The Work That Made Me: Pardeep Sahota
Pardeep Sahota is a three time Clio award-winning writer, director and editor. He won the British Arrows Emerging Talent Gold Award 2022. He has collaborated in commercials and promos with a vast range of clients and world renowned brands. His award-winning short film series Bleeding Art, was Official Selection at BAFTA qualifying Slamdance Film Festival 2020 in Park City, Utah. In 2021, he was the recipient of the B3 Media Associate Artist Award, an organisation dedicated to supporting British multicultural talent in the creative industries. He won 12 Promax Europe & Global Excellence 2021 awards including Gold Funniest Promo and Gold Use of Copywriting. He ended the year winning three Clio Entertainment 2021 awards including Silver for Best Social Content Campaign and Bronze for Best Copywriting. His work has been shortlisted by the Shiny Network and reviewed as 'clever, funny and not for the faint-hearted' and that is the perfect description for the type of creative work he wants to continue to make.
The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…
Pardeep> The Levi’s 501 Jeans ‘Best Washed Inside Out’ advert by Jonathan Glazer. It was a fun, explosion of energy that opened my eyes to what adverts could be. I was raised on a steady diet of 70s kung fu films so the Bruce Lee aesthetic hit me so hard in the face, it still rings in my ears today.
Levi's - Best Washed Inside Out
The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…
Pardeep> Not necessarily for the commercial, but the Budweiser Frog ads, directed by Simon West. They were on air when I found out he went to the same school as me. I come from a small suburban town in Hertfordshire and it was the first time a career in advertising felt tangible to me.
The creative work that I keep revisiting…
Pardeep> I’m pretty sure you can learn everything you need to about storytelling with a camera, actors and sound from Raging Bull. Whilst it’s not considered a comedy, Joe Pesci is hilarious throughout and it’s one I revisit often and am always finding something new.
My first professional project…
Pardeep> I started out directing newspaper commercials and this one involved a Batman toy and two child actors. It was a great opportunity to creatively play in a sandbox and not be judged too harshly on my direction, as they were children.
The piece of work (ad/music video/ platform…) that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…
Pardeep> I don’t really like shitting on other creative’s work. But this is pretty universally hated so I feel like in this instance…I can let it slide. The Kendall Jenner Pepsi advert. I find it pretty gross when there’s a disingenuous attempt to co-opt social movements in order to sell products. And this one makes me reach for the sick bag every time…
The piece of work (ad/music video/ platform…) that still makes me jealous…
Pardeep> The Beastie Boys – Sabotage video by Spike Jonze is pretty perfect. Surprising, funny and just fucking iconic.
The creative project that changed my career…
Pardeep> I directed a sponsorship campaign that tied the Jeep Renegade with the Batman franchise (there he is again). Not only was that nominated for an award but the client loved it so much they re-ran it a second year and continued with the visual aesthetic that I created for years after in their marketing. That was the first big door that swung open for me, getting me new work.
The work that I’m proudest of…
Pardeep> Henry VIII & Trump. It was made for a tiny amount but we were given the reins to be creatively free. And sometimes the simplest of ideas are the ones that resonate most and this one did around the world. I was able to get across a complete story, packed with humour and sell the show, all just using text and the skills of a very talented voice actor into 30 seconds.
Henry VIII & Trump | Anne Boleyn Tweets
I was involved in this and it makes me cringe…
Pardeep> Very early on I made a commercial with a magazine brand and a popular but polarising reality star of the time. Once made, it got a YouTube comment of “this is worse than one hundred 9/11’s”. Hyperbole? I’d like to think so. But it taught me an important lesson, you can’t please everyone.
The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…
Pardeep> I really loved making this commercial for Friction Free Shaving. I love playing with audience expectations and this allowed me to do that in a funny way but we were also able to push the boundaries becoming the first advert broadcast in the UK to show a woman shaving for real.
