Nov 17

FCB Issues Mandate Requiring That 75% of 2018 Cannes Attendees Are Creatives

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It’s now been four days since the Cannes Lions makeover, and agencies around the world are still asking, what does this mean for meeeeee???

The answers are starting to come in. For FCB, it means stricter guidelines on who will go to Cannes next year.

FCB worldwide CEO Carter Murray sent out the following memo to all FCB staff yesterday.

Earlier this week, the organization that owns Cannes Lions announced extensive changes in an effort to refocus the Festival on its creative roots. Over the last few months, CCOs across IPG – including our own Susan Credle – have worked hard to share with Cannes leadership our pain points and suggestions for Festival improvement. While the changes announced Monday don’t address all our concerns, it signals a strong step in the right direction.

FCB has always believed in this Festival and strongly feels that our presence this year should reflect our commitment to creativity. As such, we are mandating that 75% of our 2018 attendees will be talent who are directly responsible for our creative output (writers, art directors, designers, producers, etc.).

As Susan and I have said before, creativity is the heart of our industry. Each year, Cannes Lions reminds the world of this. We are proud to be long-standing partners with the Festival in this important mission, and we look forward to making 2018 our best Cannes yet.

Best as always,

Carter

FCB executives didn’t elaborate on the note. But one industry veteran speaking on background stated that this would not be a dramatic departure from the makeup of past Cannes teams and that the employees who opt out of the festival this year will probably be executives.

A couple of points to note: Murray’s memo seems to imply that the FCB organization doesn’t think these changes went far enough but doesn’t get specific. One source called the changes “confusing” and predicted that next summer’s Cannes parties won’t be quite crazy as those in past years. Of course, the Gutter Bar will still be open.

It’s also notable that WPP and Sir Martin Sorrell, who seemed to be driving the conversation about Cannes in the first place, have not said anything about the announcements. This despite the fact that, according to an email chain published by Adweek in September, the holding company was not particularly happy with Cannes parent company Ascential.

But then Publicis Groupe seems satisfied, so all is good with the world.

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Nov 16

Lunch 2.0 Launches with All-Female Creative Leadership Team

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Executive producer Amy Miranda founded Toronto-based creative services company Lunch in 2009, following stints at TAXI and Grip Limited, offering advertising, marketing and content production services. Lunch has worked with brands including Paramount Pictures, Red Bull, Clorox of Canada, Brita Canada, Pee-wee Herman and Nickelodeon, as well as a number of agencies.

Now Miranda is launching Lunch 2.0 with an all-female creative leadership team.

In addition to Miranda, the leadership team includes: documentary filmmaker, writer, and educator Chanda? ?Chevannes as factual content lead; Natalie? ?Urquhart, who worked as an associate producer on NBCUniversal’s Suits, joins as narrative content lead; executive producer Jen Mete will serve as integrated and experiential lead; Stripe & Crane Consulting founder, managing director Elaine Li joins as strategy and media lead; painter Sasha Pierce will serve as fine art lead, Tornto based artist Irene? ?Angelopoulos will serve as illustration and animation lead and Gloria? ?Ui? ?Young? ?Kim and Avery? ?Plewes will both serve as creative leads.

“Lunch is almost 9 years old and part of the model has been really being agile and being able to reinvent ourselves and form almost like Voltron around our clients based on what they need,” Miranda said in a statement. “However, this year was different, for a number of reasons. A lot of systems are proving to be ineffective in the world right now. Right down to capitalism and how businesses are run, and the political climate has definitely had an impact on how everyone is feeling, so I noticed it was taking a toll on our creators, both women and men.”

“We have always done business differently and been transparent with how we work, but I think a lot of things were spelled out this year. The inequality, the lack of diversity, the issues with the standard model of business. Advertising has always been a business that has been male dominant and this year I started to really notice it more and more, and it caused me to look at what we do, and how we do it. Same goes for the business side,” she added. “I started to think about the whole model. How could I adjust to not only give more women more opportunity but how could I also change the model to benefit the creators making the magic happen.”

