Lance Acord came up in the film world as a cinematographer, working on high-profile features with Sofia Coppola and Spike Jonze as well as a slew of music videos. He was never the most technical DP. He was more drawn to storytelling, as would become clear when he made the move into directing in the late ’90s.

“Directing was something I was always interested in,” Acord told Ad Age recently. “Even as a cinematographer, beyond the lighting and camera work, to me it was always more about the story, the characters, engaging with directors on that level. To this day, I keep things pretty simple in service to whatever the concept or story is. So directing was a pretty natural transition for me.” 

In the 25 years since founding Park Pictures with Jackie Kelman Bisbee, it’s safe to say that transition has been a resounding success. Park has long since become one of advertising’s top commercial production companies, with an anniversary reel that’s as strong as any in the business, including some of the most famous ads ever shot—Volkswagen’s “The Force,” Nike’s “Jogger” and “Dream Crazy,” Geico’s “Unskippable,” Apple’s “Misunderstood.” The list goes on.

Watch: A timeline of classic work from Park Pictures 

They’ve also branched out into films. Its very first film, Joachim Back’s “The New Tenants,” won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short in 2010. And a recent project, Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama,” released this summer by A24, earned rave reviews. There have been many more.

But their path was anything but traditional. Following the company’s founding in 1998, it would be years before they’d fully transition into the kind of high-profile, cinematic brand storytelling for which they’d become known.

Fashion projects and music videos

In the early years of Park Pictures, Acord continued to work as a cinematographer-for-hire on projects outside the company—including commercials, music videos and feature films.

In the late ’90s and early 2000s, he was DP on famous spots including Volkswagen’s “Pink Moon,” Nike’s “Morning After” and Levi’s “Crazy Legs.” In 2001, he won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography for Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice,” directed by Spike Jonze. He was also cinematographer on Jonze’s features “Being John Malkovich” (1999) and “Adaptation” (2002), and on Sophia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” (2003).

Park’s projects, meanwhile, came more slowly. 

“We were building the company while Lance was still shooting films with Spike, so it was slow,” said Kelman Bisbee. “We couldn’t even get a sales rep. It was challenging, and we were naive. It was really just a couple of us starting out and just cold calling.”

Early in his career, Acord worked as an assistant to photographer Bruce Weber, and he used his connections to land directing projects in fashion. These were Park’s first jobs—campaigns for the likes of Gucci and Victoria’s Secret. This work tended to be visually captivating, though light on storytelling—a world away from what the rest of the advertising world was doing.

“When you have that kind of [fashion] work on your reel and you’re having a meeting with the creatives at, say, Wieden[+Kennedy], there’s a bit of a disconnect there,” Acord said.

Adidas and Nike projects

Acord’s directorial breakthrough would come in 2002, when he landed an Adidas job through 180 in Los Angeles. His spot “All Day All Night” showed streetballers in Harlem playing on a hoop attached to the back of a moving truck—over the Public Enemy track “He Got Game.” 

Not long after, he secured his first Nike directing job—a spot called “Before” though Wieden+Kennedy. It would be the beginning of a iconic partnership between Park Pictures, Nike and W+K.

“My background is a lot of experimental film work, shooting on different formats like Super 8, 16-millimeter. I still film with Bolexes a lot,” Acord said. “[The Nike spot] was an interesting opportunity to combine a lot of those elements. It’s fun to go back and look at it. We shot all different formats on it, and it does have this almost experimental-film, textural visual element to it.”

The first director that Park Pictures brought on, other than Acord, was Alison MacLean. She had directed much of the first season of “Sex and the City” and also worked in film—her short “Kitchen Sink,” from the late ’80s, had been widely celebrated, and she directed the features “Crush” and “Jesus’ Son” in the ’90s.

One of her first projects for Park was 2004’s “Lean Forward” campaign for FX through  —little dark comedies that aimed to be as provocative as the network’s programming.

MacLean’s comedic background would be somewhat unusual for Park, though the FX work certainly wasn’t broad comedy.

“A lot of the people whose work we were attracted to, or who were attracted to us, were visual storytellers. It wasn’t like we were going to have a comedy shop,” said Kelman Bisbee. “I think our foundation was authentic storytellers—which it is to this day. Even with Alison, her guiding sensibility was more nuanced comedy.”

