Bicoastal/international indie production company Hey Wonderful, honored most recently for its work by Tribeca X and One Show, has added comedy director Brad Lubin to its roster for commercials in North America. Born in D.C. and based in Los Angeles, Lubin has spent the first few years of his directorial career focused on projects out of London’s creatively charged advertising hub, with a standout comedy reel to show for it. He earned two British Arrow nominations this year for House Simple’s “Neighbors” (The&Partnership London), a hilarious take on the near unbelievable efficiency of the on-line estate agency, and for Burger King’s “Act of History” (BBH London), generating laughs for its sharp juxtaposition of a regular Joe taste testing BK’s new chicken burger with restaurant employees who hang dramatically on his every bite.
Lubin’s style is characterized by meticulous casting of relatable characters and irreverent situational comedy, as seen in his Living Nutz commercial, “Nut Allergy.” The spot delivers side-splitting laughs with clever portraits of people professing their love for the gourmet nuts despite suffering allergic reactions that border on physical deformity.
Lubin, whose U.K. representation is via production house MindsEye, is ready to take on the challenges of advertising in the U.S. “As an American, the timing is right to really go for it here in the states with Hey Wonderful,” Lubin said. “I was drawn to the people, culture and pedigree of the company. Hey Wonderful has an incredibly strong team. Michael (Di Girolamo, Hey Wonderful founder/managing partner Di Girolamo), Sarah (McMurray, company partner/EP) and Earl (McDaniel, EP/head of production) are not only exceptionally talented and experienced, they’re good people. They’ve partnered with reps at the top of their game. They’re the perfect team for me to work with as I make my foray into the U.S. market.”
Lubin has already made an initial splash in the U.S., having earned a slot in SHOOT’s 2016 New Directors Showcase. He also was repped for a stretch by production house Joinery.
“Brad is the gift that keeps on giving,” said Di Girolamo. “I can watch his reel on repeat and still get the same belly laughs I did the first time I saw it, and that to me counts for something. Honestly, the last time I laughed that hard and was this excited about a comedy director was when I first saw Harold Einstein’s FedEx spot in 2008 which if you do the math worked out pretty well for us.”
McMurray added, “Brad’s humor really captures a moment and drills down to a simple truth—his situations are familiar, but his take feels very fresh. We knew from the moment we watched Nutz, he was the one to bring funny back.”
Lubin caught the comedy bug as a child when his grandmother would let him stay up late to watch “Live at the Apollo.” “Def Comedy Jam” and “SNL” are among his other early influences. “Growing up, my world revolved around stand up, Mel Brooks, The Zucker brothers and the Farrelly brothers,” Lubin related. It was no accident that his first job out of film school was working for Peter and Bobby Farrelly. And today, going to the Comedy Store and the Laugh Factory to check out their gamut of talented comedians is a regular part of his repertoire. That culture has influenced his own storytelling.
“Comedy’s in my DNA,” he says. “I look for scripts that make me laugh or have the potential to make me laugh, and I want to work with collaborative creative teams who are all about making the funniest and most memorable work possible. I treat every spot like a mini-comedy film.”
In addition to his SHOOT Showcase recognition, Lubin has been honored with nominations for the D&AD Next Director Award and a Cannes YDA.
