Freddy Mandy, née The Bobbsey Twins From Homicide, goes his own way

Sonny and Cher. Mulder and Scully. And now The Bobbsey Twins from Homicide. All good duos must come to an end, it seems.

Those who’ve worked with Freddy Mandy in the last few years will know the Twins have been dividing and conquering the globe, with Mandy helming award-winning campaigns in the Southern Hemisphere, earning Shots Director of the Year Pacific in 2022. Campaigns include Tourism New Zealand ‘Stop Dreaming about NZ and Go’, Optus ‘Yuletide’, Powershop ‘It’s a Powershop’, AusPost ‘Spread the Merry’, and most recently ‘A World Without Coffee’ for BNZ. Mandy is known for his cinematic world-building, underplayed humour, and deft VFX.

The Twins, best friends since gym class age 13, have undergone a conscious uncoupling rather than an acrimonious divorce, and part ways with nothing but love.

Says Mandy: “It’ll be nice not to have to talk about work with my best friend – we can stick to the big stuff: Arsenal, movies and why there is a D in fridge but not in refrigerator.”

Mandy and Tim got their start as creatives at Mother London, working on the iconic surrealism of Ikea Beds, and the verite-anarchy of hundreds of cats set loose in a store for Ikea Cats. After bugging directors on set for years, they chose themselves to direct a series of hilarious films for Halfords. When the campaign picked up metal at Cannes, their fates were sealed.

Soon after, their spot for MoneySuperMarket featuring He-Man and Skeletor dancing to ‘Time of My Life’ went viral and the duo became known for killer characters and absurd humour. From a clever subversion of the ultimate locker room speech for Dos Equis, to the VFX-feast of Lego Rebuild the World, to the awkward dialogue of H&R Block Ex-wife, their comedy was always pitch-perfect.

Mandy will continue to be repped in AU and NZ by FINCH, and has just signed with Smuggler in the rest of the world.

Says Mandy: “Hasta luego, Amigo.”

To view Freddy’s work click here.