Agency Ignition Creative on the Art of the Perfect Poster
Having worked on nearly 50 of this year’s Golden Trailer nominees, Ignition Creative’s range is broad, including music, sound and foreign-language trailers, as well as teasers, brand building and even title graphics. But it’s the agency’s expertise in the art of the poster that stands out, monopolizing the comedy and horror poster categories, and landing three out of the four action poster noms.
Erik Lomis, president of theatrical distribution and home entertainment for the Weinstein Co. — which shares two GT nominations with Ignition this year — points to Ignition’s innovative appeal.
“It’s one thing to design a poster that looks good,” Lomis says. “It’s another to include a provocative concept. Ignition’s best posters do both. They have a timeless quality that lives on long after the movie’s theatrical release.”
According to Martin Kistler, the 12-year-old agency’s founder and executive creative director, a hands-on team structure and wide-open imagination are key factors in the agency’s modus operandi.
“From the first moment we are brought on to a campaign, we believe that the process should be a creative collaboration with our clients,” Kistler says. “Ideas are shared, built, nurtured, rebuilt, reimagined and refined until the vision is something both our client and Ignition not just agree on, but take pride in.”
In addition to the Weinstein Co., Ignition’s clients include Columbia Pictures, Universal, Sony Pictures, Focus Features, Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinema.
“Every department has a hand in the creative process,” Kistler says. “From print to A/V to interactive, our team-based culture gives our campaigns a cohesive feel across a variety of media.”
But as with all things creative, Ignition’s approach can often be instinctive, allowing its staffers to change directions at the drop of a dime.
“Whether it’s a single image or 24 frames per second, an interactive story, a single tagline or a crack-the-code moment that comes while driving on a freeway, we find that creative inspiration can come from anywhere,” Kistler says.
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