Dream Teams: Ben/Dave’s Secret to 15 Years of Success

In an industry where the entire job description is overcoming creative challenges, it can be nice to not go at things alone. Sure, it’s doable, but having a partner in crime can make a real difference, allowing for more precision of thought, refined outcomes, and, of course, the ability to divide labour and ultimately tackle more. 

This is absolutely true for the directing pair of Ben Hurst and Dave Thomas, or as they’re more commonly known, Ben/Dave. Repped by Partners Film in Canada and Community Films in the US, this dynamic duo have been directing comedy commercials together since 2009, but have proven the power of better together for even longer. 

Specifically, Ben first met Dave in 2005, in Salt Lake City, Utah. At the time, Dave was still agency-side, but it just so happened that Ben had volunteered to do a bunch of advertising – including the awards presentation – for the Utah Addy Awards, in which a campaign Dave had written for the Utah State Fair (featuring the iconic Napoleon Dynamite) brought his agency ‘Best in Show’. 

“Dave’s acceptance speech had something to do with him being late and beating up an old lady – something along those lines – and it brought the house down,” Ben recalls. “I met him afterward and I just remember he and his wife Karin were both really charming and funny, and I knew I couldn’t wait to work with him on something.”

Lo and behold, it wouldn’t take long for that to happen. In almost poetic fashion, Ben was hired to direct more spots for the Utah State Fair (this time starring some talking corn dogs) which had once again been written by Dave. 

“We had no money, so we had to do everything ourselves, from making the puppets to building the puppet stages, to writing and recording the dialogue and even songs for the puppets, to performing the puppet action, to shooting and editing it all ourselves – that was probably the best way to start a working relationship,” Dave says. “However, the stakes were low, we did whatever we wanted, and we were making ourselves laugh.”

What proved even funnier was the fact that the farmers and the hayseeds who ran the Fair just didn’t understand the work the two had done, but the right impressions had been made. As a self-proclaimed “not a dude who hangs out with other dudes”, Ben’s talent and personality, at the very least, were enough to sell Dave on the idea that he was someone who he “probably wouldn’t hate hanging with all the time for the rest of his natural life”, and so the pair would co-write some other projects over the next couple of years… before Dave forestalled the inevitable by moving and taking a job at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. 

A couple years and a mountain of burnout later, Ben – still a firm believer in their collaborative potential – would reach out again, this time with an invitation for Dave to move to Austin, Texas and join his production company. 

“We thought we could make a creative plus production kind of agency/studio hybrid, but nobody was looking for that then,” Dave notes. “But because we were already working on pitches together, Ben just said we should direct together.”

Having only been a writer up until this point, directing was something Dave had never even thought about doing. But, as he adds, he had no other good ideas about how to shape his life at the time, so he just went for it and the rest is history. “We’ve been doing it for 15 years now, which is a million years in directing-duo time.”

So, what’s the secret to such long-lasting success? They believe there are several reasons, including the fact that their workstyles just complement one another. 

As Ben efficiently puts it, “Dave comes from advertising, so he’s always been good at making sure the message is clear and logical. I come from a filmmaking background and just want stuff to look cool, and for the action to be funny.”

Building on this, Dave describes their dynamic as “a typical writer/art director relationship”, which can effectively distil their complementary skill sets into the bins of pictures versus words. While Ben shoots, edits and is “a fairly amazing illustrator and designer”, Dave writes, composes songs and music, and generally talks a lot on pitches and phone calls. 

 

But, there’s also room for crossover. “We both write jokes, we both have a strong sense of what we want visually, and we both were raised Mormon, so we have a sort of engineered niceness that puts people at ease,” Dave continues. “It’s involuntary, but you can’t argue with the results.”

Case and point, the two are quick to point out campaigns for Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale as some of their favourites, and a pieces of work they’re proud of. 

The first – a low-budget piece made a few years into their official partnership – is something Ben says was supposed to be “this old Mutual of Omaha-type nature show (yes, we’re old).” However, while the script was amazing, there was the challenge of having virtually no money, which had to be overcome through some brilliant creativity and strong collaboration. 

Meanwhile, Dave highlights the key collaborative milestone of 'Your Town', which saw the pair actually shoot in Shiner, Texas, featuring real townspeople across roughly 23 set-ups in a single day. “The shoot ended in a park with the Shiner hobo band playing and everyone feeling really good about what we’d managed to do,” he remembers. “And, after all of that, Ben and I got to edit that ourselves. We made exactly the thing we were trying to make, and everyone bought it. No notes. Still makes us feel good when we think back on that.”

With all that said, another equally important aspect of their longstanding relationship is the fact that both Ben and Dave know how to handle creative disagreement and frustration in a productive fashion.

