72andSunny Amsterdam Signs Harkness as ECD

Stuart Harkness, formerly a creative director at Wieden+Kennedy’s Portland headquarters, has been hired to serve as co-ECD at 72andSunny Amsterdam.

In the new role, Harkness will lead the agency’s creative department along with fellow ECD Carlo Cavallone, another Wieden veteran who joined 72 in 2010 as the agency beefed up its creative team (he previously worked on Nike, Heineken, Coca-Cola, etc. at W+K’s Amsterdam office).

After spending more than seven years as a copywriter at TBWA London, Harkness served as CD at both W+K London and W+K Portland, where he worked on campaigns for Nike, Honda, Powerade and Facebook; his headshot tells us he’s already made the move back to Europe.

Harkness has a colorful portfolio, and he’s given to creative block quotes like this one:

“72andSunny Amsterdam have done an amazing job assembling a brilliantly diverse bunch of talent and a client list that would turn David Banner green with envy. There’s a palpable energy and the Amsterdam office is poised to do groundbreaking work, in any market. Carlo is also a seriously smart cookie who cares not just about creating provocative ideas but nurturing the people who make them in the process.”

Cavallone tries to top him by going literary:

“We are extremely excited to have Stu joining us. He brings a lot of experience to this place, a very unique take on creativity and a dedication to his job that can rival Captain Ahab’s. His long track record of amazing work combined with his very tall figure will definitely contribute to him becoming a new point of reference for this company.”

72 Amsterdam recently surprised many by beating AXE’s agency of record BBH in a review to win project-based work for every teenage pervert’s favorite deodorant brand. Its most recent work includes an ongoing campaign for Carlsberg.

 

72andSunny Brings Back ‘If Carlsberg Did…’

72andSunny Amsterdam revived Danish lager brand Carlsberg’s “If Carlsberg did…” strapline following a four-year hiatus, with a new spot called “If Carsberg did Supermarkets…”

The 40-second broadcast spot imagines (as you might have guessed) what it would look like if Carlsberg did a supermarket. The result, of course, is “probably the best in the world.” Carlsberg’s version of the supermarket includes a lot of powertools and musical instruments, along with an entire row dedicated to the beer. A man peruses the aisles with a shopping list that includes only two items: eggs and beer (the essentials). The spot will also run in 30, 60 and 80-second versions and will be supported by print, digital and social elements. Something about the goofy tone and accompanying strapline still work really well for the brand, so much so that you have to wonder why they retired it in the first place.

“If Carlsberg did… was a meme before meme’s existed and has remained as key internet parlance,” Nic Owen, managing director, 72andSunny Amsterdam, told The Drum. “We’re super excited about making the most of it in a day and age it’s perfectly suited for.”

 

72andSunny Speaks French, Explores Marseille for Google Stories

How’s your Google experience? You know, the immersive multimedia one.

If you’ve ever had an uncontrollable urge to wander the streets of Marseille after dark without leaving the comfort of your own couch/balance ball/bean bag chair, then you’re in luck: 72andSunny Amsterdam collaborated with the “don’t be evil” guys for this “making of” promo for new Stories/Maps feature “Night Walk.”

Now turn your subtitles on…

The walk itself is nothing if not extensive, leading Francophiles on a tour of 34 area hotspots in the company of a diverse cast including stray cats, street musicians, and enough graffiti tags to fill a portfolio.

Credits after the jump are in English.

continued…

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