Laurence Dunmore joined RSA as a commercial director in 1997 and quickly established his unique vision with a controversial spot for the UK’s Commission for Racial Equality. In it, he digitally transformed the skin color and ethnic features British celebrities and sports figures and had them ask, “Would you think differently about me?” A series of comically surreal Adidas spots followed, earning him his first Cannes Silver Lion in 2001 and a Silver Pencil at the D&AD Awards a year later. His film for AXE/Lynx, Metamorphosis, married Buddhist reincarnation to the life cycles of a mosquito, tree frog, agave worm, and randy industrialist to nab his first Cannes Gold Lion.
Dunmore began his career as a graphic designer, working primarily with music and film clients through Pentagram in London, and later with his own consultancy, Laurence Dunmore Design. Since turning exclusively to film, the Essex-born director has created spots for a diverse range of clients such as American Express, AT&T, Diesel, Hermes, ING, Liberty Mutual, and Turkish Airlines, as well as numerous beverage brands (Dewar’s, Jameson, Heineken, and Johnnie Walker) and luxury automobile clients (Cadillac, Mercedes, Renault, Peugeot, and BMW, for which he won an AICP Award).
While shooting a Eurostar commercial with John Malkovich, the actor gave Dunmore the script for The Libertine, a Restoration-era comedy of manners he was producing starring Johnny Depp and Samantha Morton. This became Dunmore’s feature film debut, garnering eight British Independent Film Award nominations, including Best Director.
