LOS ANGELES, CA, March 20, 2009 - Director John Zissimos has signed with Fools and Horses for  exclusive US spot representation. He comes over from Hungry Man. A former creative director with TBWA/Chiat/Day, J. Walter Thompson, and McCann Erickson, Zissimos has done award-winning creative work for Nissan, Nestle, Lipton, Amstel, and more. As a spot director specializing in comedy/dialogue, he has helmed campaigns and spot projects for clients such as Mike's Hard Lemonade, the San Francisco Giants, Airborne, PG&E, and the Inside Out Film Festival. His first assignments with Fools and Horses are a Sprint viral via Goodby Silverstein Partners, and the "Quick. Get that Dog Some ALPO" campaign via Fallon/MN.

"It was a wise person who first said, 'It takes a village'," said Townsend, who worked with Zissimos during his agency days, when she was Managing Director of Headquarters and Guzman was Head of Production.  "Lucky for us, John is a village. There is nothing he lacks in creativity, intelligence, dedication and enthusiasm.  It’s rough out there right now, and just when you think it couldn’t get any harder - with John - it gets funny.  It’s always a joy to work with him."

Zissimos stated that his agency background has proved invaluable when engaging in collaborations with creative and production teams. "I know what its' like to spend a year with one 30-second script and at the one-yard line hand it off to a director," he explained. "I know how hard that is so I try to make something good and bring to life these ideas. I love taking on new challenges and pulling a win out of a tough situation."

Taking on new challenges was the hallmark of Zissimos' creative career, one in which he earned a reputation for helping to turn troubled brands around. Likewise, humor has always been a core ingredient. Beginning his career at TBWA/Chiat/Day, working on Nissan and other accounts, he shot and cut anything he could think of and get his hands on. He began making commercial spoofs for client meetings, films for new business pitches and most importantly learning the craft of directing from the inside out. Following five years at Chiat, Zissimos went on to successful tenures at Warwick Baker Fiore and JWT, where he did high-profile work for Heineken, Amstel Light, Lipton Brisk, Nestle and PG&E, and crafting hugely successful campaigns such as Amstel's "A Light Beer for a heavy world" and Lipton's "That's Brisk, baby."

Zissimos left JWT to direct full time, but was quickly lured back into the business by McCann Erickson. He orchestrated a pitch on Mike's Hard Lemonade, shooting a 9-minute film with a digicam and an empty bottle. The user-generated look and irreverent tone spawned a Mike's Hard Lemonade campaign that ran for nearly three years, and put Zissimos in the directors chair. With 50 Mike's commercials under his belt, another company came calling. This time it was not an agency, but a production company, Hungry Man. After a 16-year detour, Zissimos was finally a full-time director.

Now, at Fools and Horses, Zissimos believes he has come into his own. "Pursuing commercial directing is a humbling experience, especially in a trying economic climate," he said, "but it's well worth the investment when you have wonderful support and a commitment to doing good work."

"John has a 'big brain'," enthused Guzman of the director. "He is dedicated, passionate and extremely hard working. And on top of that he is a wonderful writer...and hilarious." Guzman added that Zissimos has a keen understanding of the business. "He understands how it's changing - shrinking in the amount of jobs and money and reinventing itself through branded content," she said. "And he still loves it and wants to be a part of it."

Zissimos rounds out a Fools and Horses roster comprised of David Denneen, Fuzzi Galuzzi, Kai Sehr, Laurence Thrush, Francois Valla, and Erik Van Wyk.