Karen Cunningham, the former head of production at Rose Hackney Barber
and managing director of the now defunct Jennie and Co, has teamed up
with Bash Robertson, former head of production at Redwing, to form a new
commercials production company.
The new outfit, called the Pink Film Company, is launching with two
directors - Fabrice Carazo, an award-winning French director who is
intent on making an impact in the UK commercials market, and the
Norwegian, Harald Zwart, a relative newcomer to advertising, who has not
been represented in this country before.
Pink’s first commission is a new Nike commercial for Simons Palmer
Denton Clemmow and Johnston, to be directed by Carazo.‘To be able to say
that our first job is for such a prestigious client and agency is a
terrific start,’ Cunningham said.
Carazo was previously with Limelight Films and Commercials and has his
own production company, the Gang Films, in France. He has worked
extensively in Europe for clients, including Mercedes (Springer and
Jacoby, Hamburg) and Dim Bra (Publicis Conseil, Paris).
The launch of Pink reunites Cunningham with Robertson, who started his
career in commercials production in 1987 as a runner at Jennie and Co.
After its closure in 1991, Robertson joined Redwing, along with the
former Jennie and Co director, Malcolm Venville. He also produced for
Billy Kent, Chris Palmer and Mark Denton.
Cunningham is best known for launching the directing careers of Ian
Emes, who is now with RSA, and Daniel Barber at Rose Hackney. She left
Rose Hackney, where her brief was to find new talent, in March, to set
up her own company.
The duo say they are likely to take on more directors, but do not plan a
massive roster. ‘We want to be in a position where we can concentrate on
people’s careers,’ Cunningham said. ‘The big mistake people make is to
take on six directors and not have the time to put a long-term strategy
together.’
