O Positive Signs Lenard Dorfman

O Positive is pleased to announce award-winning director Lenard Dorfman has signed on for commercial representation. Dorfman, who spent much of his career working out of top creative agencies in both in the U.S. and U.K., is renowned as a narrative storyteller with cinematic visuals. His work elicits emotional empathy in viewers with unfettered portraits of characters. For example, the blind football fan in the stadium whose passion stands the hair on the back of your neck on end in the now famous Coca-Cola spot, “The Commentary,” or VW’s “Grand Slam,” a subtle comedic spot which demonstrates the car’s remarkable sturdiness through the unabashed habits of its door-slamming owner. Dorfman’s first campaigns with O Positive are commercials for FedFx (BBDO NY) and New York Lottery (DDB NY), which will begin airing this month.

"Lenny is a gifted visual storyteller who delivers great performances—a rare combination,” comments Jim Jenkins, Director and Co-founder of O Positive. "Plus he's smart and articulate with a coruscating mind, and I only know the word coruscating because Lenny taught it to me."

“What drew me to O Positive is the singular focus on the directors and their work,” Dorfman says. “They manage to minimize the distractions and excesses that can come with a busy production company by staying focused on producing great work. A main factor contributing to this excellence is the flow of collaboration amongst the directors. And plus everyone looks and speaks so directorial ... it’s special.”

Dorfman has directed commercials for Nike, AmEx, IBM, GE, Guinness, VW and Mercedes-Benz, to note a few. Among his most recent are New York Lottery “Car” and “Garden” (DDB NY), Bank of America’s “Morning” (Y&R NY), the “Tribes” campaign for the FFA Hyundai A-League Football Championship, the Cannes Gold Lion-winning campaign “New York Writes Itself” (Leo Burnett NY), and a film and ad campaign starring French football legend Zinedine Zidane that helped the Middle East win its historic bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He has earned the industry’s highest accolades such as Cannes Lions, D&AD and One Show Pencils, AICP and BTAA Arrows and DGA nomination for Best Commercial Director.

Dorfman began his career directing documentaries, with his first films—Dancing With Cowboys, The Lost Cowboys and The Youngest Cowboy—commissioned by Canal Plus France and broadcast globally. He also counts the pilot of Sundance Channel’s pioneering Iconoclast series, featuring Tom Ford and Jeff Koons, among his credits.

“I’ve been fortunate to work regularly on either side of the pond. This has enabled me to pursue a variety of work that I love doing, namely narrative storytelling and subtle comedy along with more documentary, real people storytelling. I think this range of work makes for a terrific fit to the directors here at O Positive.”