Spotlight on Women Directors: Melanie Bridge
As part of a regular series with Free The Bid Australia, Campaign Brief shines the spotlight on top female commercials directors in Australia and New Zealand…
Melanie Bridge is a director at Sweetshop.
Three best spots:
1. Woolies ‘Making Healthier Easier‘ via M&C Saatchi
2. Period Equity ‘Periods are not a luxury‘ via JWT
3. Abyaar ‘Flair for the Refined‘ via JWT
With fifteen years’ experience of creating visually rich and innovative spots, Melanie has made a name for herself by consistently delivering cutting edge work that blend the fantastical with the real. Named one of the ‘Top 100 Directors in the World’ by Shots magazine, Melanie’s background as a leading commercial photographer, combined with her extraordinary eye for fashion, art direction and design has resulted international awards ranging from Clios to D&AD awards.
Melanie’s work has continued to push visual boundaries and carefully cultivated performance to create memorable pieces. Her recent work has been for clients, including Period Equity, staring Amber Rose, Dove, Dulux, Kraft, Nike, Coca-Cola and Huggies.
Says Bridge: “The kind of work I like to do is always beautiful. As an ex-photographer, I get a real kick out of beautiful light and composition. The beauty world is something I’m really interested in, whether it be slick and polished, or raw and gritty, both worlds although opposite, strongly appeal to me. I also love working with people and getting a strong yet natural performance out of my characters is something I enjoy and am good at.”
Since launching a year ago, Free The Bid has 200 Australian Women Directors on its searchable database. Free The Bid now has over 20 major agencies that use the database to find the right director for each of their projects and have committed to putting one female director in the mix for every job.