Tool of North America has added director John X. Carey to its content roster. Tool will handle U.S. representation for Carey spanning spots and branded content. The live-action director is known for some of the industry’s most awarded and memorable campaigns, including Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches, “Dillan’s Voice” for Apple, and “Breathless Choir” for Philips. Carey is re-joining Tool to focus on commercial and entertainment projects, combining his creative eye for human-centered storytelling with the production company’s commitment to creating culturally impactful brand content. He comes back to Tool after having been with Anonymous Content.

Carey earned a DGA Award nomination for best commercial director of 2013 on the strength of Real Beauty Sketches, a short film viral sensation for Dove out of Ogilvy & Mather, Sao Paulo. Real Beauty Sketches earned assorted honors, garnering not only the DGA nod but also the Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix. In the short, a forensic sketch artist draws women based on self-descriptions and how others describe them. The differences are striking, underscoring that women’s self-image falls short of capturing their true beauty, as more accurately reflected through the eyes of others. The artist never actually sees the women he sketches. His drawings are based solely on the verbal descriptions given to him.

The aforementioned “Breathless Choir” won the Cannes Lion Grand Prix Pharma honor. And the Apple spot “Dillon’s Voice” shared the moving triumph of an autistic teen who learns to express himself through using an iPad.

Carey has been celebrated for his passion for human-interest topics, cinematic aesthetics and intimate, emotional character stories. He has helmed campaigns for clients including Coca-Cola, Samsung, Guinness, Google and Goodwill, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Today Show, CNN, TIME, Forbes, ABC News, and more. 

“I’ve missed my friends and colleagues at Tool, who share my goals in terms of the kind of advertising and non-advertising work we want to create. With the industry evolving as it is, Tool’s exploration of new formats such as short form, TV, and branded film will provide an even more impactful platform to tell the stories that matter most to me: those which empower underrepresented people and issues,” said Carey.

Nancy Hacohen, managing director of Tool, said, “Best known for his documentary and lifestyle direction, John has an incredible visual style and a powerful sense of developing character and emotion. We also look forward to his future success as he explores new creative challenges.”