Steven Hillman

Steven is a Toronto-based director who owns and operates an animation production company called exhibita. Steven has been directing and producing content for the commercial production scene for the last 10 years. Formerly known as ‘the guy with no eyebrows’ he is now said to be ‘the guy with no hair’ and so obviously brings expertise and self-deprecating wit

to the party as this year’s industry voice on our Top Spots panel.

Dustin Dinoff

Dustin is the commercial beat writer’s commercial beat writer. A spot shop observer with a pundit’s eye, wicked dry humor and a love of the game, Dustin has truly gone the distance to get under the industry’s skin. To be specific, he once sat for a ‘special effects in makeup’ session, from which his latexed head eventually emerged in devil mode, complete with horns and bad attitude.

Dave Lazar

Dave is a media writer and journalist who has kept his hands in different aspects of television and commercial production for more than six years. His experience has given him a critical eye, neither shaded nor jaded. Dave’s large hairdo also makes him a critical counterpoint to the shinin’ Mr. Hillman. (Photo: Saul McFarland)

Mark Dillon

Mark is Playback’s technology editor and frequent author of our cinematography column. Mark has put his film school training at York University to use in writing about the industry, serving as a contributor to American Cinematographer magazine and other publications before joining Playback last winter. His livingroom served as the venue for the Top Spots judging

(what fun it is to work in one’s pyjamas!).

Teressa Iezzi

Teressa is the editor of Boards magazine, directing coverage of the world’s mutating commercial biz with the familiarity, finesse and flair born of her stay as commercial writer/technology editor at Playback. Now internationally focused, Teressa has honed her stop-on-a-dime news sense and commercial instincts to a cut-glass edge, all from Brunico’s deepest interior.

Judges’ comments

‘Raft’ A perfect Super Bowl spot. Not much to do with beer, but movie-scale production values and a dark sense of humor reap big laughs in this one.

‘Cam’ At the onset it threatens to stretch the bounds of good taste, but in the end its nod-and-a-wink approach address the serious topic of breast cancer in a refreshing way.

‘Pull My Finger’ Slick black-and-white look with an international flavor. The visuals would make you think it’s a stuffy dot-com or financial company spot, but it soon reveals a good-natured sense of humor.

‘Spytech’ I always suspected that jolly bearded man was up to no good.

‘Heist’ An outrageous twist that you can’t help but laugh at.

‘In-Laws’ Moby is getting overplayed, but the visuals in this one are a perfect match for the music. I’m sure the client was happy with the slickness of this one.

‘Dreams’ Excellent art direction. One of the best-looking ads in the pile.

‘Fashion Victim’ Disgusting, to be sure, but a riotous send-up of fashion runway pretension.

‘Head Bump’ Simple slapstick humor that just plain works.

‘New City’ Very cinematic style. It makes Bay Street as glamorous a locale as Wall Street.

‘Opera Diva’ A typically stylish spot from its creators. A heavy look gives way to a surprisingly funny twist at the end.