MJZ adapts to industry changes in production to stay in the top flight

When Los Angeles-based MJZ, which also maintains offices in New York and London, was ranked 10th on Ad Age’s Production Company A-List in 2023, the defining theme of its efforts from the previous year were community, togetherness and savoring the little things in life—not unfamiliar in a world still reeling from the effects of COVID-19-era lockdowns. This time around, with the U.S. government declaring the public health emergency over last May, many of the campaigns MJZ worked on have been profoundly influenced by both the new post-COVID normals of our world at large and the lasting changes to the production industry that the global health emergency brought on. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here For Canadian internet bank Tangerine, the company took the concept of “jumping through hoops” to an ultra-realistic level, with director Nick Ball developing a campaign that saw characters literally moving through gigantic hoops standing in the way of their day-to-day lives. Created with Toronto-based agency Rethink and set to ’70s tune “Love You” by The Free Design, the ad features a lead character living a life of exhaustion until Tangerine’s banking app enters his life. Henry Hobson’s cinematic “Feel It Now on PlayStation 5” work for the gaming console also leans into the extremes of the world around us, with a narrator asking: “When did you last really feel something beyond the everyday?” Packed with high-quality visual effects, the campaign by adam&eveDDB borrows from the epic worlds found in a wide cross-section of PlayStation video games, set to nothing but a voiceover and a crescendoing heartbeat. Apple also received the MJZ treatment on a number of its campaigns in 2023, including “The Waiting Room,” directed by Craig Gillespie, which leans into the hot-button issue of digital privacy, and “Call Me with Timothée Chalamet,” a humorous spot from director Tom Kuntz for Apple TV+ that shows the “Wonka” actor yearning aloud for his next career move. Both of those efforts were done in conjunction with TBWA\Media Arts Lab. The MJZ team was not confined to working on ads last year, though. They also worked on projects such as the music video for “God’s Country” by rapper Travis Scott (below), which has racked up about 10 million views and counting on YouTube. Directed by Arnaud Bresson, the video juxtaposes ordinary neighborhood scenes with the track’s somewhat psychedelic vibe. Ad Age A-List and Creativity Gala Buy your ticket to the in-person event Click here MJZ’s Rupert Sanders is also attached as director to the upcoming feature film “The Crow” starring Bill Skarsgård, a remake of the 1994 movie. Other MJZ brand work last year included Mike Mills’ “Break the Cycle” for Coinbase and Nick Ball’s “The Troll” for Ikea. Three new behind-the-camera stars joined MJZ last year: photographer and filmmaker Matilda Finn, whose past accolades include winning Best Director at the U.K. Music Video Awards; Halina Reijn, a Dutch filmmaker known for directing A24 comedy-horror film “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” among other projects; and Charlotte Wells, whose directorial debut, 2022’s “Aftersun,” won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes and was named one of the year’s top movies by the National Board of Review. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here

MJZ adapts to industry changes in production to stay in the top flight

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