VANDAL signs director Keith Rivers

Media production boutique VANDAL further sharpens its image as a premium content creator, with the signing of award-winning director Keith Rivers.

Rivers' diverse body of work spans such blue-chip clients as Amazon, Delta Airlines, McDonald’s, Porsche, Soundcloud, and XBOX, to name a few. Rivers created the instantly-viral Microsoft Surface launch video, which garnered 9 million views in its first week on YouTube and won a Gold ADDY. He has written, produced, and directed several global ad campaigns, including one for Internet Explorer 9, whereby a music synchronization deal for Alex Clare led to triple-platinum record sales and a BRIT award. 

As a screenwriter, Rivers’ Flight Plans - based on a true story about the Barefoot Bandit who stole and crash-landed an airplane owned by Keith’s father, Bob Rivers - made Coverfly's “RedList Top 20” and was shortlisted at the Austin Film Festival. He is also a singer-songwriter, with four completed music albums, which can be found on iTunes.

“It’s not often that you find someone who can excel in so many different verticals in advertising,” said VANDAL co-founder (with Francis Lawrence) and EP Heather Heller, herself a GRAMMY-winner who produced spots airing on the Super Bowl LV and LIV broadcasts, and some of the most popular music videos of all time. “A constant in his work is the emotional resonance that runs throughout each piece, even though the concepts vary greatly. Keith has the ability to touch people and work with actors to elicit a rare and authentic performance.”

For his part, Rivers said of his move to VANDAL, “Heather is big on strategy and I'm big on vision. A vision without a strategy is just an illusion so needless to say, I'm excited to have met my match and join Heather and her team. To work alongside such notable visionaries at VANDAL doesn't intimidate me, it charges me up. I'm excited to prove myself on each and every project I take on.” 

While many filmmakers tell compelling stories about a subject, Rivers pulls viewers into the experience, reporting from inside the mind of the climber, gamer, driver, surfer, boxer, snowboarder, poker player. It may be nonlinear, or near-psychedelic, but somehow it makes sense. He even offers insight into the developer sitting at their computer dreaming up virtual adventures. Beyond the adrenaline and the visceral experience, there is a depth to emotion that Rivers accesses, driving his sharp eye into the central nerve, turning each piece of content into an anthem. Wherever a brand wants their audience to go, Rivers takes them there and provides a full access backstage pass.