Do you need to stand out? To grab your audience’s attention and help them see a bigger, thematic picture?
Ask to see additional projects from your creative agency that showcase the personal style of their directors. Maybe they have some short films they’ve done on the side. These could showcase incredible talent and original voices that haven’t had the chance to shine in marketing videos that are heavily dictated by a large team.
Who knows? You may even have access to the next big director before they’re discovered! And you can say you knew them when.
Any directors out there? We want to hear your story! Tell us about your own experiences using this method in the comments section below!
