Steve Ayson Signs with MJZ

Director Steve Ayson Joins MJZ for US, UK and Other Markets 
 

Aussie Director Steve Ayson is now with MJZ in the US and UK.

The award-winning Australian director Steve Ayson has signed with MJZ for representation in the US, UK, France and the Netherlands.  He remains with The Sweet Shop for representation in Australasia and other Southern Hemisphere markets.
 
"Steve is a natural choice for us, and his unique talent is a rarity," says MJZ President David Zander.  "He has a rich filmic style that evolves to suit each story, and a highly skilled and inventive approach to treating concepts. We're so excited that he has joined MJZ and look forward to an outstanding creative relationship."
 
Recognized for his smart, off-beat comedy, intuitive eye for casting and sharp storytelling, Ayson has directed a number of memorable commercials, both in the US and in his native Australia.  The Aussie trade publication CREATIVE included Ayson in its "Power 20," a list honoring Australia and New Zealand's leading creative minds, for the last two years in a row.
 
Before directing, Ayson worked on the agency side of the business as a respected creative, where he developed an appreciation for the balance between pure creativity and the need to convey effective brand messages.

Geoffrey Rush appears in Ayson's comic short for the Melbourne International Film Festival.

He proved this recently with one of his most recent projects, a visually arresting yet no less funny spot for the Melbourne International Film Festival.  Using the tagline, "Only the best films make the cut," the spot, titled "Potato Peelers," illustrates the sorts of reasons why entries don't make it into the festival by showing two brooding men peeling potatoes in a bleak landscape talking about how boring the film is that they're starring in. It features a cameo by Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush.
 
In addition to his work for the Melbourne festival, Ayson has lent his visual style to some of the biggest brands today, among these a very funny spot for Speight's Summit showing men at their most primal form titled "Man Like Natural."
 
Other brands she's shot for include Heineken, Volkswagen, MTV, Toohey's and Hahn Super Dry.  Ayson directed the Coca-Cola "Snowball" spot that ran on the Super Bowl in 2010, and also directed the offbeat Folgers "Shiny, Happy People" spot in the US.
 
Ayson's work has been honored with some the most coveted awards in the industry, including AdFest, Caanz Axis, Spikes Asia, Clio and The One Show. He's currently finishing up a spot for The Cosmopolitan Hotel of Las Vegas out of Fallon, Minneapolis.

Published 8 September, 2011