About

Contact:

j.mcnew@mac.com | Phone: 314-606-3563

His full name is Joshua Benton-Dale McNew. Regal? Yes. Pretentious? Maybe.  Did he need that many names when he was born? No. Of course not. He was the first Joshua in his family, so there was no need to differentiate, but his family is primarily small-town folk and they probably thought a long name sounded fancy.  Joshua Benton-Dale McNew rejects the pomp and circumstance of his ridiculous amount of first names and just goes by Josh. He is a salt-of-the-earth everyman who allows his work rather than his name to define him.

Our hero, this simple farm boy from humble beginnings, began directing videos for the YouTube channel Vat19. His work there helped bring the page from 75k subscribers to over 3 million with over a billion views. During our hero’s tenure there, Forbes named Vat19 the number one branded YouTube channel. He made fun product featured videos with quirky humor, regularly featured on YouTube’s trending page. The majority of his work at Vat19 was done on a 6,000sq ft soundstage with sets, cycs, food, candy, beverages, toys and electronics. A far cry from the sharp stick, short piece of yarn, and muddy hole he was allowed to create with as a child.  But with all this technology at his fingertips and success under his belt did he rest on his laurels? No. Our hero pressed on.

After Vat19 he directed a St. Louis themed late-night talk show for television. STL Up Late was filmed in front of a live studio audience complete with a multi-camera set-up, a monologue, desk bits, interviews and sketch comedy. With Josh at the helm of a ragtag group of comedic misfits,  this show flourished into a must-see live comedy powerhouse in St. Louis that touted its own unique brand of comedy. Most men would have hung their hats on this much success, but our humble hero is not cut from the same cloth as average men. He left this comedic juggernaut behind to seek new challenges.

Since then, he has won two Emmys with the bulk of his recent adventures spanning broadcast commercials, branded entertainment, pre-roll ads, in-feed video content and everything in between for brands like Amazon, Purina, Toyota, Energizer, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Budweiser, Panera Bread, The Discovery Channel, HGTV and Fox Sports - to name a few.  

And now our humble farm boy with too many names-turned-conquering media giant waits for his next great adventure.  He sits alone on his office chair throne staring into the distance of the autographed Patrick Swayze headshot that hangs on his office wall. Silent, stoic, relishing a chance to collaborate and awaiting a new challenge worthy of his talents.  To hire him, whisper his full name three times while staring into a mirror and blowing into a magical conch shell. Or shoot him an email. Yeah, do that. That is way easier.