“I’ve had a lot of relationships with female creative leadership, but I’ve always been the one at the helm at Lunch. So I started to look at my own teams and whether I was doing the best I could, and I realized I could do better,” Miranda added. “However I’ve also always been a huge supporter of being transparent and fair with our teams and creators…So not only did I want to reinvent the model to do what I could to lead the charge with putting an all female leadership team together to lead different verticals, I also wanted to make the model more attractive because with talent there’s attrition. ”

In addition to its all-female leadership team, Miranda said that the new model also provides senior creatives and leadership “the ability to benefit from the work they attract and bring in. I was compelled to put a stake in the ground, not just for us but for the industry. To say, here’s a way to do it. I felt a compulsion to do something that would hopefully inspire others to think the same way.”

“I also wanted to do something about the amount of creative content being produced for women, that is not being produced by women. Sometimes women aren’t even touching the work yet it’s being made for them as consumers,” she added.

Lunch 2.0 also includes a “code of conduct on the #MeToo movement,” of which Miranda said, “I am a survivor myself and do work with women recovering so it was also a personal commitment from me, that I was going to provide a safe space for everyone. Our male collaborators have been incredibly supportive, when I shared with them what I was planning to do, their response was ‘Great!’.”

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Nov 15

Let’s Discuss the Many Problems with JWT’s New ‘Female-Focused’ Consultancy

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Today JWT London announced that it has launched a full consultancy service helping brands connect with women. This is problematic for a few reasons, at least one of which is obvious.

18 months ago, the JWT team led by group planning head Rachel Pashley released a thesis based on the “Female Tribes” project, which interviewed several thousand women aged 18-70 to develop a “Women’s Index Study.”

The problems start to emerge when considering the group’s findings: most participants said there’s “never been a better time to be a woman,” that they feel empowered by their careers and that femininity is seen as a positive rather than a negative.

Keep in mind that this is all in a workplace context and ask yourself whether the same might apply to the company conducting this study.

Here’s how Pashley described the new offering to Fast Company:

Since we launched, clients have come to us asking for our insights and advice. We haven’t had to seek them out. And much of the work we were doing was moving upstream into business design and insight, so it made sense formalize this into a full consultancy offering.

Do you look at women through blunt demographics or attitudes and aspirations?

We should say that the research behind this effort is real and that the project started before news of Erin Johnson’s lawsuit against the agency went public.

That said, many women both within and beyond the ad business have taken a very clear message from the legal teams representing JWT, its parent company and its former CEO: tread very carefully. In the meantime, Gustavo Martinez is talking about his boss Sir Martin in Spain while he works on “re-creating the company itself.”

Today Digiday ran a story about why women don’t report harassment at agencies that included the following line: “Almost everyone Digiday spoke to for this story brought up the Gustavo Martinez case as one reason they won’t put their names to their experiences.”

We have heard the same thing from multiple people. And why wouldn’t they come to that conclusion?

A few current and former JWT employees have expressed their anger about the way the Johnson case has been handled. And many can’t say anything publicly because they signed NDAs.

The primary issue, though, is that the company now claims to help marketers reach women around the world more directly while female professionals within its own industry name it as the primary example of why they hesitate to speak up on sexual harassment issues.

At this point it doesn’t really matter whether that was intentional or not. It is certainly not a great look for a business selling its ability to speak for professional women as consumers.

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Nov 14

JWT Vets Launch Juliet in Toronto

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Former JWT Toronto chief creative officer Ryan Spelliscy (pictured right) is launching an independent agency in Toronto called Juliet, along with co-founder, head of art Denise Cole (pictured left) and co-founder, chief strategy officer Sarah Stringer (pictured center).

“Juliet doesn’t need to be your full service anything,” Spelliscy, who will serve as Juliet’s chief creative officer, said in a statement. “We’re a tap made up of creative strategists, writers, designers, producers, media planners and other rebellious minds, that attaches to your existing infrastructure. Our one true love is creative-thinking.”

“We don’t believe that any one place can do everything well,” he added. “For example, analytics isn’t our speciality. But we have huge respect for it. So we partner with the best player in that field rather than try to be them.”

Spelliscy spent the past four years at JWT Toronto, serving as senior vice president, executive creative director and then chief creative officer. Before joining JWT he spent a year with BBDO Toronto as an associate creative director, followed by nearly two years as co-creative director for Sid Lee Toronto.

