Toward the end of 2022, Tom Hooper, the Oscar-winning British feature film director, came to Smuggler Co-Founder Patrick Milling-Smith with a proposal.

Hooper, who was taking a break from film work to spend more time with his children, told Milling-Smith he really wanted to lean into commercials. He felt he had the time and the motivation to make some special work for brands in 2023.

That would turn out to be an understatement.

Hooper ended up directing three of the year’s truly outstanding spots: a short film for Vanish, the Reckitt stain removal brand, starring a girl with autism; Chevrolet’s touching holiday ad about a woman with Alzheimer’s; and Montefiore’s beautiful year-end spot featuring a boy with cerebral palsy who embarks on an epic flight of imagination around New York City.

By year’s end, Milling-Smith was as blown away by Hooper’s output as viewers were.

“Vanish might be my favorite spot in 22 years of doing this,” Milling-Smith told Ad Age. “It’s just so pitch-perfect, and the performance from the girl is heartbreaking. Often with feature directors, it’s about getting a window of availability. Tom said, ‘I want to dedicate myself to commercials.’ And he really acquitted himself so well.”

Hooper’s spots were just the tip of the iceberg for Smuggler in 2023.

For its consistently top-notch work across a number of directors, subjects and styles, Smuggler has been named Ad Age’s Production Company of the Year for 2024. It’s the company’s fifth straight year in the top three, but its first No. 1 finish since 2020.

The list of Smuggler’s 2023 spots would make any rival jealous. Among the standouts: Aoife McArdle’s Super Bowl campaign for Squarespace starring Adam Driver; Mark Molloy’s latest “Underdogs” short film for Apple; Ivan Zachariáš’ “Battery for Miles” spot for the iPhone; and Henry-Alex Rubin’s “The Cost of Beauty” for Dove and “Just Joking” for Sandy Hook Promise.

The company was also involved in one of the year’s most unexpected delights, with Randy Krallman directing Ogilvy New York’s quirky “Island Wide Realty” spot for Staten Island realtor Tony B.

Smuggler also saw resonant work by many of its up-and-coming directors, such as Fenn O’Meally’s “Generational Queens” for Amazon Music; Ebeneza Blanche’s “A Hero’s Journey” for Gucci and GQ; Tom Speers’ “Lather Up” for Allianz; Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s “Stane” for Miu Miu; and Andre Muir’s “Black-Owned Friday” film starring Keke Palmer for Google.

The company also fostered collaborations between its established and emerging talent, such as Rubin and O’Meally working together on the Google Pixel 8 launch campaign.

“Some of the older guard have the experience to know how to carry themselves and run the job. Because the biggest part of our job isn’t even protecting the idea, it’s protecting the process from everything that can derail it,” said Milling-Smith. “[On the Google project], Henry felt really inspired by somebody seeing things in a different way. And Fenn is a completely different filmmaker from having that experience doing a big campaign where there’s a different corporate pressure.” 

Smuggler also signed new talent to its roster—including exciting voices such as Kusijanović, C Prinz, Shannon Murphy, Stefanie Soho and Jovan Todorović. It also signed Christopher Storer, the seasoned creator and director of FX’s “The Bear,” who directed a high-profile Coca-Cola project in early 2024.

Among the moves on the executive side, Lucy Kelly was elevated to co-managing director of Smuggler London alongside Fergus Brown. Nosisa Majuqwana and Shiara Miranda joined to head up sales and new business in the U.K. and Amsterdam markets.

For a company that has enjoyed a two-decade run of success, 2023 still felt special.

“There’s a maturity to a lot of our filmmakers, while at the same time we’ve had a heavy focus on diversity and younger talent, different voices,” said Milling-Smith. “Our more established talent are getting a kick up the backside from the energy of the younger lot. There’s a diversity of experience and background here that’s really in perfect harmony right now. It’s our job now to protect it.”