My Favourite Mark Zibert Commercials
This is another in the globally popular ACES series of featuring commercial filmmakers and directors that I admire for their skills in bringing creative concepts, and storylines to enthralling life.
Mark Zibert
Canadian born Mark Zibert started his professional career as a stills photographer in 2000. It wasn’t long however, before he ventured into directing commercials with remarkable success, to be highly sought after for his internationally acclaimed versatility of filmic skills.
1. Subway Submarines, Globally Inspired
Advertising Agency: Dentsu Creative, Toronto, Canada
Executive Creative Director: Dave Federico
Associate Creative Directors: Maryann Tenaglia, and Tyler Copoc
Production Company: Scouts Honour, Toronto, Canada
Production Services Company: Moonlighting, Cape Town, South Africa
(Multinational fast-food restaurant franchise, Subway, founded in 1965 by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA, specialises in ‘submarine sandwiches’ which are made by splitting long rolls, and filling them with a variety of ingredient choices)
Dentsu Toronto agency’s launch campaign, for a new Subway menu series, of globally inspired chef-crafted sandwiches, featuring crave-worthy international flavours for Canadians, presents an epic film-scenario of a Subway chef’s culinary excursions, in an impressively produced commercial, brought to entertaining life by renowned filmmaker and director Mark Zibert, and filmed in Cape Town, South Africa.
2. IKEA, Our Little World
Agency: Rethink, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Creative Directors: Joel Holtby, and Dhaval Bhatt
Copywriter: Jacquelyn Parent
Art Director: Hayley Hinkley
Production Company: Scouts Honour, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3D Animation and VFX Studio: a52, Los Angeles, California, USA
IKEA’s 2021 surreal ‘Our Little World’, directed by renowned Canadian filmmaker Mark Zibert, and filmed over three days on a soundstage in Toronto, is an insightfully metaphoric depiction, of the small actions in our individual little worlds, that make a global difference to the world at large, that we ultimately all share.
The integrated campaign’s impressively produced commercial, features a resonant soundtrack of “Book of Dreams”, by American songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Tashian.
On the ‘adRuby’ website, marketing head at IKEA Canada, Johanna Andrén, explained the motivation of Rethink and IKEA’s “A better world starts at home” brand communication initiative. “We wanted to show that sustainability and positive change is still possible with small actions taken at home”.
3. Sapporo, Legendary Bïru
Advertising Agency: Dentsu, Toronto, Canada
Creative Directors: Glen Hunt, and Les Soos
Copywriters: Glen Hunt, Dhaval Bhatt
Art Directors: Les Soos, David GlenAgency
Agency Producer: Sharon Kosokowsky
Production Company: Sons and Daughters, Toronto, Canada
Director of Photography: Kevin Chan
Post Production and VFX Director: Gary Thomas, Crush Studios, Toronto, Canada
Sound Design and Music Director: Grayson Matthews, Music Studios, Toronto, Canada
Masterly directed by filmmaker Mark Zibert, Sapporo’s ‘Legendary Bïru’, the Japanese name for beer, took over a month to film in Guangzhou China, a sprawling port city northwest of Hong Kong.
Dentsu Toronto’s creative conceptualisers, envisioned translating the cultural heritage and diversity of Japan’s legendary visual arts, refined crafts and musical artistry, into a ‘fluid’ and powerful Sapporo time-travel chronicle, of Japan’s oldest beer brand.
Their visionary aspirations were rewardingly realised. The seamless visual scroll through centuries of heritage to present day, is a a compelling filmic epic of breathtaking attention to detail, that imbues Sapporo Bïru with a proud national identity of brand equity stature.
4. Walmart, Ode To Motherhood
Advertising Agency: Camp Jefferson, Toronto, Canada
Production Company: Scouts Honour, Toronto, Canada
Post Production and VFX Studios: Saints, Toronto, Canada
Walmart’s ‘Ode To Motherhood’, directed by Mark Zibert, is a dramatised, true to life short film, of a Mum struggling with the day-to-day challenges of motherhood.
‘Ode To Motherhood’ is surreal, fast-paced, funny, emotive, full of surprises and rewarding to watch.