Stringer explained that the agency’s name was inspired by a certain Shakespeare character.

“Juliet was a badass who had the conviction to chase what could be over what’s always been,” she said in a statement. “We can relate because we believe a lot of what’s always been in the advertising industry should be left behind. If we want to connect with human beings, we need to tell more interesting stories, in more interesting places, and add real value to their lives. Helping brands reach their true potential requires solving challenges beyond the walls of traditional marketing departments.”

Stringer most recently served as vice president, human insights and brand strategy at Tornto consultancy Jackman Reinvents, following around a year and a half as vice president, strategic planning director at JWT Toronto. Prior to that she spent a year as director of strategy for KBS+ Toronto and has previously worked in account supervisor and account director roles with Ogilvy & Mather New York and BBH New York, working with clients including Kraft, AT&T, Unilver and Levi’s.

Cole arrives following nearly four and a half years with JWT Toronto, as art director and associate creative director. Prior to joining JWT she served as an art director with TBWAToronto for over four and a half years, working with brands including Visa, Energizer, Nissan, Infiniti, Whiskas and Yellow Tail.

Juliet also launches with Susan Holden as chief financial officer. Holden spent nearly five and a half years as chief financial officer for Mother New York, where she also ran a venture investments profile. She went on to serve as a member of the Hillary for America Finance Committee and then served as chief financial officer for experiential agency Midnight Commercial and Lone Mountain Wagyu. She also happens to be a two-time Emmy nominee.

“I think the fact that our CFO has been nominated for two Emmys tells you just how committed we are about having creative thinking permeate all aspects of this company,” Cole said in a statement. “No one really knows what questions tomorrow will bring, but the answers will always be found in creativity. We believe that with all of our heart. Even if it kills us.”

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Nov 13

Here’s Yet Another Scathing Spoof of the Modern Ad Agency from Portal A and Adweak

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Ad agencies are maybe possibly sometimes a little ridiculous. But you clicked on this blog, so you didn’t need us to tell you that.

Take it from the anonymous “young” person who spoke to Digiday about the culture at his/her agency for a post today:

We play nice, but we’re in a catty environment. Nobody wants to help each other. As an industry, we’re always at each other’s throats, or at least at each other’s collarbones. There is a culture of gossip that’s hurtful. Agency people are incestuous. The gossip follows people around. There are people who go to eight agencies in five years and come out with negative stories. People are real assholes.

Well that one hit close to home. Thankfully, there is a whole subset of agencies that take the time to produce pieces specifically making fun of their own business beyond all those Ad Council shorts. One of them is Portal A. The L.A. and S.F. digital studio does work for real clients, most notably its annual YouTube “Rewind” series, but in our minds it is still best known for its spoof of the Dove Real Beauty campaign from four years ago.

The latest in its Ad Hoc series (which started with the Dove video) is a self-explanatory collaboration with our friends at Adweak titled “Genius at Work: Inside the World of Modern Advertising.”
“We work with brands all the time, but AdHoc has been our chance to take a step back and have some fun with the absurdity of the ad industry,” said Portal A co-founder and executive producer Nate Houghteling. “AdWeak was the perfect match for us because they’re doing the same thing but with a different angle. Luckily for both of us, there’s plenty of nonsense to go around.”

See, they only poke fun because they’ve been through it themselves.

The Adweak team’s deep cynicism comes from years in the trenches, and we have little doubt that the good people at Portal A have spent more than one afternoon trying to come up with a good hashtag for a soap brand … or a hotel chain, or a tablet, or a bunch of little emoji-like things that Twitter used to make its service more exciting to people who aren’t 45-year-old journalists obsessing over the latest White House press conference.

For more of the same, Canada’s Strategy calls on the top agencies north of the border each year to create their own parodies of the ad business. Here’s BBDO on adding shits to your sheets.

One thing we would like to ask some of these unnamed spoof specialist agencies: why don’t you share your client work? Like, the stuff that pays your bills. Are you embarrassed by your day jobs, or what?

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Nov 13

Publicis Acquires New York’s Harbor Picture Company, Doubling Down on Production Work

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Publicis Groupe has seen the future, and it looks increasingly like production and post-production work.

