David has a degree in history and economics from the University of Chicago but started his professional career as a filmmaker. He gaffed, shot, edited and produced on everything from feature films (like The Undercover Girl with Connie Stevens) to rock and roll documentaries (he toured with the band Heart in West Texas and Japan) to television commercials (he produced the Nissan “Toys” spot) and even an animated feature (The Adventures of Mark Twain). David joined Will Vinton Studios in 1982 and built their commercial production business into the longest running and most successful animation company in commercial production by focusing on superb character animation. The California Raisins, the Domino’s Pizza Noid, and the M&M’s Red, Yellow, Blue, Green and Crispy are just a few of the wildly popular characters that came to life during David’s stint at Vinton. In 1998, as part of the continuing effort to bring unique value to the studio’s clients, David began the focused synthesis and exploration of his experiences with successful characters that eventually resulted in his invention of this business. David is president and founder of Character.
David is a frequent speaker at corporate and industry events, and teaches a popular class on Story as the Key to Engagement at Procter & Gamble’s Brand Manager College.
Video of David’s presentation to the Johnson & Johnson Global Marketing SummitContact Character