@RADICAL.MEDIA
Expanding the reach of its branded content, @radical signed a first-look development deal with worldwide distributor FremantleMedia. Gamekillers made its MTV series debut, as did an @radical-co-produced pilot for Mad Men via AMC. In music videos, Chris Milk took director of the year honors at the Music Video Production Association Awards. Spot-wise, The Glue Society made lingerie ads interesting without focusing on T&A (Elle Macpherson Intimates virals), Tarsem pit F1 stars in a bout of one-upmanship for Mercedes-Benz ("The Race") and Daniel Askill vivisected a Laguna for Renault ("You Can Never Be Too Demanding"). New signings included features director Bill Condon and David MacKenzie.

ACADEMY FILMS
The Gold Lion that Jonathan Glazer's Sony Bravia "Paint" took home at Cannes this year was pretty much a foregone conclusion. It was a highlight which added to notable work from Nick Gordon (Sony Walkman "Music Pieces", NSPCC "Talking Doll") and Si & Ad's contribution to the JC Penney brand revival ("Train"). Tony Barry signed in June and delivered a quirky, quaint account of an Indian mother's heartbreak over instant rice (Tilda "Indian Mum"), while Steve Ayson signed in October for UK rep. On a sad note, the prodco mourned the loss of celebrated music video director Tim Royes in August.

ANONYMOUS CONTENT
Anonymous unveiled a new visual identity in '07, rebranding and relaunching its website. Strides in new media followed: Wong Kar-Wai helmed the futuristic web film, "There's Only One Sun," for Philips and Paul Brown directed the Michael Madsen-starring mobile cop series, "Coma." In features, Gavin Hood directed Rendition and Garth Jenning's Son of Rambow sold to Paramount Vantage for just under $8 million. Spot-wise, Garth Davis got body-conscious for Boots ("Moment of Truth"), Mark Romanek eerily dramatic for Honda ("Hondamentalism") and PES flaunted his stop-motion skills in Sneaux "Human Skateboard". New faces included Daniel Benmayor and Sebastien Strasser.

BISCUIT FILMWORKS
Despite narrowly missing the Palme d'Or and losing The Perlorian Brothers, Biscuit's creative output continued undeterred, with co-founder Noam Murro helming several spots, including the beautiful VW Golf "Night Drive", for the UK thanks to a relationship with Independent. Biscuit was also behind two memorable star turns for the Perlorians: Emerald Nuts "Boogeyman" (the best Super Bowl ad) and Old Spice "Hungry like the Bruce". January signing Aaron Ruell worked steadily (mun2, Comcast, EA Games) and spot vet Tim Godsall directed unusual work for Ask.com and Traveler's. The New Year will see the premiere of Murro's feature Smart People, while new signings Clay Weiner (YouTube hit "The Christmas Tree", Bud "Dude") and Trevor Cawood also bode well.

EPOCH FILMS
Stacy Wall enjoyed a standout year in '07, helming a series of two-minute webfilms that lent an epic look at the everyday office worker for Microsoft Office 2007's gargantuan push - 60% of its total media spend - into web advertising. When not giving the Everyman a noble face, Wall was performing the same feat for celebs, coaxing darkly humorous performances from Macaulay Culkin and Mena Suvari for Orange. Matt Aselton stirred the pot with his spots for New Mexico Tourism that had locals bristling at the supposed alien/Roswell connection, while Mike Long tapped into Close Encounters territory for JC Penney ("Wake Up").

FURLINED
The Santa Monica-based prodco hit the ground running this year with The Perlorian Brothers, Yael Staav and Brian Lee Hughes signing on for US rep. Dougal Wilson made his US spot debut, bringing new meaning to the phrase live-action photography (Diet Coke "Frames"), while Lynn Fox captured the reclusive Bob Dylan in a Cadillac ("Driven"). Speck/Gordon brought their beloved Geico Cavemen to the small screen to decidedly mixed reviews, while their ode to men's figure skating, Blades of Glory, was a critical and box office champ. The prodco also welcomed a new face; EP Matt Factor was brought in as partner.

GORGEOUS
The event spot of the year, in terms of creativity and controversy, may have been Frank Budgen's "Play Doh" for Sony Bravia. The spot was in good company with Budgen's launch spot for Al Gore's Live Earth ("SOS") and Chris Palmer's delectable Skoda "The Baking Of". The BTA Production Company of the Year buoyed its roster of enviable directors through a deal with Park Pictures, repping Lance Accord, Joachim Back and Joaquin Baca-Asay, who had another fine year with an ambitious visual spot for the highly-anticipated opening of the UK's St. Pancras station for Eurostar.

HSI
HSI put an emotional stamp on a special (if bizarre) Mother's Day message - espousing the virtues of the adult umbilical cord - for Mother, New York. Joseph Kahn helmed new HP spots featuring Serena Williams and Jerry Seinfeld. Paul Hunter took on Crispin's first new Nike work, and poignantly captured the bond between six NBA All-Stars and the kids at a basketball camp for adidas' webseries "Basketball is a Brotherhood." Andreas Link signed for US and UK spot rep, the London office signed Carlos Manga Jr., while Andy Hylton and Erica Herbert left and longtime Joe Public duo Simon Cole and Adam Cameron split after 20 years.