Last week, the network announced that it has acquired Harbor Picture Company, a New York-based studio that works on film, TV and commercial projects. Moving forward, that operation will become part of Prodigious, the holding company’s in-house production unit.

Publicis North America CEO Andrew Bruce announced the news in an internal email last week. The specifics of the deal were not disclosed.

“Prodigious, the cross-media production platform of Publicis Communications has acquired HARBOR, a New York based production company specializing in high-end, talent-driven production and post-production for feature films, episodic series and commercial communications,” said a Publicis spokesperson. “Prodigious is driving to build the premiere global creative production and post-production network.”

Harbor Pictures is a seven year-old company that has worked primarily with fashion brands on the commercial side, based on its Vimeo page.

Prodigious officially launched in 2013 as a consolidation of Publicis-wide print, digital and video production entities. At the time, it was framed as a way to further separate the creative and production aspects of the holding company’s work.

The production division is also part of the larger Publicis Communications unit announced by future CEO Arthur Sadoun back in January 2016, which includes all of the creative agencies within the network (Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBH, etc.)

Since then, PG has taken several steps to grow the global footprint of Prodigous while expanding its offering. For example, Prodigious offices recently opened in India and Vietnam, and in August it acquired the language services company Translate Plus.

The underlying goal here is to reduce overall expenses by handling more of the production work in-house. Production and post-production is, by many accounts, the most profitable element of the entire agency equation, and holding companies aim to boost those totals. As analyst Brian Weiser put it back in 2013, all the major groups have “placed a heightened emphasis on the production decoupling business as well,” estimating that they can save 20-30 percent of total expenses via “labor arbitrage” or outsourcing the work.

In short, the competition between the Big Five holding companies to own a greater share of the production and post-production work on all their agencies’ campaigns continues apace.

[Image via]

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Nov 10

CP+B Is Shrinking Its Los Angeles Office

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CP+B’s Los Angeles division is reducing the amount of space occupied within its Santa Monica offices and moving into a smaller location within the same building, an agency spokesperson confirmed today.

The new, smaller footprint will also include the area that has been used to house its editorial studios.

“We love the space and location of the L.A. office, but it has actually always been bigger than we needed,” CP+B L.A. managing director Ryan Skubic explained. “We’re a collaborative culture that thrives on being close together, so we are paring down the space to fit our needs.”

The agency has declined to elaborate on the specific reasons for the move, though a source with direct knowledge of the matter claimed that it was intended “to make more efficient use of the space” and was not related to any loss of business.

The global Infiniti account had been headquartered in L.A. before the car brand moved those responsibilities to 72andSunny over the summer. CP+B retained the U.S. portion of the business, parts of which remain in L.A.

The office continues to work with clients like PayPal, and Hulu did appoint CP+B as its creative agency partner earlier this month.

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Nov 09

The Martin Agency, TBWA and W+K Vets Launch Arts & Letters Creative Co.

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Last week, founder and executive creative director Charles Hodges launched Arts & Letters Creative Co. in Richmond, Virginia, with Google as a launch client, along with veterans of The Martin Agency and W+K, and VCU Brandcenter alums.

“We owe a lot to that place,” Hodges told Richmond BizSense, referring to the school. “It has a rich tradition of creating world-class thinkers and problem solvers, and that had a lot to do with our decision to start it in Richmond.”

“We’re constantly focused on the problem at hand and trying to fail early, versus trying to be right,” Hodges told the publication of the agency’s approach. “It’s much more focused on the end-user and the end-audience than on the exact media we’d be trying to fill. If it ends up being an advertising campaign, that’s great; if it ends up being something that’s more outside the traditional media landscape, even better.”

He added that Arts & Letters is “extremely focused on our flagship client at the moment.”

Before launching the agency, Hodges spent nearly three years with TBWAMedia Arts Lab as creative director and then group creative director, following a little over a year as creative lead for Google Lab. Prior to joining Google, he spent nearly three and a half years as a copywriter with W+K New York, working with brands including Nike, Brand Jordan, ESPN, Heineken and Delta.

The leadership team also includes managing director Rich Weinstein, Letitia Jacobs, Katie Hoak, Ian Fairbrother and Andy Grayson.

