LOS ANGELES—September 9, 2013—Director Richard Sears,
whose credits includes work for Toyota, Citgo, Nissan and AT&T, has joined
Los Angeles-based A Common Thread
for exclusive, national representation. Sears has earned high regard for his
storytelling skills, which he has applied to genres ranging from
dialogue-driven comedy to documentary/lifestyle advertising. He provides A
Common Thread with a proven talent, versatility and a reputation as an
innovator.

“Richard offers
the complete package: he brings a fresh perspective, but he also has the
experience of having directed more than 100 spots,” says A Common Thread
executive producer J.P. McMahon. “He has great ideas and he knows how to
execute them. He has all the qualities you need to have longevity in this
business.”

Sears’ recent work includes a series of documentary-style
spots for Citgo’s “Fueling Good” branding campaign. The spots follow Citgo
“ambassadors” Adam and Diego on a road trip through Texas as they visit local
attractions and promote the company’s rewards program.

Sears’ approach to the project combined careful planning
with improvisation. “It was a massive undertaking,” he recalls. “There were no
scripts, just two guys in a van driving from Houston to Corpus Christi.”

“We did a lot of location scouting to find interesting
places to visit, but we didn’t want it to be overly planned. We wanted the guys
to discover things, like you do on a road trip. So, while the crew and I knew
where we were going each day, the two guys did not. That kept it spontaneous.”

Other recent projects include a campaign for utility giant
Entergy and a public service campaign for the Women’s Fund on teen pregnancy
and STDs. The latter employs provocative visuals to counter common myths young
people have about sex. “My approach to every project is to determine how best
to tell the story,” Sears observes. “What are the visuals that connect with the
story? What is the most meaningful and powerful way to tell it?”

Sears first gained notoriety when his short film An Evil Town, which he made while
attended the San Francisco Art Institute, was awarded Le Semaine de la Critique
at Cannes. That led directly to his first commercial assignment, a campaign for
ESPN via Wieden + Kennedy, and to an opportunity to direct a feature film, the
cult classic Bongwater. Signed
initially for commercials by HKM, Sears went on to build a successful career
that included projects for Shout, Dairy Queen, Neosporin and Bausch & Lomb.

Sears has won Clio Awards for his work for Sony PlayStation
(Klutz), Nissan (7 Days in a Sentra), the Washington (State) Department of Health (Cold Turkey) and Labatt (Food Fight). He has also won numerous
awards for his short films including Best Short Film at the New York Underground
Film Festival  for An Evil Town, the Canal+ Filmmaker’s Award for Laughing Out Loud, Best Short Film at the Sonoma Film Festival for The Breaks and a Platinum Award at Houston
Worldfest for Taco Bender.

At A Common Thread, Sears is focusing on broadening the
scope of his work and extending its reach to new brands and agencies. “I like
that fact that A Common Thread is a boutique and one that enjoys wide respect
among ad agencies,” he explains. “And I look forward to working with J.P. He
has an inventive creative mind, and he does the ‘business’ right. That’s a
great combination.”

Sears is currently in pre-production with two feature
projects, Texas Lullaby, for IFT and producer Gina Amoroso,
and Bottom of the World, starring Diego
Boneta and Gillian Zinser.

A Common Thread is located at 4081 Redwood Avenue, Los
Angeles, California 90066. For more information, call 310.823.7300 or visit http://www.acommonthread.tv