John Hays
Director

Industry veteran, John Hays was instrumental in the launch and development of numerous heavy-hitters in animation including: Universal Cartoon Studios; HBO Animation; Big Pictures (long-form arm of Colossal); and finally his own company, W!LDBRAIN.

At W!LDBRAIN, John focuses his energy and experience by helming W!LDBRAIN’s Creative Board and serving as Creative Director. In this role, he drives the development of W!LDBRAIN’s original properties for TV, film and various interactive platforms and serves as a mentor to promising talent.

Since co-founding W!LDBRAIN in 1994, John has designed and directed a wide range of television and commercial projects including the 1998 Annie winner for Best Achievement in a Television Commercial, Sensitive, one of four condom PSA’s directed for Levi’s World AIDS Day Campaign, and the Clio-winning Up...Down...Up, a striking black and white spot for Mainstay Mutual Funds that garnered the 1997 London International Advertising Award. Additionally, John’s body of work includes the Nickelodeon television series pilot Fathead, episodes of Spawn for HBO Animation, and commercials for Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Pillsbury (brings back the Jolly Green Giant in a 3D environment) and many others. Pillsbury, whose Jolly Green Giant was resurrected in two spots, placed a 2D cel-animated giant into a lush 3D computer-generated environment. Most recently, John served as creative director for the new Wrigley’s Winterfresh Campaign.

At Colossal Pictures, John directed two seasons of the animated series, Back to the Future, produced for Universal Cartoon Studios/Amblin Entertainment, and also developed and co-produced the studio’s first long-form project, The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, a series for NBC. Other long-form projects include the CBS half-hour special Betty Boop’s Hollywood Mystery and the premiere episode of The Dangwoods for MTV’s Emmy-winning Liquid Television. Additional directing credits include the award-winning show open for PBS’ Eyes On the Prize I and II and the main titles for The Great Depression; commercials for Levi-Strauss (Gold Broadcast Designer Association Award) and Bell South (Bronze Broadcast Designer Association Award); and network IDs for MTV and The Disney Channel.

John attended the Character Animation Program at the California Institute of the Arts where he was a recipient of both the California Grant and a Walt Disney scholarship.

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