Ad Icon: Rocky Morton

Rocky Morton, the British director of music videos, adverts and film, has enjoyed a successful career spanning more than two decades. Here he talks to Simon Wakelin about the modern art of commercial immersion, how people will always want a touch of linear narrative, the challenges of following comedy conventions and why directing is akin to surfing the wave

As a young student just out of art college, Rocky Morton co-authored the book Creative Computer Graphics before opening up his very first production company, monikered Cucumber Studios.

He began directing commercials using a combination of live action, animation and the then emerging art of computer graphics before co-creating and co-directing the monster global hit The Max Headroom Show, a memorably sardonic programme featuring a computer-generated TV star who quickly rose to fame to become a decade-defining icon.

Max Headroom was a character ahead of its time, an international talk show host who interviewed celebrities, made shameless endorsements and plugged merchandise – even appearing in his own TV commercials for Coca-Cola.

The success of the pioneering show, in tandem with high-profile music video work for artists such as Miles Davis, George Harrison and Rush, led Morton to the boulevard of Hollywood where bigger challenges lay in wait, helming features including D.O.A. with co-director Annabel Jankel, which was a remake of the original 1950 film noir and starred Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan.

Yet it was commercial filmmaking that ultimately piqued Morton’s interest. By 1989, he had already commenced building a world-class production company with partners Jankel and David Zander, teaming up to form Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ). Morton explains his preference for adland over film:

“I really enjoyed the shorter format and preferred the experience of working with advertising people. I put all my efforts into building a company that would hopefully become one of the best production companies in the world.”

As it turned out, he was right. MJZ remains anchored as a permanent fixture on the awards circuit today, continuing to hatch top-notch work from a roster of progressive directorial talent. However, the task of erecting a production house of consequence was not an easy challenge when it opened its doors on the cusp of a new decade: “It took time to develop and nurture our roster,” he notes on building the company up through the early 90s.

"We needed to be careful who we brought in, made sure the company had a complementary group of directors that consistently made quality commercials.”

Morton also went on to improve his own directing prowess under the MJZ banner, a task he admits took quite some time to master. He compares the process of learning to direct well to that of surfing, a water sport he loves in his home of Los Angeles.

“When you surf it’s easy to get to a certain level, then it becomes difficult to push beyond that. With directing it’s exactly the same. It was a challenge to move past a certain skill level because I was storyboard obsessed. I tried to force my vision on the mechanics for many, many years until, in the end, I realised that the more I let go, the better I got.

“It’s the same principle riding a wave; when you fight it you don’t do very well – but if you let yourself go and allow the wave to take you there, you become successful. It took me a long time to master that. Now, I look for things in jobs that interest me, look at the actors' performances and allow the work to really become a creative exercise.”

 A constant innovator, Morton’s approach requires trust and belief from agency and client. It’s something he seeks in every commercial – a chance to uncover opportunities that can transform the creative, no matter how subtle or extensive that transformation may be:

“I always talk to the agency before I pitch to see how far they are prepared to go. I need to ascertain exactly where we can go. Obviously, when your hands are tied it becomes very difficult to work creatively, especially when an idea needs developing. But if the client is open to change then there can be enormous benefits for everyone involved, plus I know that we can create something interesting.”

Morton cites recent work with LA agency David & Goliath as an experience worth noting, a proactive experience that allowed him to expand on initial ideas and concepts. The resultant spot, entitled Robot for fast-food restaurant Carl’s Jr, turned out to be a well-oiled comedic gem.

The slapstick spot features an endearing robot returning home after a long day at the office. He feeds his goldfish then sits down to enjoy a tasty takeaway chicken burger. He peers longingly at the burger, then attempts to eat it by slamming it against his mouthless head. Frustration builds, culminating in a multitude of deadly laser beams fired out from the android, rays that inadvertently destroy the rueful robot’s humble abode.

The unique design of the robot was something that developed as the creative came together, the end result being a combination of an actor in a specially designed suit, a separate puppeteered robot, plus CG effects sewn in during post. “The combination of those elements force the audience to ponder exactly how it was made, and keeps their attention glued to the screen,” notes Morton.

Morton concedes that comedic work such as Robot is often a challenge to successfully master.