Weinstein and Jacobs arrive from The Martin Agency, where Weinstein served as a group account director and Jacobs as executive producer.

Business director Katie Hoak and creative director Ian Fairbrother are W+K New York veterans. There, Hoak spent over five years in roles as an account executive, account supervisor and management supervisor, and Fairbrother spent a year and a half as a senior creative before joining MullenLowe as an associate creative director in October of 2016.

Director of strategy Andy Grayson is a veteran of GS&P, where he served separate stints as brand strategy director and head of brand strategy, and W+K Portland, where he spent three years as group strategy director on Nike.

Much of the rest of the agency’s staff (it counts 14 employees on LinkedIn) is made up of VCU Brandcenter grads.

“I think the general belief is that the big idea is very much alive, but it may not take 500 people to bring it to life anymore,” Hodges told Richmond BizSense. “That being said, we’re having a lot of conversations with a lot of people and are expecting more additions very soon.”

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Nov 07

Spotlight On NW Creative: PB& Aims High With A Unique Agency Model

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Usually when you hear about ad agency veterans opening up their own shop, the principals consist of someone with a copywriting background, someone with an art direction background, and someone with an account management background. But Seattle’s PB& isn’t structured that way — and that’s proving to be an effective move. Founded in 2016 by […]

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Nov 02

How To Promote Price Over and Over Without Missing A Beat

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GEICO is a heavy advertiser. The Berkshire-Hathaway owned insurance company drops a lot of money into the TV advertising bucket every year because they see a return on investment. That’s the way of Warren. Thankfully, GEICO’s ad agency, The Martin Agency in Richmond, VA continues to find new and different ways to pitch and amuse […]

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Oct 31

IPG’s Michael Roth Issues All-Staff Memo Promising to Protect Employees Who Report Harassment

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CEO and chairman Michael Roth of IPG appeared to be the first holding company leader to respond to a wave of sexual harassment complaints currently upending the worlds of media and entertainment.

Today Roth sent a memo to all employees around the world encouraging them to report incidents of harassment and promising that whistleblowers will not be punished in retaliation.

The note was less an announcement than a statement of solidarity with IPG’s 50,000-plus employees, as Roth did not indicate any policy changes.

Perhaps most significantly, he promised that IPG would maintain a “zero-tolerance policy against retaliation” against those who come forward. He did not, however, make clear how the organization would follow through.

Some may read this as a response to the case of Erin Johnson, whose lawyers compared her to “a student waiting to be punished outside the principal’s office” in a November 2016 filing arguing that JWT had punished her for suing the agency and its now-former CEO Gustavo Martinez. WPP’s law firm of Davis & Gilbert had previously called her claims “incomprehensible,” arguing that “it is hard to imagine a scenario that would be less retaliatory than that presented by the facts here.”

Here’s the full email that went out this morning.

memo from Michael Roth
 

We have all been reading about the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, including in the ad industry. It is therefore an important time to re-emphasize that one of our core values at IPG is to ensure that all employees can enjoy workplaces that are respectful and supportive. This is about more than violations of local laws – we strive to support a higher standard of inclusion.

Know that IPG has a zero-tolerance policy for all types of harassment and in fact, it’s part of our Code of Conduct and our standard policies and procedures as detailed in SP&P 400.

Sexual harassment isn’t limited to its most obvious forms – such as making inappropriate advances. It also includes any unwelcome verbal or physical behavior that creates a hostile work environment. You should not be subject to any such behavior by anyone that you come into contact with as part of your job – colleagues, managers, suppliers or clients. And the prohibitions are not limited to the office – they apply to off-site events and social gatherings – anywhere that you are with your colleagues or business partners.

To help ensure that our employees are familiar with our policies surrounding harassment, we will soon be launching a mandatory online anti-harassment course in the U.S.

If you have been the subject of sexual harassment or if you see behavior that runs counter to an inclusive, respectful workplace, report it to a member of management, human resources, or the legal department. You can do so without fear of reprisal as we also have a zero-tolerance policy against retaliation, and will take steps to protect you. You may also anonymously contact the IPG AlertLine at 1-800-828-0896 if you are located in the U.S. If you wish to make a call to the AlertLine from a location outside the U.S., visithttp://inside.interpublic.com, and click on the box for the AlertLine on the homepage. We will investigate any complaint as thoroughly and confidentially as possible, and any violations of our policy will be dealt with appropriately.

