Someone took all the pins out of Martial Vincent's voodoo doll. Now, curse-free and cruising, Voodoo Arts is establishing itself as a choice destination for u.s. and Canadian productions alike.

Voodoo president Vincent speaks with excitement about the progress the Montreal company has made in the past year.

A pioneer in Montreal's "Cite Multi-Media," Voodoo has parlayed a $750,000 Quebec government tax credit and $1.6 million in funding from TD Financial Group into a leadership role in the Quebec production scene.

The fresh capital has allowed Voodoo to take its one-stop-shop concept to an expanded market. Voodoo can take a production all the way from live-action shoot to post-production. And according to Vincent, "It's very sexy."

He elaborates: "They [agencies] can get all they want at the same place with one executive producer. So for the agency, it's more simple. We are the only business like this in Canada."

According to Vincent, a first-place prize at this month's international Mobius Advertising Awards plays into the company strategy.

"Winning this prize is a push to continue in the same way. It's a vision, it's a new, integrated, hybrid company. There is a future [for this type of organization]. And people like it," says Vincent.

Voodoo took the prize for a pair of 60-second spots ("Negotiator" and "Astronaut") it had produced for Interim, a major u.s. job-placement firm. Voodoo won in the services, training, education and recruiting category.

The "Negotiator" spot features an office worker ready to take a dive from the window of his office building. An Interim career counselor convinces him she can turn his career around and saves his life.

A man in full space gear is the subject of the "Astronaut" spot. Slow and spacey, the commercial follows the man around his office job while making it clear outer-space is where he really belongs.

"It was a huge production," says Vincent. "We shot it all in Montreal but you can see it only in the United States or on cnn or The Learning Channel."

Sure to be honored at the award presentation in Chicago on Feb. 9, is Interim agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky Design, based in Miami. Also receiving accolades are director Eddy Chu and executive producer Barry Bittle.

Including Chu, Voodoo has also announced the addition of five directors to its roster for exclusive representation in Quebec.

Currently, Voodoo is working on a series of McDonald's spots for Cossette Communication-Marketing. Also, D'arcy (dmb&b New York) mandated the Montreal firm to produce commercials for Swiffer house cleaning products.

With confidence, Vincent concludes, "we're very proud to have won a Mobius award, an honor that confirms our staff's talent and expertise and stimulates us to further develop our business, both in Quebec and in other markets."

New directors include: Chu (Salvation Army, Panasonic, Cineplex Odeon); Steve Gordon (Ford, TD Bank, Tropicana); Philip Kates (Coca-Cola, Pillsbury, Pizza Pops); Mark Mainguy (Eveready, fila, Chrysler, Toyota, General Mills, Pepcid ac); and Martin Shewchuk ("Buster" for Bell).