Name: Traktor (Mats, Pontus, Sam, Patrik, Ulf, Richard and Ole)
Production affiliations: For commercials, Partizan internationally. Traktor produces music videos independently.
"In the US we are repped for music videos by Verenne Ferrari - her French is better than our English. In the UK, we are repped by a waterproof youngster by the name of John Hassey; he has his fingers in many pies, including shepherd's," says Traktor's Ole Sanders. "Come to think of it, we haven't seen him for a while. If you read this John, can you please call the office?"
Years directing: 10
Shoot days in 2001: "More than a hundred, less than a thousand."
Geography: Swedish (and one Norwegian), based in Santa Monica
Favorite Spot: Miller Lite "Evil Beaver"

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By this point, readers of Boards will need little introduction to Scandinavia's number- one commercial export, Traktor. Already the comedic experts have directed a spate of projects this year, including campaigns for Boddingtons for BBH London, Dodge for Pentamark Detroit, Adidas for 180 Amsterdam, Zima for FCB, Lipton for BBH New York, Earthlink for TBWA/Chiat/Day/LA, Pot Noodles for HHCL London, Honda for Rubin Postaer Los Angeles and And1 for Fallon, Minneapolis, a big-name music video that may or may not see light of day, and a new Nike campaign for W+K.

Apparently, Traktor's latest Adidas campaign, the sporting giant's World Cup push, goes beyond established sports branding.

"It's a magnificent world where you can work and play. And wear jumpers. It is an alternative to the high-kicking athleticism people expect of World Cup campaigns," says Traktor. "The audience knows that Beckham and Zidane can play magnificent football. But they don't know what happened on the way to the institute one fine morning!"

While powering through the cream of the spot crop, a perhaps more pensive directing squad takes the opportunity to consider their decade of decadence, and the example they are setting for the next wave of commercial makers.

"We now have a rigid track record of commercials all made by us. Nobody has left and nobody has joined. The directors responsible for the 300 commercials are still the directors you talk to about new projects. A regular production company needs to keep new people coming in. But collectives do not. And if they do, they are a production company, and not a collective," says Sanders.

"It has become rather convenient for UK and US companies to label any Scandinavian company they represent as 'collectives' or 'the next younger Traktor.' We have tremendous respect for many of the individual directors, but we are unsure if it benefits them to be labeled as a collective abroad if they are not. Either they work together or they don't."