Ultimately, we all perform best and serve our clients most effectively when we operate in an environment free from harassment and where behavior to the contrary will not be tolerated. We appreciate your cooperation in helping to ensure that IPG is always such a place.

Michael Roth
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, IPG
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Oct 28

Publicis Health Integrates Publicis LifeBrands Medicus Into Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness

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Today, Publicis Health announced the integration of Publicis LifeBrands Medicus (PLBM) into Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness (SSW), effective immediately.

All employees of PLBM moved into the headquarters of the latter organization at 355 Park Avenue South today. A spokesperson clarified that the move is an integration, not a merger, and that no staffing reductions took place as a result.

Moving forward, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness managing director JD Cassidy will hold the same role in the new organization, which will also bear the SSW name. This change applies only to North America, and the PLBM brand will live on in Japan.

According to a press release, the combined entity will create a new “Wellness Intelligence-driven agency designed to help health and wellness-oriented audiences navigate the expanding ‘Wellness Culture.’”

The move follows Publicis consolidating Publicis Life Brands Medicus and Digitas Health LifeBrands last year.

“Healthcare professionals, caregivers and patient-consumers are empowered and engaged in well-being like never before, and healthcare communication needs to keep pace in order to help change behavior and improve lives,” global group president, communications and media, Publicis Health Alexandra von Plato explained in a statement. “By combining PLBM’s expertise in the professional space with SSW’s executional excellence and data and creative prowess, we can leverage the best of both brands to make a creative and strategic powerhouse that continues to exceed client expectations and motivate people to action.”

According to a press release, “wellness culture,” or consumers increasing concern with the impact of their consumption habits on their bodies and the environment has contributed to a wellness industry that grew 11 percent last year to total of over $3.7 trillion. Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness will be responsible for creating “work that helps brands and people navigate their way through this evolving phenomenon.”

“Wellness Culture is increasingly becoming an important factor in society and in communications,” added Publicis Health global chief creative officer Kathy Delaney. “Wellness Intelligence gives us the ability to harness the power of scientific storytelling to translate complex, abstract medical or scientific ideas into simple, motivating human terms, thereby making creative that resonates on a personal, human level.”

“The consolidation of PLBM and SSW lets us create brands within health and wellness that are more responsive to consumer needs, resonate in today’s Wellness Culture, and over-perform in the marketplace,” added Cassidy. “I look forward to taking the new SSW to the next level.”

According to the spokesperson, additional leadership changes should be announced in coming weeks.

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Oct 25

Marcus Mariota Is On The Money

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Tennessee Titans star (and former Oregon Ducks star) Marcus Mariota might take chances on the football field, but when it comes to managing his money, he avoids Hail Marys. In this new spot for First Hawaiian Bank, conceived by Honolulu agency MVNP and directed by Accomplice Media’s Stephen Pearson, the Hawaii native and his personal […]

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Oct 19

We Have A Big Fat Platform Problem

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Fake news is such an innocent term. The fact that it masks what it really is—propaganda—seems to get lost in the equation. Nevertheless, what does “fake news” actually look like? It looks like this: Sadly, fake news, a.k.a. propaganda is not innocent, nor does it exist in a bubble. According to Bloomberg, Russian meddling is […]

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Oct 17

Why Chandelier Asks Creatives to ‘Make Something’ Beyond Their Portfolios When Applying for Jobs

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So you’ve heard of Chandelier Creative, the New York indie shop best known for its Old Navy campaignsm, its holiday parties and that time founder and creative director Richard Christiansen decided to take all 42 of his employees to Japan.

Or maybe you haven’t. Anyway, a creative looking to make a change recently sent his or her resume and portfolio over and received a somewhat surprising response.

Here’s the auto-reply that interested parties receive after contacting the agency’s career line. It’s pretty much identical to the copy on the “join us” page.

Thanks for your interest in Chandelier Creative.

We’re always excited to meet new people who will challenge and inspire us. We love big thinkers and rule breakers. We don’t believe in sensible shoes or casual Fridays. We don’t care where you went to school or who you know. Be sharp, smart, and social. And be ready to give the middle finger to average work.

