For as long as anyone can remember, we’ve been reporting on agencies ignoring Canadian directors. Anyone who reads OTS on a regular basis would justifiably develop a theory that there is a crisis afoot. We continue to hear that there are no young directors getting work and established helmers have been reduced to bowing, hat in hand, for pro-bono work or the boards for the dog-poop pickup program for the city of Kenora.

But recently I had the chance to view virtually every worthwhile spot created by Canadians as a judge of our very own Top Spots.

Now I’m not going to go on at length about the exceptional quality of the 203 entries to this year’s competition. That’s because by my estimation 90% of the spots submitted were average or worse.

But I will say this: Of the spots I’ve seen on TV over the past year for Canadian-based brands, the vast majority that stood out both in terms of quality and impact (recall), were entered in Top Spots. That means Canadians directed them.

What’s more, I’ll wager that this year’s Top Spots will surface again at the Marketing Awards and the Bessies, which require work to originate in Canada but ignore the origin of the director.

Indeed, Canadian directors continue to impact the domestic scene. And not just the seasoned variety. Despite an admitted dearth of work for most young helmers, names such as Math, Eastman, Singer and Cornish are quickly establishing themselves alongside the more experienced of the breed.

At the same time, we continue to see quality work come from the go-to guys. Steve Chase, Curtis Wehrfritz, Martin Granger and Phil Brown are all named this year in the top 10.

The fact is that in any major market, not counting the U.K. and the U.S., there are a dozen or so A-list directors, of which about three or four are A-plus. The same is true in Canada.

What market beyond the U.K. and the U.S. produces more than 20 quality spots out of every 200? None that I can think of.

That is not to say everything is all right in the Canadian industry. Too many Canadian producers are keeping their businesses afloat thanks to a low Canadian dollar and the ability to borrow cash at low interest. It is a false economy that has the potential to sink many spot houses faster than a listing ship on Lake Superior in a November storm.

Meantime, local agencies that depend on clients with struggling U.S.-based head offices continue to require producers to complete spots at cost. (In fact, as we have argued in the past, this scenario has been a boon to young directors who are proving to be great resources for less money.)

Everyone is anxiously awaiting the American economy to right itself.

In this reality, we look for clues; we ask why? And in asking why, we ask what is the fallout? Having spent endless hours viewing the best in Canadian commercial production, I’ll say the fallout is not a crisis in the ranks of Canadian spot directors.

PETER VAMOS

Editor