Mike G

Mike G has been making magic since his early days as a kid putting on magic shows in his Midwestern neighborhood, and that sense of whimsy and joy in the sleight of hand has never left him. As a director, he brings the magician’s dedication to technique and playful joy to his ad films. His quirky, humorous, and self-aware spots and branded content for clients such as Shell, eBay, Doritos, Pepsi MAX, Mtn Dew, Hyundai, L’Oréal, SodaStream, Braun, Kellogg’s, Men’s Wearhouse, J-B Weld, Ohio Lottery, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards, HBO, and Food Network are all built on a strong design core that uses practical in-camera effects and post VFX to create magical viewer experiences. You can see this in his work for Shell, where he choreographed a single 30-second motion-control move through four massive sets, timing the camera, a spokesperson, stunt performers, practical gags, and VFX plates into one seamless oner.

But technical puzzle solving is not all Mike has up his sleeve. He is just as meticulous about his casting, which always turns up fresh, memorable faces and performances. And you’ll find he’s just as comfortable directing celebrity talent like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Fox, John Stamos, Blake Shelton, Kenan Thompson, and Sam Richardson; athletes like Russell Wilson, John Cena, and Dak Prescott; and, of course, Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World.

Over the past couple of years, Mike has used his builder’s instinct to engineer a fully automated smart home on wheels: no switches, no dials, just one system running power, water, climate, cameras, and connectivity from a tablet dashboard he designed. He turned the project into Smarty Van, a YouTube channel hosted and produced by Mike that has over one million views and nearly 18,000 subscribers.