The Producers hires ex-agency talent as creative director
Former Special Group and Clemenger BBDO talent Luke Thompson has joined production house The Producers as its first-ever creative director, Mumbrella can reveal.
The creative director has worked agency-side for over 25 years locally and globally, with stints also at Ogilvy, BWM (now dentsu Creative) and New York’s Cliff Freeman & Partners.
He spent over 11 years at Clemenger BBDO, before moving to Special in 2020.
“I love working with all types of creative minds whether it be agency or production side and I’ve always embraced the excitement of finding new challenges,” Thompson said.
“So this shift from agency to production has been a chance to use my experience in a more hands-on role that’s been truly eye opening. There’s just so much potential for the role of creative director on the production side,” he added.
While Thompson was actually appointed in April last year, he worked ‘undercover’ until now – negotiating the balance between an agency’s marketing goals and a director’s creative vision.
“We weren’t sure that agencies would accept a creative director working from the production side,” Noelle Jones, executive producer and co-founder of The Producers, said.
“But they have quickly warmed to the idea.”
Jones said Thompson has become a vital part of pre-script briefings, core concept investigation and helping with story beats, treatment crafting and visualisation.
He acts as a sounding board and quality controller throughout pitching processes and production, and his creative leadership keeps in touch with cultural trends, industry advances and emerging technologies to guide The Producers team every day.
“We think of him as our ‘creative stunt double’ who can step in when we need a solution that translates client expectations into a creative expression,” Jones continued.
“Who wouldn’t want to tap into his experience? I can see the young directors’ confidence grow with having Luke on their side.”
Director at The Producers, Cameron March, said Thompson has been an invaluable aid in transforming a brief into a great ad.
“Being able to tap into Luke’s experience has been a game changer,” he said.
“Luke not only brings his expertise from his agency days, but a fresh perspective on how we as directors can approach our treatments. Ultimately creating an environment that fosters idea generation with the client and agency front of mind,” March concluded.
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Lauren McNamara is a journalist at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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