Ex-pats, many returning to their ancestral homelands, are leading some Eastern European agencies to high creative ground.

For Moscow-based United Campaigns Publicis (UCP), Canadian-born Eugene Radewych fits this bill. Radewych was a creative director with Toronto agency Griffin Bacal Volny before moving to Russia five years ago.

"After spending my whole advertising life in Canada, I was up for an adventure and Russia is an exciting place to live," he says. "Although the Russian agencies deal with very low budgets, the industry has come alive with creativity in the last year, making it a very competitive market."

UCP was founded 12 years ago. Its clients include Hewlett Packard, Renault, L'Oréal, British Airways and Coca-Cola. UCP's November 2001 work for Renault's Megane won industry plaudits and the regional business for Renault's Clio brand.

"[Megane] was the first time we were able to shoot a big-budget commercial - in Moscow terms, as budgets are not that much here - that has a very international feel to it," says Radewych.

The spot, "Drop Your Worries," is effects-driven and shows no indication of being shot in Moscow, which caused a surprising reaction and positive consumer impact. Barcelona-based director Serge Roman oversaw production, and post was handled by Moscow's Park VI.

"The concept was cool and twisted. It was based around a surreal plot demonstrating safety and peace of mind in a bizarre way," explains Radewych. "It starts out with a man about to get into his car just as a rain storm is coming. We can barely see that he is placing something in his car. Just as he gets in the car, the first rain drop narrowly misses him and lands on the window. Our hero starts the car and drives off and multiple driving sequences ensue as our hero avoids road hazards. He finally arrives at his destination, an underground garage, and stops on a dime. All the water on the car flies off, leaving the car completely perfectly dry; we used CG to create this special effect. We cut back to our hero in the car, and we reveal what he had placed in his car originally...a fish swimming in a fishbowl. It is perfectly undisturbed and safe."

Currently, Radewych is developing a new Renault spot.

"This is for Renault Paris, not the local office. It should be airing in 43 countries," he enthuses. "What is sweet is [Renault's] confidence in choosing Russian creativity that can be exported to other countries."

Despite these creative opportunities, Radewych believes it will take another couple of years before Russia has a presence in Cannes.

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