Daniel Kleinman is recognised as one of advertising’s most established directors. Over his long-spanning career, Danny has won the top awards for his advertising work at Cannes, D&AD, British Arrows, The One Show and many others. The Gunn Report acknowledged him as the Most Awarded Director in the world and he has received the Chairman’s Award at the British Arrows.
Danny founded Rattling Stick in 2006, together with Ringan Ledwidge and Johnnie Frankel, which has been consistently awarded over the years.
It all began after Hornsey Art School, where Danny went on to work as an illustrator, collaborating on storyboards with directors working in the emerging music video industry - leading to his own first music video in 1983. The rest is history, really. He pioneered the use of post-production special effects in the hundreds of music videos he directed in the 80s, winning numerous awards for his work with artists such as ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac, Prince and Madonna.
Since the 90s, Danny has concentrated on advertising, making his mark as a trailblazer in the industry - pairing his understanding of complex VFX and an equal ability to direct comedy and dialogue. He is still perhaps best known for directing such classics as the John Smith’s campaign with Peter Kay, and ‘noitulovE’ for Guinness - an ad that received more awards than any other campaign worldwide in its release year, including the coveted Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix. While it aired on television, Guinness achieved its highest volume and value share to date. Meanwhile his timeless John West “Salmon” campaign is still frequently listed among ‘funniest ads’ lists, even more than 20 years on.
Alongside his incomparable career in advertising, Danny took over the mantle of James Bond titles designer from Maurice Binder, creating the iconic title sequences for 8 of the last 9 blockbusters – including ‘Die Another Day’, ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Skyfall’, ‘Spectre’ and most recently ‘No Time To Die’.
In his spare time (is there any?!) Danny likes to play the ukulele and tends to his garden. Work hard, play hard, so they say.
