Nick
Ball

about the jury

Nick Ball is a director and lifelong eavesdropper. 

He’s known for crafting some of the sharpest, boldest and most satisfying creative ever slipped past a client with a straight face. 

From a viral-the-world-over chewing gum spot that morphed post-pandemic desperation into a cathartic power ballad, to an expressionist delivery campaign where anticipation exploded into choreography, Nick’s work lives at the intersection of cinematic craft, thoughtfully calibrated tone and pitch-perfect performance. 

Nick is a director with a writer’s instinct, drawn to ideas he can shape, elevate and push into something sharper, more focused or more uniquely its own. Instinct always leads, the edges stay exact, and the unexpected is always in play. 

At the center of every project Nick takes on is “the itch” — that gut-level jolt when something just clicks. Whether the idea is audacious or stripped back, it has to land with undeniability. 

Named Shots Director of the Year in 2022, Nick has become a go-to for creating cinematic micro-dramas with bite and short-form storytelling for global audiences, including Super Bowl spots and major brand campaigns. His work has been recognized at Cannes Lions, D&AD, AICP, The One Show, British Arrows, The Clios and CICLOPE. 

He has also directed an eclectic mix of icons including Mariah Carey, Glenn Close, Cate Blanchett, Tina Fey, Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Walken — who once said to Nick, “I know you’re listening to my cellular conversations on set. Please stop.”