When U.S. commercial production company hungry man announced this spring it was setting up shop in Toronto under the name frozen man – repping its stellar talent roster without the benefit of a Canadian representation middleman – a chill went through the local market.

Many believe frozen man represents a threat to Toronto spot shops, which have a difficult enough time competing against one another. Others, however, say the frozen men have a long, difficult road ahead of them. But all agree the ever-increasing competition in the Toronto market will continue to keep things very interesting around these parts for the foreseeable future.

The two companies with arguably the most to lose with the coming of frozen man are Toronto’s Avion Films and Radke Films. Both repped hungry man directors in Canada and have seen their rosters shrink slightly.

Although Radke’s Edie Weiss was at the Cannes Advertising Awards and unavailable for comment, Avion executive producer Paola Lazzeri says she isn’t too worried about the invasion.

‘We welcome good competition and we wish them the best because we had a great time dealing with them when they were here [on shoots],’ says Lazzeri. ‘I think competition is always healthy, and if their [directors’] costs and availability are suitable to agencies, then why not?’

Lazzeri says the hungry man directors represented by Avion, like Hank Perlman and Bryan Buckley, are very talented, but often were not available for jobs in Canada because of commitments elsewhere. She contends Avion will barely be affected by the gap in its roster.

Ammirati Puris is among the agencies that have worked with hungry man and its directors. Pat White, Ammirati VP, executive producer, says the agency welcomes frozen man to the market and will treat the company no differently than its 100% homegrown counterparts.

‘It’s an incredibly competitive market in Canada and [frozen man has] a good slate of directors, so we’d be looking at them the way we look at good directors for any job,’ says White. ‘I think the directors were always part of the competition when they were repped by Canadian production houses, so in terms of the competition and directors competing for jobs, I don’t think it changes things from an agency standpoint.’

One Canadian producer, who asked to be unnamed, doesn’t think frozen man has much of a chance in Toronto.

‘As Home Depot is to Canadian Tire, so frozen man is to local production,’ says the producer. ‘It doesn’t mean we are going to be put out of business. It doesn’t mean they are going to be better than we are. And it certainly doesn’t mean they are going to be more efficient than we are.’

The producer believes it is going be difficult for frozen man to compete with Canadian production houses, given the underdog mentality shared by so many local shops.

‘We’re number two, so we have to try harder,’ says the producer. ‘We do more with the Canadian dollar than they do with a U.S. dollar, even if they keep the exchange.’

Lazzeri, although not agreeing with everything the producer says, agrees frozen man may have a tough time breaking into the tight-knit Toronto community.

‘It’s difficult to start up in a different marketplace where you don’t have local people and understand the relationships,’ she says. ‘It’s difficult to walk in, throw your door open and say, ‘Okay, let’s do business.’ I think it may be difficult [for frozen man]. I don’t know, because I don’t know anyone who has ever done it [in Toronto] before. It should be interesting.’ *

-www.hungryman.com