Laurence Shanet

Laurence Shanet, a.k.a. KRANKY, has been honored with the CFP’s Young Director Award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival, was listed among ‘boards magazine’s Top 10 Directors to Watch, and has had his work placed in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent audio-visual collection. Recent directing credits include commercials for Starburst, H&R Block, Visa, Disney, Powerball Lotto, KFC, Airheads Xtremes, Skittles, and MR. SUB. He has also been involved in creating short film content for advertisers including Pepsi, AOL, Visa, Johnsonville, Volkswagen, Disney, LifeLock, and The Celebrity Apprentice.
Prior to his directorial career, Shanet was an award-winning writer for some of the top ad agencies in the world.
In addition to his advertising work, Shanet is also involved in various projects in the entertainment world. His series of comedic short films about a taxi driver training academy was recently optioned for development as a television series by the CBC. He also helmed the popular Off-Broadway play Connections, which received “Best Of Citysearch” honors during its frequently sold-out run. He is the Head Writer and co- creator of the comedic animated series Badtime Stories, currently in development. And he has contributed as a ghost writer to some of the most popular animated comedy series on television.
In addition to the Cannes Young Director Award and the ‘boards distinction, Shanet’s other directorial honors include Cannes Lions, AICP/MOMA, Clio, One Show, London International Advertising Awards, and TELLY awards.
Shanet holds degrees in Creative Writing/Media Arts and Psychology from the Johns Hopkins University, and was part of New York University’s commercial film directing program.
Despite the moniker, he is generally pleasant.