“Being two different people can be a completely intolerable burden, but honestly, these days, we rarely butt heads,” Dave explains. “We probably did a lot more in the early years, when we were still working out how to work together (and frankly, I was working out how to do the job at all – learning on the job while pretending to be a director). I’m certain the insecurities from that made me push back on stuff in ways that didn’t need to be so intense. But after all this time, you just can’t get worked up over little things any more. Perspective, or something.”

Expanding on this, Ben notes that in the rare instances where they do disagree, it usually stems from the fact that there simply isn’t a clear solution to a problem, or a script or a joke that satisfies the pair. “We’ve gotten pretty good at recognising when that’s happening, so we sit on it and wait until the right idea comes along,” he adds. “Eventually, the right answer comes along in casting, or even when we’re finally shooting the thing.”

And, failing that, if the solution doesn’t come up, or they never quite meet eye-to-eye, then they just do it both ways. Or, if that doesn’t work, Ben and Dave will discuss it and each try to state their positions. Only a handful of times has that gone nowhere – which has proven admittedly frustrating in those moments – but Dave sees this as ultimately beneficial. 

“Emotions are good, and it’s important to feel something about what you’re making,” he says. “So, I think that’s where we try to aim our feelings. I don’t think we’ve ever had a proper fight. Maybe we’re doing it wrong?”

However, perhaps the greatest asset to their partnership’s success has been the fact that both Ben and Dave have wholeheartedly embraced the fact that when you have a regular collaborator in the industry, the potential is inherently greater. 

For a start, there’s the fact that when you put two different people together, it usually creates an opportunity for each to learn from the other – something which is true of Ben and Dave. 

In particular, Ben’s self-described tendency to be "a bit of a pushover” is balanced well by Dave’s fearless willingness to defend a vision. And, on the flipside, Ben has shown Dave that no matter how much you think an idea is correct and perfect, it will always get better if you run it through, specifically, one other person. 

“I’m rarely 100% confident in my own ideas,” Ben expands. "So, I can appreciate exactly why having someone to bounce things off of and get honest feedback from is a real treat. Two heads are better than one, I’m told.”

In fact, to this end, Dave actually argues that every solo director out there is cheating. “They all have people they rely on for collaboration, to be a sounding board, and to help them refine good ideas and weed out bad ones,” he says. “That person might be their EP, or their line producer, or their storyboard artist, or their domestic partner, or the person who cleans their office, or someone else. But, that person definitely exists, and probably isn’t getting credit or money for the creative services they’re providing those solo directors. So, even though it’s maybe not the funnest thing in the world to split our director fees two ways for our entire careers, at least we’re treating the collaboration honestly. (Sorry if I’m impugning every solo director out there. Don’t listen to me, they’re all great!).”

Of course, this doesn’t extend to the invaluable benefit of external creative inspiration. And to this end, both Ben and Dave are particular fans of David Shane’s work – especially his effortless comedy and perfect casting. “Maybe he’d be interested in a Ben/Dave/David trio,” Ben muses. 

There’s also The Perlorian Brothers on this list, but really, Dave notes that positive influence can come from anyone talented. “We love movies, music, art, and of course, commercials,” he continues. “In particular, comedy commercials – if they work at all – can at least give you a little chuckle when you least expect it. That’s nice, and all it costs you is 15-30 seconds of your attention. So, we love a well made commercial, and we take plenty of inspiration from the best commercial makers.”

But, at the end of the day, life isn’t all about the work. Sure, sometimes the pair find themselves stuck on a small budget job, forced to cram too much into a single day (like 16 social pieces and four standalone spots – all needing to work on every platform from TV to TikTok; a story for another time), but equally important is just sharing in the joys of friendship during the quieter moments. 

For Ben, nowhere is this more apparent than while they’re driving to a location scout, and they get to have some “pretty deep conversations” about life and family. “Neither of us have a lot of very close friends, but I’d consider Dave to be one of the closest and maybe more of a brother than anything,” he notes. “And, even 15 years later, he’s still the same damn funny guy I first met. His wit is off the charts.”

Finishing, Dave returns the praise, although he points out that living in different parts of the country adds a slight spanner to the social works. 

”I’ve spent more time with Ben than anyone on Earth besides my wife, and I still like it. So, if I were the type of guy who liked getting together with other guys, then sure, we’d hang (outside of all the time we already spend together). Ben’s someone anyone would enjoy chatting with. Just an affable peach of a fellow. I’d have to be a real asshole to turn my nose up at that. (Seriously though, everybody likes Ben. Just ask them if you don’t believe me).”