The third time is the charm for freelance director Timothy Kendall — as far as national Super Bowl commercials go, that is.
Though the seasoned commercial director has accomplished the career milestone twice before, this year marks his first non-comedy entry with diabetes management company Dexcom and their celebrity spokesperson Nick Jonas.
The Super Bowl LV entry also marks the advertiser’s first, breaking new ground for the entire sector. The piece eschews traditional pharmaceutical marketing conventions to reach a brand-new audience.
The commercial market moves quickly and is prone to typecasting, even behind the camera. It can be tough for creatives to make the leap from genre to genre, but Kendall is no stranger to the challenge.
Kendall, a multitalented creator represented for US commercials by The Directors Network, often blends elements of action, comedy, and drama to tell a relatable, if heightened, story. Over the years, this has created the perfect blend of skills to handle the tough task of directing an A-list performer for television’s biggest audience.
Kendall met Nick Jonas when Cleveland-based agency Marcus Thomas took notice of his non-comedy work. Agency producer Jerrod McMillin said, “We’d made some very funny stuff with Timothy in the past, but even then we’re well aware that he is not strictly a comedy director, he’s a filmmaker.” Kendall’s first Dexcom spot sent shockwaves through the ranks at Dexcom and they soon decided the next frontier was a Super Bowl effort with Kendall at the helm.
Other recent storytelling work by Kendall includes “Guiding You Home,” a recent rebranding for Coldwell Banker, an upcoming spring 2021 campaign for Traeger Grills, and several projects within the video game sector for clients including Nintendo and Oculus Rift S. The second spot with Nick Jonas for Dexcom is set to be released in spring of this year.
“To me it isn’t about simply making everything funny,” explains Kendall, “but delivering what is true to each story.” Kendall sees himself as a versatile storyteller who plays well in all genres.
“One valuable lesson I’ve learned is that it doesn’t matter how big the campaign is, or how famous the people you’re directing, when I get home at the end of the day, there’s still the trash to take out and my kids who want their dinner, and they couldn’t care less how many Super Bowl commercials I’ve done.”
To see more of Timothy’s work or to learn more about the Directors Network, visit http://thedirectorsnetwork.com.
About THE DIRECTORS NETWORK (TDN)
Since 1985, The Directors Network has taken the ‘road less traveled,’ hand-curating and representing freelance directors to the advertising community. TDN is a talent agency which represents its exclusive roster of directors and DPs to ad agencies and clients either directly for in-house projects or through production companies.
We take pride in our ability to empower our roster members with tools, resources, relationships and opportunities that enable them to build their careers. The secret of our success is a combination of dedication to service, of perseverance to ensure the right talent fit for each project, of determination to make the hiring process simple, fair and transparent, and our sincere passion for building long-term relationships. To learn more or get in touch, visit thedirectorsnetwork.com
