Having grown up deep in the Swedish countryside, Andreas Nilsson moved to Gothenburg to study painting and sculpture. He subsequently became a set designer for the Royal Theatre in Stockholm and then for live musical acts. His artistic background, combined with his immense interest in music, led him to direct a music video for a friend’s band and he he’s been directing since.
Andreas has created outstanding videos for major artists ranging from Royksöpp to Kanye West, David Guetta and Robbie Williams, and is now most renowned for his commercial direction.
Andreas is well known for his visually dynamic sense of humor and his surreal and playful style.
His spot for Volvo Trucks “The Epic Split”, featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, is one of the world’s most successful viral campaigns ever. It won 3 Cannes Lions Grand Prix, launching Andreas to the status of most-awarded commercial director worldwide. In 2016 he won the coveted Directors Guild of America (DGA) for Outstanding Achievement in Commercial Direction. For his Hornbach commercial “Sweat It Out” he was awarded two Gold, three Silver and a Bronze at the ADC Germany, including Gold for Best Director. His Bosch “Like a Bosch” picked up numerous national and international awards. In 2023 Andreas won another Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Apple “R.I.P. Leon“ as well as 3 Gold Lions for his “Uber Eats” campaign and Gold and Bronze for Apple “Action Mode”. In 2024 his Virgin Media Walrus film picked up Gold at Ciclope and the British Arrows; in 2025 he was awarded his second DGA.
His commercial work includes spots for further brands such as Telekom, Old Spice, Samsung, VW, Toyota, Amazon and Nike to name a few.