Film directors play a critical role in the advertising industry, bringing to life creative visions and crafting compelling narratives that captivate audiences. Their expertise in storytelling, visual composition and emotional nuance transforms ordinary TVCs into memorable experiences that resonate with viewers.
There are ten names on this list, but there are plenty more who just missed out. These lists are very subjective, and the gap between some of the placements is barely a hair’s breadth. Trust us, we took no joy in separating these leaders, but we had to.
As ever, if you would like to nominate someone for our upcoming Best of the Best lists — Consumer PRs, Technologists and Media Agency Heads of Investment/Trading — please email editorial@themisfits.media, and we’ll add it to our long list of names to consider. You should also check out our most recent Best of the Best Commercial Directors – Media Owners list.
Without further ado, here are B&T’s Top 10 Best of the Best Film Directors!
10. Emily Mays, Director, Chisel
Mays has been with Chisel for nearly four years, producing outstanding work that has garnered wide acclaim. A B&T 30 Under 30 People’s Choice winner and a Women in Media Power List shortlistee, she collaborates with agencies and clients across various sectors, including sports, to create compelling content.
Mays is passionate about raw storytelling and authentic representation on screen. Her directing process is marked by a deep commitment to crafting highly authored and composite narratives, with realism at the core of her work’s aesthetic. She also enjoys exploring imaginative integrations in her projects.
Her energetic, fun and emotional perspective, combined with a deep personal connection to the arts, culture, sports and entertainment, makes her a sought-after director for agencies and brands wanting fresh and exciting creative visions. Some of her recent notable work includes ASICS Global’s major campaign, the launch film for Football Australia’s ‘Our Game’ initiative for women and non-binary people, and the Western Sydney Wanderers’ “Wander Woman” campaign.
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9. Dave Wood, Director, Good Oil
Wood is a true comedy director and deploys humour expertly in his storytelling. This enthusiasm has earned him numerous awards, including AXIS, LIA, New York Festivals and British Arrows. Above all, Wood genuinely loves the work he does with Good Oil; his drive to achieve more keeps him moving forward.
Perhaps his standout work this year came during the Australian Open. Wood directed Uber One’s hilarious campaign featuring Andre Agassi, now suffering from a severe case of “mullet envy.” Once known for his famous mullet, Agassi is now troubled by his lack of hair amidst a resurgence of the classic hairstyle. As he broods over his misfortune in a stadium filled with mullet-sporting fans, players, officials, cameramen, TV commentators, and even a dog, he receives a notification revealing just how much he’s saved with Uber One.
8. Ariel Martin, Director, Scoundrel
Martin fell in love with his craft while shooting short films with his mates in Western Sydney. Ever since, he has shot campaigns for huge brands around the world, focusing on comedy and large-scale storytelling. Martin’s work for Scoundrel has been awarded at Cannes Lions, Spikes and Shoot’s Young Director’s Showcase.
This year, he deployed his skills in directing Kia’s latest campaign, launching the brand’s new Ute. The ad featured a list of sporting legends, including Ash Barty, Damien Oliver, Buddy Franklin, and Dulan Alcott, bickering in a pub over what to call the ute. The spot, which KIA’s general manager, marketing, Dean Norbiato, told B&T was an “audacious play,” launched during the NRL double-header in Las Vegas earlier this year and represented a move from the brand into a new segment.
7. Michael Gracey, Director, Finch
Gracey began his career in visual effects and music videos before gaining acclaim in advertising, particularly for his Christmas commercials in the UK and US.
In 2022, for Finch, Gracey directed a short film for Tourism Australia’s incredible, “Come And Say G’Day”, starring Rose Byrne and Will Arnett, with cameos from Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. Gracey also directed Woolworths’ most recent Christmas campaign. Produced with M&C Saatchi within the Greenhouse Collective, the integrated campaign highlights the special moments of the festive season, such as coming together with loved ones. The 60-second commercial features school children dressed as regional Australian produce, coming together to create a Christmas spectacular.
Gracey made his feature directorial debut in 2017 with The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman as P. T. Barnum. He was also slated to direct an adaptation of the manga series Naruto, which was later replaced by Destin Daniel Cretton, and an adaptation of the novel Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which fell into development hell.
6. Aimee-Lee Xu Hsien, Director, Rabbit
Xu Hsien is a Chinese-Irish-Australian writer and director who specialises in offbeat comedies. Her work with Rabbit is known for its exuberance and heart and she brings a lavish visual style to it.
Xu Hsien has directed TVCs for major brands such as MLA, Uber Eats, CommBank, PayPal, H&M, Maltesers, ABC and Square. She also directed a six-camera broadcast event for TikTok.
This year, Xu Hsien co-directed an absolute banger of Lamb ad, imagining a world in which the generations have been separated by The Generation Gap, an impassable chasm that keeps each age group apart.
5. Zane Pearson, Director, Emotive
Pearson is a multidisciplinary filmmaker who has worked in nearly every role imaginable in film and advertising. Starting his career as a camera operator, he’s since worked as a producer, post-production coordinator, senior editor and more before focusing on his directing. His experience across every stage of the filmmaking process enables him to deliver a unique vision every time in his work for Emotive.
A cinema obsessive since day one, Pearson has previously worked at the Sydney Film Festival, and his work showcases a truly cinematic style. He excels at working with actors, with the ability to evoke great performances from Hollywood A-listers and first-time actors alike.
