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Dennis Bannon
Executive Producer
Underdog
As a producer, Dennis Bannon is in a league of his own. And at the agency, he’s in a group of his own. Literally. We only have one producer at SCC, Dennis. One. Talk about an independent spirit. But he’s no lone wolf. Dennis is the ultimate team player. He's the coolest cat around. Unflappable. No matter the size of the budget, Dennis makes it work. And makes it feel like a million bucks. He’s resourceful and nimble. He has a sixth sense for directors and post-production houses, always sourcing the best talent. Where’s he find them? That’s the Dennis magic. So, maybe he's “indie” because he has to be, or maybe it’s because it's how he thrives.
While most Executive Producers stay in their lane, Dennis barrels through them all. He doesn’t just reject the traditional job description, he’s rewritten it. Dennis handles everything…project timelines, production budgets, talent contracts, media calendars — all without an assistant, without a Business Affairs team, and without ever breaking a sweat.
But that’s not all, Dennis also runs SCC’s internal production studio, overseeing a team of shooters and editors who crank out an unbelievable volume of content for clients like the Hain Celestial, Chicago Cubs, and Broken Shed Vodka. He’s a total iconoclast. He’s like that guy on the Charles Bridge in Prague with a guitar slung over his shoulder, kick drum under his foot, cymbals fastened between his knees, and harmonica looped around his neck making incredible music…he’s the entire band…pitch perfect.
Dennis does more than make things happen. He makes the seemingly impossible happen. Proof? Our SOLO client has very small budgets…the kind that 99% of directors and agencies would laugh out of the room. Not Dennis. Somehow he delivered an entire campaign that’s hilarious, beautiful, and effective with a fraction of the dollars others would need for a single :30. Clearly, his DIY ethos runs as deep as his Rolodex.
Let’s look at another notch on Dennis’ belt: In the span of just four weeks Dennis produced full 360° campaigns for the US Highbush Blueberry Council (work that was recently featured in Indie Agency News) in Santiago, Chile and Ortega in Medellin, Colombia. And somehow squeezed in a vacation between the two shoots. Two international productions. One Dennis Bannon. Zero missteps.
As alluded to earlier, Dennis is the arbiter of cool. He’s always ahead of the curve, especially when it comes to music. Legend has it that while in college he road tripped from Ann Arbor to NYC to catch one of REM’s very first shows. Decades later, he’s still front-row center, still chasing the muse with the same fire. In fact, a few months ago he was telling a bunch of us about going to see The Wallflowers perform. The next thing you know someone is passing around a social post of the performance from the venue’s own channel…and there’s Dennis in the front row singing along to “Sixth Avenue Heartache.” How cool is that?!
In the middle of a multi-day, international shoot in Medellín, one of our team members fell ill. With no Spanish, no playbook, and no room for distractions, Dennis managed to source medical help, got them to a clinic, and still made it back to set in time to oversee an overnight shoot. That moment—calm, resourceful, deeply human—is Dennis in a nutshell. Always taking care of his people, always delivering the goods.
Dennis raises the bar just by showing up. He’s redefined what it means to be a producer, not just someone who “gets it done,” but someone who makes it better, sharper, cooler. His standard of resourcefulness has become the blueprint for the way the agency shows up: with optimism, grit, and zero ego.
Teammates flock to Dennis, not because he has all the answers…but because he makes you feel like you can find them together. He brings a “we got this” energy that’s as infectious as it is grounding. And outside the agency? We call Dennis the client whisperer. He relieves anxiety, finds compromise without compromising the vision, and simplifies the complex. Directors and editors return time and again because Dennis always makes the work better. To be fair, he makes everyone else better, too.
See some examples of recent work he’s helped produce here: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1105485574
