Hungry Man Productions Signs John O’Hagan

It’s a full circle for John who was one of Hungry Man’s first signings when the shop started.

John O’Hagan is an award-winning commercial and film director. After graduating from NYU film school and directing a documentary, John first joined Hungry Man at its inception in 1997 upon meeting and getting to know Hungry Man co-founder Bryan Buckley. “I have been a huge fan of Bryan and his work since day one,” says John. “I cannot think of a better director to have had as a mentor during my early days of directing.”

It was the start of John’s commercial career, and he recalls it as a hugely thrilling time to join such a new and fresh company. He remembers, “there wasn’t even an office yet, we were all working out of someone’s brother’s apartment and huddling in the corner for conference calls because there was all this construction going on in the background”. Hungry Man has since grown into an International company with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.

John’s very first spot that he directed, Dial-A-Mattress ‘Squirrel’, won a Gold Lion at Cannes. From that point on, John has embarked on a hugely successful film and commercial career. John joined RSA in 2006, at which time he was moving to Prague, where he began a family, and started focusing most of his work in Europe. Along with winning numerous Cannes Lions, John is also known for directing a number of popular Super Bowl commercials in the US. In 2019, the Chicago Tribune named John’s EDS ‘Cat Herders’ spot #3 on its list of ‘The five Greatest Super Bowl Commercials of Modern Times’. #1 on that list? Bryan Buckley’s Monster.com ‘When I Grow Up’ spot. John and Bryan have certainly kept in good company over the years! After recently returning to the US, John re-connected with Bryan, and the two began speaking about teaming up again. John has re-joined the Hungry Man family, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him back!

"It’s an honour to be back in the fold at Hungry Man where I got my start,” says John. “For me, it’s a company with not only tremendous talent but also just truly enjoyable and genuine people. There is a clear desire to make great work. In this business where creativity never stands still, I love that over the years Hungry Man has continued to evolve and surprise and stay completely on top of their game. I’m thrilled to be at the company."

Bryan Buckley (Hungry Man founder) says: “It's such a rarity when a monster talent returns back to where their career started. It's sort of like when LeBron returned to Cleveland. That's how excited I am that John O’Hagen is back at Hungry Man. I just wish he would sell season tickets to his shoots."