Pearson has shot all over the world, having worked in Australia, Europe, Asia and the USA. He’s helmed high-profile spots for Virgin Mobile, Optus, and Samsung and worked with the likes of Vinnie Jones, Kevin Dillon, Macklemore and Olympic athletes. Pearson has also just completed his first 360 VR campaign for Samsung and is eager to keep exploring the immersive and dramatic possibilities of the emerging medium.
Most recently, Pearson directed a campaign for Google Ads that marked the triumphant return of the cultural icon that is Kath & Kim character, Sharon Strzelecki. Sharon, played by comedian and actress Magda Szubanski, fronts the campaign that showcases the tools and how easy it is for businesses to set up and use them to find new customers. It seems so easy that even an accident-prone indoor leg-spinner and small business owner from Fountain Lakes can do it.
4. Arundati Thandur, Director, Finch
Born into a family of actors, singers and performers, Thandur was destined to be a storyteller. As a director at Finch, her work is visually rich, impactful, and often tinged with humour. Thandur’s work on the Modibodi “I’m Dying Inside” campaign garnered a lot of attention and accolades, including four Cairns Crocodiles Awards.
Created via Howatson+Company, the campaign launched Modibodi’s new ‘Modibasics’ collection of period undies designed specifically for Gen Z. The format of a TikTok series was used to meet the generation in a way that appeals and talks to them. With Gen Z resistant to traditional advertising, Thandur saw leaning into a relatable and immersive narrative world as a way to help viewers authentically connect to the product.
@modibodi EPISODE 4 #imdyinginside #perioddrama #modibodi #tiktokseries
The idea of the piece was to be bold but also genuine – because on TikTok, artificial attempts to appear ‘down with the kids’ are sniffed out from miles away. “Funny is funny. They don’t want to be told what to think. If they like it, they like it. You don’t know what’s going to go viral. It could be anything. From a kid singing with a Nemo puppet to a man finding new ways to put parmesan on his pasta,” Thandur said.
3. Mark Molloy, Director, Exit Films
Molloy began his career in 1996 as a senior designer at Why Not and Associates in London, collaborating with brands like Nike, Virgin Records and the BBC. He transitioned to directing television commercials in the early noughties, with his work appearing during the Super Bowl. His branded short film for Apple, “The Underdogs,” won several awards, including four Gold Cannes Lions, and earned him a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials at the 72nd Directors Guild of America Awards.
Molloy continued his partnership with Apple during COVID, creating a sequel titled “The Whole Working-From-Home Thing,” which was shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Greig Fraser and won an “innovation-in-lockdown” award at The One Show. In 2021, Molloy won Best Director at the Shots Awards in The Americas.
In 2020, Molloy directed a television series for Quibi about “fake news” that purportedly influenced the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. The series starred Fionn Whitehead and was executive-produced by Matt Reeves. Filmed in Ukraine, it was halted when Quibi shut down in late 2020.
Molloy directed Telstra’s “This is Footy Country” ad last year for Exit Films. The ad highlighted Telstra’s commitment to regional Australia by celebrating country footy at its finest. The integrated campaign champions Telstra’s history of NRL and AFL sponsorship with creative assets through broadcast, in-stadium signage, and retail environments.
In April 2022, he was announced as the director of “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” for Netflix, replacing Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.
2. Tim Bullock, Director, Scoundrel
Bullock is a renowned global TVC director, celebrated for his work in comedy. He has been recognised as one of the world’s top young commercial directors at Cannes’ New Directors Showcase, featured in SHOTS Top 10 Directors list, and named Director of The Year by Best Ads on TV. His work has regularly appeared in the UK’s prestigious APA Top 50. Bullock has earned numerous awards from Cannes, The British Arrows, and D&AD and has won the Australian Director’s Guild Award for Best Direction in a Television Commercial four times.
Starting his career with eight years at Saatchi & Saatchi, Bullock transitioned to writing and directing three acclaimed short films, including “Buried,” which won first prize at Australia’s Tropfest Film Festival. He has directed television for Australia’s Seven and Nine networks, most notably Bryan Brown’s “Two Twisted,” and was nominated for an AFI for co-creating and writing the TV series “30 Seconds,” a satire on advertising.
Bullock most recently directed the AAMI Olympic ad with Scoundrel. Called “Athletes in the Making”, the campaign is the second execution in the new AAMI brand campaign, which launched in March.
1. Kim Gehrig, Director, Revolver
Born in Australia and currently based between London and Los Angeles, Gehrig returned to Australia to executive direct The Monkey’s remarkable “Play It Safe” to honour the 50th Anniversary of the Sydney Opera House with Revolver. She is represented by Somesuch overseas.
Known for bringing a refreshing combination of honesty and wit to her works, Gehrig tells stories that resonate with universal human truths while also incorporating inventive technical ideals. Her work for the Opera House has gathered an impressive list of accolades, including a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, two gold Cairns Crocodiles, and one bronze.
The film celebrated 50 years of world-class performances at the iconic performing arts centre, honouring the bold, visionary experiment that is the Opera House itself. Written by Australian singer Tim Minchin, the song is a musical homage to a building that tested the limits of engineering and design, forever changing the face of Sydney. The film features appearances from the extended Opera House family, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Ballet, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and many, many more.
And that is why Kim Gehrig is among the Best of the Best.
