Rene-Michel Vachon,

Art director,

BCP Strategie Creativite,

Montreal

When you choose a director, you aren’t choosing a talented professional, you’re choosing a particular image. And it’s an extremely important choice since the director enters the mix at the exact moment when your idea is either going to make it or break it. SoÉhow to choose the best one for the job? Obviously, there’s no foolproof recipe. But maybe sharing my experience on, among others, Molson’s Black Label, will provide clues.

From the beginning, Black Label has remained slightly apart from the rest of the advertising crowd. As a brand, it has evolved to be sure, but its image has remained strong and distinctive. For three years, I have had the pleasure to contribute, as art director, to the continuity of that image. However, more than 10 directors have collaborated with me to that end.

This year alone saw Steve Chase, Cosimo Cavallaro, Eric Ifergan, Glenn Bydwell, Shin Sugino, and Claude Brie have their say. And even though each of these guys has his own individual style, they all immersed themselves smoothly into the Black Label world and took it further.

When choosing a director, I rely on three basic criteria: his/her technical knowledge, his/her readiness to go off the beaten path, and above all, his/her desire to exchange ideas with me.

Mastery of production techniques is very important. Black Label evolves in the imagination. Its non-conformist attitude pushes it into an avante-garde visual arena.

In other words, technological innovation is often the mother of visual innovation.

A good director must master new techniques in order to put them at the mercy of his/her imagination. Pushing a button here and twigging a toggle there aren’t enough to create the effects needed. Cold, logical technique allows a director to create fantastical situations or mind images.

The drive toward innovation is fundamental. The Black Label spots aren’t simply a collection of hip images. At the core of each message lies an extremely simple idea that has the Black Label attitude. However, there’s no limit to the way we express that attitude. It is the director’s challenge to shake the styles and images up a bit. Sometimes, he/she can even change everythingÉwith my blessing, of course. And while I believe the demo cassette plays an important role in selecting a director, I would never ask a director to simply repeat a recipe.

The desire to exchange ideas and to ‘play’ with me are probably my first priority. I don’t think of directors as suppliers. They shouldn’t see me as a client. We should be partners who come together to push the idea even further. The agency copywriter is the one who brings a strong basic idea to the party and also the one who directs the play. But that copywriter’s scenario should be sufficiently flexible to allow the director to have some fun, and to incorporate his/her own savoir-faire. Also, exchanging ideas properly takes time – so take it. Make sure you’ve got a director who is 100% ‘there’ for the project. But don’t box that director into a ridiculous timetable.

While we’re on the subject of exchange, I’d like to add something: the relationship with the client. The director must be capable of living in the real advertising world. A commercial is not a film. The director must be able to have a dialogue with clients, who often have more marketing experience than audio-visual experience. Plus, a dialogue means understanding commercial objectives, gracefully answering even the unjustified questions and calming anxieties.

In conclusion, even though the director may be the key element to realizing your spot, he/she isn’t the only element. A good commercial is also one produced in the time and budget allotted. Therefore, it is crucial to choose a production house you trust, one that will provide a good crew for your director. After all, that’s the only way to keep the director from getting bogged down by technical and financial woes, so that he/she can let their spirit fly.