That same year, Acord directed the launch spots for “Impossible Is Nothing,” the Adidas campaign that’s still running some 20 years later. Among the work—created by a TBWA/180 partnership—was a much buzzed-about spot that used special effects (by Digital Domain) to show Muhammad Ali sparring in the ring with his daughter Laila. 

“That was transformative for me, in that I was able to develop a thorough understanding of the technical aspects of that kind of composite work,” said Acord. “Given the advances in the last 20 years, it’s probably ridiculous how we were doing it back then. But [the ads] actually hold up pretty well. Working with with [TBWA creative leads] Lee Clow and Chuck McBride ... I mean, that script with Laila Ali and her dad—it’s amazing.” 

A move into film

Park signed more directors and built up its advertising division throughout the 2000s. By the end of the decade, it made its first move into non-commercial film, with a live-action short called “The New Tenants,” directed by Danish director Joachim Back.

Written by Anders Thomas Jensen, the 20-minute film tells the story of a gay couple who moves into a new apartment only to discover it was the scene of a recent triple homicide. Soon, they’re visited by a succession of frightening strangers. The film won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short—quite the first film experience for Park, which created a whole film division as a result.

“Joachim is a good director—he wanted to prove to American agencies that he could direct,” said Kelman Bisbee. “We shot it at the Chelsea Hotel over four days with some actors who are friends, and it won the Oscar. That was a shock, and it kind of proved to us that maybe we could make it happen with films and documentaries.” 

Ever since, Park has helped many directors make their first films—including Jake Schreier’s “Robot and Frank” (2012), Jon Watts’ “Cop Car” (2015), Chris Kelly’s “Other People” (2016) and Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama” (2023). 

“Earth Mama,” about a pregnant woman who tries to regain custody of her two children in foster care, has been widely celebrated since its premiere at Sundance last winter.

“When we signed Savanah for commercials, she gave us her feature script and we were completely blown away,” said Kelman Bisbee. “She’d been working with Academy in London, so we produced it with them—and A24 came on to finance and distribute it. It took a few years, but it’s amazing to help these young directors who have these scripts and are at the beginning of their commercial careers.” 

Classics for VW and Nike

On the advertising side, Park had a particularly strong run from 2011 to 2015, when it made some of its most famous commercials. The run began with “The Force,” Volkswagen’s 2011 Super Bowl campaign that Acord directed.

Featuring a boy in a Darth Vader mask trying to use the Force on objects around the house—and in the end, seemingly succeeding with the Passat—the spot would change Super Bowl advertising forever when VW released it four days before the game. VW loved the 60-second version but only had a 30-second in-game slot.

For everyone involved, it was a once-in-a-career type of project.

“It’s interesting to look back on that because a couple of things happened that were unique to the time,” said Acord. “There was a lot of enthusiasm for the [:60]. So they seeded it online before the game, and the fact that it went viral—when going viral wasn’t really a thing yet—far exceeded the initial expectations. And then it kind of colored the way people viewed the :30 during the game, because millions of people had already seen the :60 online. And that became the trend, didn’t it?” 

Acord also recalls the creative team staying true to the simplicity of the concept—another big reason for the ad’s success.

“There were stages in pre-production where people said things like, ‘Shouldn’t we have more driving footage in this?’ ‘Couldn’t we parallel edit with the dad leaving work and coming home, and then we get more shots of the car?’” he said. “But they very pure about it. You have that singular moment at the end that pays it off. But you can see how that idea could easily get watered down and not have the charm that it did.”

The following year would see Acord direct another instant classic—Nike “Jogger,” part of the sneaker and sportswear brand’s “Find Your Greatness” ambush campaign around the 2012 London Olympics.

The “Find Your Greatness” project was very fruitful for Park, as many of its directors worked on different spots. Nike wasn’t an official Olympic sponsor, so it built the campaign around visiting other Londons, such as East London in South Africa, Little London in Jamaica, and London, Ohio, in the U.S. (where “Jogger” was shot).

Acord had a close relationship with Alberto Ponte and Ryan O’Rourke when they were running the Nike account at Wieden+Kennedy Portland. He said that trust led to a certain level of freedom in finding stories to tell.

