On My Radar: David Shane

It’s been a big year for O Positive director David Shane. Claiming a slew of gongs at Cannes Lions for spots such as his Awkward Family Viewing campaign for HBO Go (gold, three silvers and a bronze) and Feeling Carefree for Volkswagen (silver) he came away from the event in June in top stead.

The director behind one of the most-viewed ads in history, Bud Light’s Swear Jar, more recently, Shane has completed a typically funny campaign for Loctite - featuring Shoe and Breakage (below).

Beyond his achievements in advertising, Shane's career has seen him earn a writer credit on the first season of South Park and he currently has two feature films in development - The Friend Zone, with 3 Arts, and We Love You Guys, with Schorr Pictures.

Below, the director tells us what's on his creative radar and his thoughts on modern day advertising.

What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?

All the Time Warner stuff with coach Bill Cowher. He’s part of an ultra-nuanced acting movement that I’m blown away by. He’s so good nobody notices that he’s wearing headphones.

What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?

WebMD to make sure I’m not dying. If I have any internet time left I usually research this porn movie I’ve been working on.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?

I bought a 3D printer... but I live in a pretty small apartment, so I just use it to print stuff in two dimensions.

Facebook or Twitter?

If I pick one the other one is going to get so angry with me.

What’s your favourite app on your phone and why?

There is something called settings that I love to play with.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

Inside Amy Schumer. She’s so smartly subversive in such a deceptively dumb way; it took me a couple of episodes to realise how brilliant she (and it) is.

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

By now everyone should have seen Forrest Gump. It was incredibly popular.

Where were you when inspiration last struck?

The last time I felt inspired I wrote a love poem to my third grade teacher. I can still hear her laughing at me.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

Humour in advertising – at least the best advertising – seems to have finally caught up to humour in the ‘real world’.

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

I’d bring back the three-pot brownie lunch.

And despite my last answer, I think we all need to have a little more faith in our audience. People who’ve been watching ads since they were spit out of the womb are actually pretty sophisticated about stuff, and the “lowest common denominator” is rarely as low as some clients seem to think.