Merman's Ritesh Gupta directs NHL's latest hits
The campaign is focused on celebrating how hockey has never been as exciting and fun as it is right now.
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Director Ritesh Gupta, who is represented for commercial work in the US by Merman Branded, based in Los Angeles and New York, has directed the third round of the celebrated NHL campaign The Next Golden Era is Now, which was created for the brand by the agency Highdive.
The campaign is focused on celebrating how hockey has never been as exciting and fun as it is right now.
This season’s campaign showcases top NHL players through the lens of contemporary trends and cultural conversations with the recently launched Work From Home, featuring Jack Eichel and Mitch Marnerof the Vegas Golden Knights, Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild, Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Travis Sanheim of the Philadelphia Flyers; and Day in the Life starring Bedard, Marner, Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings, Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks, Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Credits
View on- Agency Highdive Advertising/Chicago
- Production Company Merman/USA
- Director Ritesh Gupta
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Credits
View on- Agency Highdive Advertising/Chicago
- Production Company Merman/USA
- Director Ritesh Gupta
- Editing Cutters/USA
- Editor Billy Montross
- Assistant Editor Christian Leontios
- Executive Producer Patrick Casey
- Director of Production (HP) Jen Passaniti
- Group Creative Director Patrick Seidel
- Group Creative Director Chris Rose
- Executive Producer Luke LiManni
- Executive Producer Jenny Hoffman
- Senior Art Director Erin Nedelman
- Senior Copywriter Timothy Flemke
- Art Director Ryan Almond
- Copywriter Andy Frank
- Senior Art Director Sydney Cohen
- Senior Copywriter Jordan Fishel
- Executive Producer Jessica Miller
- Junior Art Director Coco Loomis
- Junior Copywriter Sarah Solovy
- Producer Andrew Scrivner
- Production Designer Bill Bittmann
- DP Eric Koretz
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Credits
powered by- Agency Highdive Advertising/Chicago
- Production Company Merman/USA
- Director Ritesh Gupta
- Editing Cutters/USA
- Editor Billy Montross
- Assistant Editor Christian Leontios
- Executive Producer Patrick Casey
- Director of Production (HP) Jen Passaniti
- Group Creative Director Patrick Seidel
- Group Creative Director Chris Rose
- Executive Producer Luke LiManni
- Executive Producer Jenny Hoffman
- Senior Art Director Erin Nedelman
- Senior Copywriter Timothy Flemke
- Art Director Ryan Almond
- Copywriter Andy Frank
- Senior Art Director Sydney Cohen
- Senior Copywriter Jordan Fishel
- Executive Producer Jessica Miller
- Junior Art Director Coco Loomis
- Junior Copywriter Sarah Solovy
- Producer Andrew Scrivner
- Production Designer Bill Bittmann
- DP Eric Koretz
Work From Home and Day in the Life The NHL will unveil additional spots throughout the season. The previous round of commercials, unveiled last season and also directed by Gupta, featured popular Gen Z NHL stars making light of being called members of a “lazy” generation as they play show off their hockey talents on the ice and their sense of humour. The spot scored with audiences and critics alike, and contributed to AdAge naming the NHL a Marketer of the Year 2024.
“This campaign has been incredibly rewarding,” said Gupta. “The players were amazing to work with. They totally got the concept and even improvised some scenes including the spitball shot at the end of the first spot. Once again, the scripts from Highdive were some of the best creative I have ever worked on, and we really turned it up a notch this time around, making it even smarter and more relevant, and funnier. The NHL and Highdive are super team players. We really scored, pardon the pun, another hat-trick in this series.”
A former award-winning sports journalist turned Emmy nominated filmmaker, Gupta has become renowned for crafting some of the most watched, thought-provoking and culture shifting brand films in the world. His work as a storyteller is in pursuit of two meanings: Truth. And Identity. His approach is to layer a truthful authenticity ingrained during his time as a journalist – along with an emotional intelligence he honed storytelling in the documentary world – to craft his own evocative and unique cinematic style. He’s created culturally iconic works for brands like Budweiser (Dwyane Wade: This Bud’s for 3) to Beats by Dre (You Love Me). Gupta has netted two Emmy nominations, four Webbys, six AICP wins, eight Cannes Lions, 25 Clios and both an ADCOLOR, ANDYs.
