For nearly four decades, Craig Murray has played an instrumental role in the evolution of the modern motion picture marketing and creative advertising industries. Starting out in 1986 as Craig Murray Productions (CMP), the trailer company was initially known for its one-of-a-kind, 24/7 exclusivity partnership with Disney Studios. Through the years, Craig shepherded his firm’s unprecedented growth, eventually evolving into MOCEAN, now the entertainment industry’s largest independently owned creative agency. As Executive Chairman at MOCEAN, Craig leads a passionate team of 180+ creative, strategy, design and finishing specialists delivering integrated campaigns and original content production for many of the biggest movie, television, streaming, gaming, sports and consumer brands.
STARTING OUT CMP’s iconic early campaigns include The Lion King, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Color of Money, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Good Morning Vietnam, Aladdin, Dead Poets Society, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., The Santa Clause and Finding Nemo, among many others. In 1996, determined to broaden his agency’s scope beyond family films, Craig became the first Hollywood agency owner to open a satellite office–CMP/West–to handle edgier movie and TV titles geared towards teens and older audiences. Out of this groundbreaking move came multiple Key Art Award--winning campaigns ranging from Star Trek: Insurrection, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Napoleon Dynamite.
BUILDING A NEW BRAND In 2000, Murray expanded on his vision with the launch of MOCEAN. Beyond notable achievements such as 8 Mile, Snatch, and Shape of Water, MOCEAN has also created trailer and tv campaigns for many of Marvel’s all-time biggest blockbusters, including all three Avengers and all three Guardians of the Galaxy titles plus, most recently, Deadpool & Wolverine. MOCEAN has shot and produced original Clio-winning campaigns for God of War Ragnarök and PlayStation Playmakers video game launches, Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Netflix’s Cabinet of Curiosities, and FX’s American Horror Story and continued their decades-long Disney/Pixar collaboration with the massive box office openings for Wall-E, Up, Finding Dory, and Inside Out 2. Additionally, Craig was a founding partner of Picture Head, now the world’s largest post-production and finishing facility for entertainment marketing campaigns.
HELPING OTHERS With a passion for mentoring and nurturing young talent, Craig began the trailer industry’s longest-running paid student internship program in 1990, providing scores of students nationwide with hands-on training and a pathway to a career in entertainment. He and MOCEAN are staunch supporters of numerous social-minded LA nonprofits, including Chrysalis, A Place Called Home, Film2Future, Soapbox Women and School on Wheels. And, as a strong advocate for arts education, Craig has served as booster president of Burbank High’s nationally acclaimed vocal music program and is a past co-chair of the Burbank Arts for All Foundation.
ACCOLADES A 1976 advertising graduate of Michigan State University (MSU), Craig received the MSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2010. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and has served on the boards of Chrysalis in Los Angeles, the MSU College of Music National Leadership Council and the MSU Athletics Director Advisory Board. The new Murray Hall and Murray Family Terrace at Michigan State are named in honor of Craig and his family. And, in addition to the hundreds of awards the agency has earned through the years, MOCEAN was dubbed “Entertainment Agency of the Year” three times since 2015 and one of the “Best Places to Work for Innovators” by Fast Company in 2023.
PERSONAL Craig is a born-and-bred Midwesterner, growing up in the blue-collar Detroit suburb of Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Following creative stints at Walt Disney World in Orlando and BBDO in Atlanta, Craig moved to Burbank in 1980 to become Creator Director/Copy at Disney Studios. Today, he still resides in Burbank with his “superstar” wife, Lisa--as do their three “fabulous” daughters, Jessie, Courtney and Becca, plus two “terrific” sons-in-law and three “extra, extra, extra special” young grandkids.
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