Director Luis Gerard, now represented in both the General and Hispanic markets by bespoke NY-based production company Easy Mondays, imbues each commercial with the subtlety and depth of an arthouse feature. As a viewer, you relate to the characters and get to know them - their joy, their pain, sometimes their embarrassment, and often their victories. While these are branded stories, most often under a minute in length, you have been swept along by the patient strokes of a lifelong cineast. 

“From the start, it was instilled in me that ideas mattered,” Gerard recalls of his beginnings in advertising. Gerard grew up in his father’s arthouse movie theater in Puerto Rico. There, he not only developed the skills to operate the equipment, but also earned an appreciation for independent cinema. “Good scripts were more important than genre,” he says. While studying at the University of Puerto Rico, he shot his first successful project, a 35mm black-and-white silent short that earned a finalist position at the Venice Film Festival. Through the years, Gerard has developed a love for  photography, taking pictures on a variety of subjects around the globe, hoping to eventually publish them in a book.

Fast-forward to 2021, as Gerard’s first assignment for Easy Mondays, a comedy campaign for Tax Act, is enjoying the frequent airplay one might expect during tax season. Created via Hawkeye Advertising/Chicago, the spots craftily employ humorous scare tactics (i.e., a man being chased by a real Kodiak bear) to take the fear out of filing their taxes. “I love visual storytelling, and I have a good sense of humor, I suppose,” he says, “but the story dictates the tone.” 

By way of example, THE WAKE, the new short film Gerard wrote, produced, and directed, is a complex drama involving two brothers, murder, an escape, and a gun. Currently in postproduction, “It shows a different side of me,” the filmmaker asserts. 

Easy Mondays Founder/EP Asori Soto goes further. “Luis has the range - comedy, drama, cars, documentary, even fashion - to tell stories across multiple genres,” he says, rattling off a list of notable spots that run the gamut, beginning with Ponds “Power of Gold,” an epic set piece that could be taking a page from Bertolucci or Lean. Also in the mix: Trident “Sniper” (action/suspense), Loto Joy (emotional), Orbitz (wacky), Stride “Heirloom” (touching and smile-inducing). Interestingly, Gerard wrote “Heirloom” and co-wrote “Sniper.” He has brought his powerful cinematic signature to projects for such agencies as Wieden+Kennedy, BBH, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO New York, TBWA Toronto. His clients also include Volkswagen, Bud Light, Ikea, and Axe, to name a few. Gerard has garnered numerous international honors, including Cannes Lions, London International Awards, New York Film Festival, and Clio Awards.

“I have deep respect for Asori’s intellect, and the things he has accomplished in such a short amount of time, coming here from Cuba as he did,” Gerard relates. Both he and Soto have worked extensively in Hispanic and General Market advertising. “When Easy Mondays launched, I already had an affiliation for commercials, so I aligned with Asori for Hispanic work. Now, the synergy is such that it just makes sense to be at Easy Mondays across the board. In addition to our cultural connections, we really share a creative vision.” 

Part of that vision is an expanded presence in New York, home to both Soto and Gerard. “As we hopefully emerge from the seclusion of the past year, the Easy Mondays agenda includes building a broader creative New York community and getting to know our East Coast agency neighbors better,” Soto affirms.   

Easy Mondays is represented by Carl Forsberg and Justin Lasoff (Apostle) on the East Coast, Sarah Gitersonke (SG&Partners) in the Midwest, Veronica Lombardo (VLM) on the West Coast, and Marta Burga in the Hispanic market. 

About Easy Mondays
Overseen by Founder/Executive Producer Asori Soto, Easy Mondays is a bespoke production company established by a bunch of creative gourmands, voyagers, and trendsetters. We circled the world more than a couple of times last year. We produced moving pictures about cars, food, beverages, health, rock and roll, fashion, social issues, we published trendsetting magazines on travel and the pleasures of life, we wrote and photographed books. In short, we spent countless hours devoted to finding the most cinematic experiences around the globe, and we brought our babies and dogs as witnesses! Our pursuit in the never-ending circle of life is to create the most engaging content for our clients. We are known for our high-quality productions and our taste at selecting excellent restaurants in the most remote regions. And we do all of it because we love it, because it is in our ethos, and because we shine the most when we are crafting astonishing stories together.