Hasta La Creative!

Sen. Ted Cruz’s defiant act of political theater and a folksy parry by vice presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence helped goose the ratings for the third night of the Republican National Convention.

According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, Wednesday night’s convention coverage averaged 22.8 million viewers across ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC, up 15% versus the 19.8 million viewers who watched the corresponding night of the 2012 confab. In aggregate, the six networks posted a 5.7 rating in the news demo, which translates to around 6.65 million adults 25 to 54, up 8% compared with the 5.2 rating/6.18 million viewers who tuned in four years ago.

Deliveries also were up versus the previous night, which averaged 19.4 million viewers and 5.68 million demographically apposite viewers, or a 4.8 rating.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

With Fox News, Mr. Ailes changed and shaped what we talk about when we talk about news and government.

For years people have turned themselves into sprightly imps around the holiday season with OfficeMax’s beloved “Elf Yourself” app. On Thursday the Hillary Clinton campaign released its own version of the game, a Facebook app called “Trump Yourself” that slaps Trump’s insults on their profile photos.

An example on the Trump Yourself website, for example, shows a smiling Clinton backer’s photo covered with the words “Fat Pig! — Donald.” (Mr. Trump called Rosie O’Donnell a “fat pig” in 2009.) A profile photo of a gay voter might be altered to say, “Donald Trump doesn’t think I should be able to get married.”

“Hater and loser” is another option.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

On the pro-wrestler logic of last night’s speech.

21st Century Fox said Thursday that Roger Ailes is stepping down as the longtime chairman-CEO of Fox News Channel, the cable powerhouse he created for Rupert Murdoch in 1996 and has led ever since, putting a sudden and unexpected end to a long, influential reign.

Mr. Ailes’ departure had been reported as imminent in recent days, it was only two weeks ago that former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sparked the company investigation that led to his ouster by filing a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment. Mr. Ailes has denied the allegations.

Mr. Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox, will assume the role of chairman and acting CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, the company said.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

RK Venture launched a pair of 30-second spots as part of its “The Things I’ve Seen” driver safety PSA campaign for the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT).

Each spot shows the aftermath of a driving accident from the perspective of a medical professional. In “Physical Therapist,” a woman explains that she’s had to harden herself emotionally to perform her job. Still, it bothers her to see her patients suffer from injuries that could have been prevented by wearing a seatbelt. The spot, directed Sean Broughton and edited by Dan Maloney, switches from footage of the accident, in which a woman doesn’t wear a seatbelt and crashes into the windshield, to the physcial therapist working with the patient. “If you could see what I see,” she says, “you’d never drive unbuckled again.”

The approach combines more well-worn shock tactics with an appeal to authority. Unfortunately, the former gets pushed to extremes in the “Surgeon” anti-drunk driving spot, making it a good deal less effective than “Physical Therapist.”

“The final results deliver our message with stunning impact,” claims RK Venture owner, executive creative director Richard Kuhn. “Drinking and driving and not wearing a seatbelt all to often result in shattering consequences that can be avoided. I couldn’t be more pleased with what Sean Broughton and Dan Maloney brought to the table, and the finished spots.”

“The main focus of this edit was to strike a balance with the pacing–while still giving the stellar VFX shots room to breathe,” added Maloney. “The process was integrated and pretty seamless–working with Nick and Sean is always a pleasure.”

Credits:
Client: NMDOT

Agency: RK Venture
Broadcast Creative Director and Copywriter: Nick Tauro
Agency Principal and Executive Creative Director: Richard Kuhn

Production Company: HalfLife* Digital
Director: Sean Broughton
Producer: David Garcia
Director of Photography: Dean Mitchell

Editorial Company: Cut + Run
Editor: Dan Maloney
Assistant Editor: Nicole Berg
Executive Producer: Rana Martin
Head of Production: Julia Williams

Visual Effects: Jogger
Lead Artist & Online Editor: Sean Broughton
CG artist: Boaz Livny

Color Correct: MPC
Colorist: Adrian Seery

Audio Post: Sonic Union
Mixer: Brian Goodheart

Music Production & Sound Design: Finger Music
Composer/Arranger: Brian Englishman
Executive Producer: Ewa Miller
Sound Designer: Cameron Thompkins

Mr. Ailes, who had run the cable network since its inception, was cut loose after a sexual harassment suit filed by Gretchen Carson, a former Fox anchor.

Less than a month after naming Brent Anderson chief creative officer and Stephen Butler creative chairman, TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles has promoted two more members of its creative department to leadership roles.

Worldwide creative director Renato Fernandez will be an executive creative director and associate creative director Doug Menezes will be a CD, effective immediately. Both have been with the L.A. Gatorade team for several years.

“Renato Fernandez is an almost unparalleled benchmark of leadership and drive,” said Anderson. “For the last 5 years, I’ve toiled alongside Renato as he relentlessly guides, protects and mentors work that truly matters, and work that defines the soul of our brands.”

He added, “Doug Menezes has emerged over the past two years as leader of both concept and craft. His unique upbringing within the industry and recent work on Gatorade makes him a natural choice to help lead Gatorade and continue to involve the brand deeply in culture.”

The newly promoted creatives will help “guide” the department under Andersen with the help of two other recent additions to the TBWA team: ECD Linda Knight, who joined the team last November after more than a decade as a freelancer, and ECD/copywriter Matt Heath, who went to TBWA in March after spending time at Fallon, CAA, 72andSunny and (allegedly) HBO’s late, great Eastbound and Down. Heath currently works on Buffalo Wild Wings, but you may remember him from that time he pretended to sell a Chinese baby on Craigslist.

In 2011, Fernandez relocated to L.A. from Brazil, where he was a senior art director at AlmapBBDO for more than a decade (he also worked on Gatorade there). He then assumed leadership of the sports drink account in 2014 and got the worldwide creative director promotion last April, handling creative on such campaigns as the Derek Jeter “Made in New York” retirement spot.

Menezes, who also hails from Brazil, left his job as an associate design director at CP+B Miami to move to TBWA L.A. in 2013, moving from digital design director to ACD working on the Gatorade and Nixon watches accounts. He worked on the former’s 50th anniversary campaign and the more recent Usain Bolt showcase “Never Lose the Love.”

In addition to these creative moves, longtime group planning director Scott MacMaster was promoted to executive planning director for the Gatorade business last month.