Anthea Benton is a British television commercial and music video director, best known for her adverts for Stella Artois

Stella Artois

Stella Artois is a 5% ABV lager brewed in Leuven, Belgium since 1926. In the UK, Canada and New Zealand a 4% ABV version is also available.-Production:...

 and Levi's.

Benton began her career as a Fashion Designer, and moved into directing in 1982 as half of the directing duo Vaughan and Anthea (with Vaughan Arnell). The two worked together for over a decade, initially concentrating on music videos, making a number of memorable promos in the burgeoning field including Dead or Alive

Dead or Alive (band)

Dead or Alive were a British New Wave band from Wirral, England, United Kingdom, Europe. The band rose to fame in the 1980s with their number one single on the UK Singles Chart, "You Spin Me Round ". They were the first group to have a number one single under the production team Stock Aitken Waterman...

's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

"You Spin Me Round " is a song by British band Dead or Alive on their 1985 album Youthquake. The song was the first UK number-one hit by the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. Released in November 1984, the record reached number one in March 1985, taking seventeen weeks to get there...

", Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...

's "Space Cowboy

Space Cowboy (song)

"Space Cowboy" is the lead single from British band Jamiroquai's second studio album, The Return of the Space Cowboy. The single reached #17 in the UK Singles Chart and was their first #1 on the U.S...

", Take That

Take That

Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...

's "Back for Good

Back for Good

"Back for Good" is a song by the British pop group Take That. It was released in 1995 as the second single from the band's third studio album, Nobody Else and achieved great success in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain and the UK where it topped...

", Anggun

Anggun

Anggun Cipta Sasmi is an Indonesian singer-songwriter. She has released 12 studio albums and one soundtrack album , and her songs have also been included on various compilation albums. Her musical career began in childhood, and she achieved commercial success in Indonesia when she was 12 years old...

's "Snow On The Sahara

Snow on the Sahara

Snow on the Sahara is the first international studio album by Anggun. The album was released exactly a year after the French version, Au Nom de la Lune, was released on June 24th, 1997.-Album information:...

" and George Michael

George Michael

George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...

's "Fastlove

Fastlove

"Fastlove" is a song by George Michael, released by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom and Dreamworks Records in the United States in 1996.-History:...

". In 1992 the duo moved into commercials, creating Wrangler's DJ commercial, the first European advert to feature young black urban culture. The duo's commercials won a large number of awards, with Levi's Creek picking up two prestigious D&AD

D&AD

Design and Art Direction is a British educational charity which exists to promote excellence in design and advertising...

 awards for Best Direction and Best Commercial. Their work for Stella Artois launched the brands distinctive style of honouring European cinema, with its nod to Jean de Florette

Jean de Florette

Jean de Florette is a 1986 French historical drama film directed by Claude Berri, based on a novel by Marcel Pagnol. It is part of a duology, and is followed by Manon des Sources. The film takes place in rural Provence, where two local farmers scheme to trick a newcomer out of his newly inherited...

. Their second advert for Stella Les Nouvelles Chaussures winning that year's D&AD award for Best Direction.

Their work was defined by strong art direction, an awareness for fashion and an ability to set trends, especially in terms of the music used. For Levi's Planet the duo selected a little heard track called Spaceman by Babylon Zoo

Babylon Zoo

Babylon Zoo were a British rock band of the mid-1990s from Wolverhampton, England, fronted by Jas Mann. They were best known for the song "Spaceman", which on its release on 21 January 1996, went straight to #1 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 418,000 copies in the first week of...

. The track was to go on to sell 418,000 copies in a week, a record at the time, propelling it to number one in the UK singles chart.

In 1996 the duo decided to split, with both continuing to direct commercials and music videos. Anthea went on to direct commercials for brands including Sony, T-Mobile, Audi, Levi's, Peugot, Adidas, Hyundai and Barclaycard.

In 2004 Anthea Benton joined Believe Media. She continues to direct acclaimed work, recently working with actresses Anna Friel and Keeley Hawes in commercials for Pantene and Boots No7 respectively. Featured in Shots magazine's list of the top 100 creative people, Anthea is currently working on her first feature script.