“I found it to be a very healthy, collaborative thing,” Acord said. “We generated so much peripheral content because all of the individual stories were so interesting. We were able to go to different places around the world. The process was very fluid, digging into these stories. Specific to Wieden, it was about building upon those relationships you develop—knowing Alberto won’t be satisfied until we do four or five additional rounds of casting, even though we all feel like we got it in the second round. Just pushing that much harder.”

Park’s relationship with Nike has endured since then.

In 2018, the “Dream Crazy” spot, directed by Acord in collaboration with fellow Park directors Emmanuel Lubezki and Christian Weber, won the Emmy for best commercial. The following year, Georgia Hudson directed “Stop at Nothing,” the first major commercial highlight not just for Hudson but for Park’s London office.

The partnership has continued this year—with “Own the Floor” by Terence Neale last spring, and then, just last month, “Imperfect You” by Georgia Hudson for Nike Japan.

“It’s all about relationships,” said Kelman Bisbee. “Once Lance did Nike ‘Before,’ it’s like you get the keys to the kingdom—they can make careers if you get in with them and they trust you. It’s been amazing to take that ride with them. It’s harder to take risks these days, but they’re still not afraid to take a risk.”

More iconic work for Apple and Geico

Apple, too, has been a regular Park Pictures client over the years, beginning with a spot called “Misunderstood,” which Acord directed for the 2013 holidays. The ad featured a teenager who is constantly on his phone throughout his family’s holiday gatherings—but for a reason that’s revealed only at the end.

Acord said being able to develop a relationship with Apple and its agency, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, at that point reflected the growth of Park—that agencies and clients were beginning to recognize that Park directors could tell a certain type of story well.

“Sometimes it feels as though they have you in mind for specific types of scripts,” he said. “Apple does a whole bunch of work, but when we did ‘Misunderstood,’ it felt like a specific connection to what I was already doing. And then you can draw a line between that and the Winter Olympics spot we did for P&G out of Wieden [in early 2014]. When you get to that point where creatives think of you for something, it’s huge. Suddenly it’s not just random.” 

The Apple relationship continued in 2014, when a spot directed by Lubezki and Chris Wilcha launched the iPad Air. The same pair would direct the 2019 campaign launching Apple TV+. And Acord himself has continued to make Apple spots, including “Chase” for the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022.

Another big hit for Park in the mid-2010 was Geico’s “Unskippable” campaign by The Martin Agency, directed by Terri Timely—the duo of Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey, who specialize in comedy.

“Unskippable,” which turned lifeless pre-roll advertising into hilarious, utterly watchable content, won Ad Age's Campaign of the Year award, with the “Unskippable: Family” execution also taking home the Film Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Quirky yet approachable, the work helped broaden Park’s range.

“They are personally the funniest people we’ve ever met, just as individuals. A lot of the work they do is things they personally find funny,” Kelman Bisbee said of Kibbey and Creasey. “Geico is the pinnacle—if you do any sort of humor or comedy, you want to do Geico. ‘Unskippable’ was sort of this acceptance into advertising for [Terri Timely]. So that was a big deal for us.”

“It’s fun to watch them directing,” added Acord. “It’s almost like they’re creating something for their own enjoyment and entertainment. They’ll set thing up, they’ll watch and laugh, and then they’ll want to do it again, just because it was so funny. They have a very joyful approach.”

Documentaries and a return to music videos

In recent years, Park has continued to produce commercial work for clients including Amazon, Beats by Dre, Budweiser, Doritos, HP, Meta, PlayStation, Subaru and YouTube TV. It’s also gone deep into documentaries, producing films including Rudy Valdez’s “The Sentence” (2018) and Nicholas Bruckman’s “Not Going Quietly” (2021).

“The Sentence” profiled Valdez’s sister Cindy Shank, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail on drug conspiracy charges, part of mandatory minimum sentencing in the decades-long war on drugs. It won the Audience Award at Sundance and later the Emmy for documentary filmmaking. (Kelman Bisbee has long been close to the Valdez/Shank family, making it an especially personal project.)

