Director Ringan Ledwidge dies

The legendary commercials director died in his LA home yesterday, 10 November, after suffering from cancer. 

Rattling Stick comments : “It is with a very heavy heart we have to announce that our beloved Ringan passed away in his sleep. Cancer has taken him from us, and we already miss him dearly. No one will ever come close to the legend that he is.

"We could sit here and write up all the accolades he has won, or go into the magic he added to everything he touched, but that doesn’t feel right just now.

"Anyone that knew Ringan, knew what a special, wonderful man he was. He will never be forgotten, and the industry has just lost one of it’s best."

One of adland’s most respected figures, Ringan Ledwidge has directed award-winning work for brands including Audi, Sainsbury’s, The Guardian, Barnardo’s, Massive Attack, Puma, Lynx and many more. In 2005, he directed the feature film Gone, through Working Title and Universal and in 2006, he set up multi award-winning production company Rattling Stick with director Daniel Kleinman and producer Johnnie Frankel. 

Moving from a career as a photojournalist into adland, he acknowledged that his photography was mainly propelled by a desire to capture feelings and that filmmaking gave him “many frames to try and find that emotional truth.”

shots most recently caught up with Ledwidge this summer when he chatted to Rattling Stick director Nina Meredith about his career development. 

Christmas Is For Sharing, Sainsbury's and Royal British Legion's 2014 festive spot. 

Born in Cantebury, Kent, 24 May, 1971, he graduated with a first in graphic design from London’s Ravensbourne School of Design, and, a talented photographer, went to work as photojournalist in the Middle East.

After his travels he returned home strapped for cash and decided that hawking his photography portfolio around ad agencies might be a good way to make some funds. 

Reminiscing about his big break into advertising he reported: “A couple of guys Kim [Papworth] and Tony [Davidson], who ran W&K London asked if I’d ever thought about directing. Which I hadn’t. With their help and some other mates' help we worked together and the result wasn’t too bad. I’d enjoyed myself and figured this is for me.”

Among the award-winning work that turned out to be “not too bad”, was the emotional Christmas is For Sharing, for Sainsbury’s and Royal British Legion in 2014. This heartwarming story of the Germans and Allies playing football on Christmas day had particular significance for him as his great uncle, the celebrated war poet Francis Ledwidge had fought and died in WW1’s Battle of Passchendaele at the age of 29. 

Ledwidge's many accolades include receiving the Chairman’s Awards at the British Arrows, being named the UK’s No1 Director by Campaign three years consecutively, and he’s frequently appeared in The Gunn Report’s top three Most Awarded Directors in the world.

"Ringan was my hero, he was a dear friend and I will miss him," said Davud Karbassioun, President of Pulse Films. "He had this effortless confidence and compassion which always made him the coolest person in the room, and I was just grateful to be in the room with him for parts of his journey.  There is a big group of us that got so much from him, and we owe him everything. He made us all look good. We’d copy his style, steal his jokes and anecdotes, and while we hope to continue to champion everything we learned from and loved about him, there will only ever be one Ringan Ledwidge."

He will be sorely missed.

A selection of some of Ledwidge's best work can be seen below: