Director, TWC Films

"Every time work comes my way, I look out for the rules and barriers that come with it, then I try to break them down. When I'm fortunate to get jobs that don't have any barriers, I try to create the rules for myself. If I could jump back in time and meet my younger self, I wouldn't tell myself anything. I believe people shouldn't know secret or the truth too soon." So goes the mantra of Suthon Petchsuwan, arguably one of the world's most awarded commercial directors, who is handled by TWC Films for exclusive representation in the United States and London.

Suthon, whose work ranges from subtle comedy to poignant storytelling, has won scores of international advertising awards for his work, including numerous Gold Lions at Cannes for spots promoting brands like Soken Electronics and Unif Green Tea.

The director also placed first on the Gunn Report's list of Most Awarded Directors. He is one of only three directors worldwide to rank among the top 25 on Gunn's list every year since its inception, and according to Gunn over a nine year period he is the fourth most awarded commercial director in the world. Suthon took home a Gold Award for his spot Balloon promoting Twin Lotus Herbal Toothpaste (Ongoing, Bangkok) at the Asia Pacific Adfest, and won yet another Lion at Cannes for the spot "Shakespearean Gecko" for Publicis, and their client Shera Ceiling Boards.

TWC Films Executive Producer Mark Thomas says that he was originally attracted to Suthon by more than his long list of awards and accolades. "One of the things that continues to impress me is how well his work translates," Thomas says. "His spots play just as well for American viewers as they do for Asian audiences. It cuts across cultures."

"Good work is good work, and great talent is great talent," Thomas adds. "And Suthon is a tremendous talent doing significant work."

Work in the U.S. has been good for Suthon, having recently shot the new MasterCard campaign for McCann-Ericson, N.Y. Prior to that he worked on a project for Y&R, N.Y. and their client, LG. Since he began working in the States, Suthon has shot for Cliff Freeman; Chiat/Day, N.Y. & L.A.; Goodby Silverstein & Partners; the Career Builders spots that ran in the Superbowl for Wieden & Kennedy and numerous other clients and agencies.
 
Suthon began his career in 1983 as an art director with Bangkok agency Kenyon & Eckhardt Company. He later served as creative director at SSC&B Lintas, Bangkok, where he worked on such accounts as Unilever and Caltex (Texaco). In 1993, he launched his directing career.

By 1997, Suthon began to attract international attention when a spot he directed for Black Cat Whisky became a finalist for a London International Advertising Award. The commercial, which includes a chase scene worthy of a Bond film, centers on a Mob boss trying to collect on a loan. Since then, the director's awards take has included more than a dozen Gold and Silver awards at the Asia Pacific Adfest, three Clios and a 2003 Gold Lion for a spot promoting Giffarine EQ-10 Skin Care out of BBDO, Bangkok. The British trade journal "Creative Review" has named him one of the five best commercial directors in the world.

In describing the key to his success, Suthon points to the effort he applies in pre-production to script development. "I typically spend much more time working the script and developing the idea before the shoot, than I do shooting," he says. "The shoot is easy if you've done the preparatory creative work. It's the preliminaries that are most important to my process."

The director adds that he has enjoyed his best success when handed scripts that employ an original idea and given broad creative latitude by the agency, and he cites Balloon as an example. That spot, he notes, in which a black man attempts to help an Asian girl retrieve a balloon, has a daring concept that confronting social stereotypes. "The client and the agency showed a lot of courage in pursuing that concept and in allowing me to tell the story in a powerful, direct manner," he says. Suthon adds that the spot was on the air for only one day in Thailand by engendered enormous response from local viewers by having touched a social nerve. "It's that rarest form of advertising," he says. "It not only sells products, it can affect people's lives."