“Not Going Quietly” told the story of Ady Barkan, who was diagnosed with ALS at age 32 and became a fierce advocate for those with the disease. Barkan died earlier this month at age 39.

“We’re making docs that are doing well,” said Kelman Bisbee. “A lot of the stories come from directors on our roster, and some come externally. But it’s really great when you can take a Park director and make their film or make their documentary.” 

Park directors continue to make music videos, as well.

Just this year, AG Rojas directed Mitski’s “My Love Mine All Mine” video, and Georgia Hudson crafted the video for P!NK’s “Trustfall.”

Also this year, Park Pictures picked up the Film Craft Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity for Kendrick Lamar’s “We Cry Together” music video, directed by Jake Schreier and Dave Free, along with Lamar. It was one of the year’s most celebrated pieces of filmmaking.

Schreier—who also executive produced the Netflix series “Beef” this year—is one of the longest-tenured Park directors, having joined the roster in 2006. Acord said it’s been a thrill to watch him hone his process over the years.

“Technically speaking, that video is a perfect progression of Jake Schreier’s work,” he said. “He’s mastered the single take in the music video format. He’s done it again and again, but he keeps reinventing it and making it better. The emotional impact [of “We Cry Together”] is incredible, but to analyze it on a purely technical level—it’s amazing.”

New directors and a collaborative spirit

As Park Pictures looks to the next 25 years, it is, of course, the evolving roster of directors who’ll largely determine its future. On that score, Park has been signing a number of emerging voices lately, particularly women. 

Caroline Koning recently joined for representation in the U.S. Her reel includes the well-received 2021 Nike spot “New Girl,” made through Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo and Germany production company BWGTBLD. Park also recently signed three emerging directors in the U.K.: Lucy Luscombe, Hector Aponysus and Holly Blakey.

As the industry continues to struggle with diversity behind the camera, Acord and Kelman Bisbee said they are committed to having an even more diverse roster, something that wasn’t a priority for most production companies 25 years ago, or even more recently than that. Park’s founders say the industry is slowly beginning to understand the power of unique voices and perspectives on big brand projects. The energy these voices bring is also infectious, and permeates the roster.

“We’ve watched the business change so much, even though the first director we signed was a woman,” said Kelman Bisbee. “I’ve been doing this 25 years, and getting to work with a more diverse roster of talent has been one of the highlights of my career. People need and want to hear other people’s stories and experiences. As an industry, we’re not there yet. We’re trying to get there.” 

“Putting an emphasis on diversity and opening up those doors, what happens is, you realize how much talent there really is,” said Acord. “Emphasizing diversity in casting, too—we have directors, like AG [Rojas], who have been pushing for that for years. I’ve been able to do better work myself because I’m working with people that I wasn’t before, really.” 

Park is also fairly unique in that its directors often collaborate on projects, too—bringing their energies together in a way that benefits the company as a whole. For example, during COVID, a dozen Park directors worked on a Samsung campaign, creating shorts based around the photographic capabilities of the S20 camera.

“Sometimes it’s hard for agencies to wrap their head around that,” said Acord. “Maybe they think having more than one perspective or artistic point of view could dilute or detract from a concept. But I really embrace the opportunities to do that.”

He added: “My own work aside, just getting involved with guys like Jason [J.M. Harper], who is amazing, or what Savanah did with her movie, or the commercial work that Georgia [Hudson] is doing—I don’t take credit for it, necessarily, but it’s great to be a part of their development and growth as artists. It’s exciting, within Park, to see that happen.” 

“It’s fun to see the world through the new generation we have coming up,” added Kelman Bisbee. “It definitely keeps you young, being in this business.” 

For Acord, one of the industy’s most esteemed directors, it’s been an interesting journey, moving from high-profile film projects with Spike Jonze to more regular commercial work. In many ways, the latter projects have been just as fulfilling, he said, if not more so—a chance to experiment, to move more freely and to develop a richer palette of finished work.

“Working on a feature can be a three- or four-year commitment for a director, and at least a year for a DP,” he said. “What’s great about our business is the ability to experiment and learn from multiple projects. When done well, you end up with these 30-second to minute-long, really well-executed concepts or stories that are funny or serious or emotionally moving. That’s how I look at it. It’s constantly shifting terrain, and it’s great to be part of it.”