Tammy Sadinsky, VP of Marketing Communications at Walmart explained the insight behind the campaign:
“Parents’ love for their families is limitless even though time and financial resources are not.”
“We wanted to acknowledge this by telling their stories in an empathetic way. By saving, parents can have better lives, which ultimately means deeper relationships and experiences with their families.”
5. IKEA, Stuff Monster
Advertising Agency: Rethink, Vancouver, Canada
Executive Creative Directors: Aaron Starkman, Christina Yu, Chris Staples, and Ian Grais
Creative Directors: Joel Holtby, and Dhaval Bhatt
Production Company: Scouts Honour, Toronto, Canada
Director of Photography: Christopher Mably
Post Production and VFX Studio: A52, Santa Monica, California, USA
Directed by filmmaker Mark Zibert, this very watchable CGI-animated commercial, filmed on location in Toronto, Canada, is a charming visual dramatisation of IKEA’s corporate philosophy on sustainability, and consumer message about the joys re-cycling items can offer to others.
The inspired soundtrack selection is the ‘Hippie-era’ hit song “Tea For The Tillerman” by Cat Stevens.
6. Diesel Fragrances, Spirit of The Brave
Advertising Agency, Buzzman, Paris, France
Executive Creative Director: Georges Mohammed-Cherif
Art Directors and Copywriters: Mickael Krikorian, and Victor Sidoroff
Production Company: La Pac, Paris, France
Directed by filmmaker Mark Zibert, ‘Spirit of The Brave’ is an intimate story about Neymar Jr and the Diesel fragrance he helped create.
His hard-fought, ten-year long journey to international football stardom amidst relentless public scrutiny, and huge social pressure, is the epitome of a brave spirit.
Neymar Jr has commemorated each milestone in his life with a tattoo, and to date he has over 70 of them. The ‘Spirit Of The Brave’ bottle design, shaped like a fist, was inspired by one of his iconic tattoos.
The music soundtrack features American composer and songwriter Zack Hemsey’s “The Runner”.
7. Nissan Rogue, Winter Warrior
Advertising Agency: TBWA, Toronto, Canada
Art Director: Susie Lee
Copywriter: Jonah Flynn
Agency Producer: Nadya McNeil
Production Company: Sons and Daughters, Toronto, Canada
Director of Photography: Chris Soos
Post Production An VFX Studios: The Mill, Los Angeles, California, USA
Directed by filmmaker Mark Zlbert, Nissan’s seven-seater, all-wheel drive Rogue, comes to the rescue in a city under siege by evil, menacing snowmen, who represent the worst that Canadian weather conditions can offer.
For Canadian motorists, winter can feel like a concerted assault on their mobility, but fortunately there is a ‘Nissan Winter Hero’ that can cut through the snow, and smash through the threatening, zombie-like, snowmen.
The surreal escape from a ‘Canadian Winter War’, is an action packed scenario that makes for entertaining viewing.
8. Nike Mercurial, Football Vapour Trail
Advertising Agency: Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, USA, and Tokyo, Japan
Copywriter: Andrew Miller
Art Director: Naoki Ga
Production Company: Imperial Woodpecker, West Hollywood, California, USA
Director of Photography: Christopher Mably
Post Production and VFX Studio: The Mission, Venice, California, USA
Music and Sound Design Studio: Barking Owl, Los Angeles, California, USA
The filmic-art of slow-motion cinematography, has been so extensively used in action scenes, food product commercials, slow-motion pouring scenes of beverages, and shampoo commercials with swirling hair in slow-motion, that they have become ubiquitous with an almost ‘stock-shot’ conformity at times.
Nike’s Mercurial Football Boots scenario of 2013 however, stands out for me as a slow-motion commercial, of compelling originality and effectiveness.
Masterly directed by filmmaker Mark Zibert, and filmed in Madrid, Spain, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, the ‘vapour trail’ the football boots cause, blows everyone away in its mercurial wake.
Fans, teammates, opponents, coaches, referees, and riot police, struggle unsuccessfully to stay grounded, in the impressively produced dramatisation of flowing action.