The Mothership Has Landed

If you saw our post yesterday, then you already know a little something about the mysterious entity known as Mothership. Today we got the full details, and it’s pretty juicy stuff.

First though, feast on these three four additional films from Mothership’s crew:

What’s this all about?

Mothership is the brainchild of Ed Ulbrich, Digital Domain’s President of its Commercial Division and Corporate Executive Vice President since the company’s birth.

The idea is to gather visionary filmmakers and turbo-charge their talent using Mothership’s resources—the same resources enjoyed by sister company Digital Domain (which they’ve used to win a mantel full of Oscars).

Mothership is launching with talent including Robert Hales, Dael Oates, David Rosenbaum, Sil Van Der Woerd, Brent Bonacorso, Pierre Michel, Matthew Santoro, and Happycamper. They’ll also represent Nathan Love on the U.S. west coast.

So what?

Just another production company, right? Who cares?

Maybe. The fact that Digital Domain is providing firepower is one obvious difference. But if you dig a little deeper, there’s some fairly ambitious language behind the launch.

Says Ulrbich in the company’s release, “Consumer demand for compelling content on connected devices creates an enormous opportunity for advertisers. To capture it, agencies need integrated cross-platform strategies and creative services, and they’re turning to companies who can execute a brand vision from concept to completion.”

Pair that seemingly innocuous nugget with Mothership’s executive leadership: Alejandro Lopez, a 22-year ad industry vet, will be serving as Executive Creative Director with Tanya Cohen, former EP of Michael Bay’s The Institute, as Executive Producer.

I have to start wondering: Is this the new model I keep hearing so much about? Or, more pointedly, is this the end of the old model?

What old model?

Ad agencies have spent the last ten years suffering from a swelling panic. New media and the rise of an increasingly democratized creative class have called into question many aspects of the ad industry’s business models.

While Mothership’s initial clients will undoubtedly be advertising agencies, their cross-platform, full-service approach reminds me of R/GA’s evolution over the last couple decades. Recently named one of Ad Age’s Agencies of the Decade, R/GA successfully transitioned from a creative service shop to a major player in the ad world by—to borrow Ulbrich’s words—”executing a brand vision from concept to completion.”

Nothing’s stopping Mothership from making a similar move. All the variables are lined up: experience, resources, talent. It’s just a matter of opportunity—and a willingness to strike while the iron is hot.