“Comedy is probably the most difficult challenge of all the genres because it has to follow certain conventions. For sure, it has to be perfectly honest, otherwise people won’t laugh, and with honesty you can't hide anything in the shadows, which means the aesthetics become far more challenging.”

Audiences today are also hungry to seek immersive experiences with brands, an element magnified in recent years as ever-more varying types of content push beyond the boundaries of convention. Morton says on the subject:

“Everything I do now has some internet aspect attached to it. The work needs to be a real head-turner, but the beauty is you have the chance to extend storylines. Sometimes you get to do something outrageous, usually employing concepts that you just could not get away with in regular advertising.”

Morton notes Zombie Labs for Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection through TBWAChiatDay LA as a case in point. It’s unconventional fare targeted specifically for millions of gamers eager to play the game on the eve of its release.

Two sordidly amusing spots were shaped to satiate gamers’ desires, piquing their interest with content clocking in at more than two minutes each. The campaign features the world’s foremost zombie experts working tirelessly to perfect zombie-killing techniques.

Horrific, humorous and outlandish experiments abound – everything from deciphering how to explode zombies in spacesuits to examining how much centrifugal force will completely disintegrate their bodies – all to reveal optimal ways of surviving and destroying ferocious hordes of the undead closing in for the kill within the haunting confines of the lunar surface. Morton comments on this tongue-in-cheek fare:

“This kind of content would never make it onto TV. It’s great to do this type of work. The potential to push boundaries is like never before.”

While we agree command-and-control audiences seek immersive experiences across multiple devices, Morton counters that timeless ad themes still have merit in adland.

“I don't think the 30- or 60-second commercial is going anywhere – the reason being that commercials have been refined in this way for so many years. People respond to narrative like they've always responded to it.”

We discuss how an almost dyslexic non-narrative structure pervades new-media experiences. For the most part, audiences actively seek out content to direct their own experiences and, by extension, become part of a brand’s make-up. Morton counters that the somewhat archaic idea of linear storytelling often overrides new-wave offerings, and notes that classic forms of creative communication often rise above the media maelstrom:

“An interactive, socially networked entertainment world obviously has merit but, at the heart of it, storytelling will always be alive and well. People can be as active as they want, but passive, linear experiences are as much a factor for people as immersive entertainment.

“I feel that narrative becomes essential in storytelling, especially in comedy, otherwise you end up with visual wallpaper which is great – but there's absolutely no pay-off. Visuals certainly get people's attention but they don't last, whereas narrative lays down a story, enters your subconscious and stays there for a longer time.”

With storytelling comes character, and the Holy Grail of casting is, as always, one of Morton's primary concerns:

“It’s paramount because you have to work with actors, and so you look for intelligence because it makes all the difference. If actors get turned on creatively it accentuates the idea. They can create something extra special if you give them the room to work their craft.”

I also note how the lure and blur of the real is another facet to the technological sell, as seen in seamless effects used in his endearing robot spot for Carl’s Jr.

Such effects are a far cry from his early days directing Max Headroom, the show’s futuristic graphics generated by a then top-of-the-line Commodore-Amiga. The popular computer was considered groundbreaking back in the day; today the average dishwasher has far more computing power than this high-end operating system of old.

“If you can fool the audience that it's real – and that's becoming increasingly more difficult – you’re definitely on to a winner. It’s certainly more of a challenge today than ever before because audiences are so much more sophisticated and expectations are so much higher.”

With an ever-expanding array of options for global clients to use in the sell, social media tools are clearly creating and sustaining massive viral buzz – as witnessed in Morton’s Zombie Labs work, which reached out to millions of fans to garner allegiance from a huge gaming demographic.

Such branding experiences have led to global advertising spends reaching more than $400billion annually. While massive change is at hand, Morton is not fazed; he feels comfortable, unperturbed by his role in a new era of technological branding:

“I think that we live in the most interesting time period because the possibilities for brands to make a statement are endless. Clients are looking to use their ad dollars in more interesting ways, involving the audience and giving them something new, as opposed to the old-school scattergun approach. I think we’re going to see some interesting stuff on the road ahead. It certainly interests me to focus on creating longer-form content and targeting that to specific audiences.”

The future of advertising seems boundless. In the immortal words of Max Headroom: “Y'know, I get the feeling there's a lot of faces out there... watching... And I can tell you it brings a lump to my ratings.”