Merman has officially announced the signing of director Ritesh Gupta for commercial representation in the U.S. Gupta had joined Merman last year but was working on a feature film for most of 2024 so the production company held off until now on making the signing public.
The director is a former award-winning sports journalist and creative director. He’s created noteworthy campaigns from Budweiser’s viral “Dwyane Wade: This Bud’s for 3,” which he directed, to the multi-award winning Beats by Dre campaign “You Love Me,” which Gupta worked on as group creative director at the agency Translation. The “You Love Me” film, which was directed by Melina Matsoukas, earned a primetime commercial Emmy nomination in 2021 as well as a DGA Award win for PRETTYBIRD director Matsoukas. This marked the second Emmy nod for Gupta. Back in his MTV days he was a producer on a documentary, Aftershock: Diary of Gideon in Pakistan, which garnered a News & Documentary Emmy nomination.
As a director, Gupta’s 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. In addition to his two Emmy nods, he has netted four Webbys, six AICP wins, eight Cannes Lions, 25 Clios and recognition from ADCOLOR and the ANDYs.
“Ritesh brings a unique perspective to his storytelling,” said Merman global director Ellen Clarke. “He has the ability to identify the multilayers of a narrative and its characters, weaving them impactfully together. His strength lies in his connection to the talent’s performance and discovering the authenticity within the story.”
Gupta said, “I’m so thrilled to be joining the roster for Merman. As an industry outsider, I really waited and did my research, wanting to find the right company with the right ethos that fit who I was. And in Merman, I found both a fit and a company who really demonstrated the care for their directors and a push to the craft of the work.”
Gupta recently shot the latest installment of the NHL campaign “The Next Golden Era is Now,” which is focused on celebrating how hockey is faster, more skilled and more fun on and off the ice. Created by the agency Highdive, Gupta directed the spot featuring popular Gen Z NHL stars making light of being called members of a “lazy” generation as they vigorously slam opponents into the boards and crash the net. The spot scored with audiences and critics alike.
Next came the Gupta-directed NHL campaign spot “Tipping,” which is a play on the fine art of tipping a shot past the goalie and into the net by deflecting the puck off the blade of the hockey stick. The spot showcases some of the NHL’s hottest young goalies complaining that “tipping is out of control these days” and transitions from scenes of them paying 20% or more in tips at restaurants and coffee shops to on-ice action clips of them getting hosed by lightning quick deflections. The final parting shot of the spot features Boston Bruins left-wing sniper and captain Brad Marchand, who quips: “I like tipping!” A third spot in the campaign, also directed by Gupta, will pick up where the first and second leave off and will drop in February.