If you’re curious about joining the team, make something to show us how and why*. Please don’t just send us a resume or portfolio. We want you to use your two hands, and think conceptually.

*no food or perishables, please

Please note your return address, and send packages to:

Chandelier Creative, Attn: Recruiter
611 Broadway
Penthouse Suite 900
New York, NY 10012

We’re looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Sincerely,

The Chandelier Team

So, basically, impress us. We personally can’t say exactly how common this approach is, but the individual who reached out was clearly annoyed.

We contacted the agency, and Christiansen said that the whole submission thing is not really required. It’s more of a helpful suggestion to (presumably) help better filter the wheat from the chaff.

“Chandelier Creative, as an agency and design studio, appreciates bold artistic choices. We cherish artists with fresh voices and fearless originality,” he wrote. “One way to find those people is by letting them speak to their own vision and express their creativity within the application process itself. In many instances we’ve hired unrivaled talent on account of a customized application submission.”

Christiansen continued: “There can be a rigidity and monotony to the usual application process, and we hope that our policy is viewed by prospective applicants as an opportunity to create and distinguish themselves in a competitive industry. We’ve received submissions in a vast array of formats, and have learned about the creative mind of the applicant in the process. We’ve been delighted, surprised and challenged.”

He also clarified again that this isn’t meant to make the whole process more difficult.

“I hope no-one views this policy as burdensome, as it is entirely optional, and designed to be the opposite,” he noted. “From the letters I’ve read and submissions I’ve reviewed, artists are usually thrilled by the challenge and satisfied by the prompt to do what they do best—create.”

OK, now we want to know about the craziest things people have mailed his way.

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Oct 17

TBWA U.K. Employee Trolls Breitbart, Eric Trump and Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyer, Losing His Job in the Process

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So, did you hear the one about the guy who trolled top White House officials and convinced the editors of Breitbart that he was Steve Bannon?

Some agency folks may be proud to learn that it was one of their own.

A couple of weeks ago, Wired revealed the name of the self-described “Email Prankster” behind the Twitter account SINON_REBORN: he is designer James Linton. Over the weekend, The Daily Mail also published an exclusive interview naming his employer of the past six years, TBWAManchester.

The latter story came after Linton achieved his latest success: convincing high-powered attorney Lisa Bloom that he was former client Harvey Weinstein right after she officially stopped representing him. This thread earned responses not only from Bloom herself but also from former Obama administration communications director Anita Dunn and lawyer Lanny Davis of Clinton-era fame. And all for a mail.com address.

The number of people Linton has trolled is quite impressive. He convinced the editor of Breitbart to discuss a “conspiracy” involving the “evil” Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, got short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci to compare a person who he thought was Reince Priebus to Othello, and convinced Kushner’s own lawyer that he was the president’s son-in-law concerned over “adult material” involving “half naked women on a trampoline.”

In his interviews with The Washington Post and The Daily Mail, Linton emphasized how easy it was to fool so many people including Eric Trump, Russian ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr., White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders and homeland security advisor Tom Bossert.

From the Daily Mail piece:

“It’s a bit worrying how easy it is to fool these people; Eric Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kushner’s lawyer, all highly-paid, powerful people who let their guard down and divulge confidential information. Imagine if I had more sinister intentions. I’m not some hacker sat at his computer at night—I’m just a guy who found an email address online and thought I’d have a laugh.”

Indeed, he simply guessed at these individuals’ email addresses and used the barely-believable mail.com URL.

At any rate, he no longer works for TBWA. According to the Mail, he quit his job at the Manchester office after his bosses suspended him because they (correctly?) guessed that he was trolling at work.

…and now he would appreciate a donation.

A TBWA spokesperson declined to comment on the case. We also contacted the man himself via his open DMs and will update this story if and when we hear from him.

(That’s Kushner’s official government headshot, by the way.)

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Oct 13

Austrian Agency Dresses Man in Shark Costume to Protest ‘Burqa Ban,’ Scores Fine and Free Media Coverage

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Protests are all the rage, but they rarely include anthropomorphic “furry” costumes. A recent incident in Austria was different.

Earlier this year, the country implemented a law called “Prohibition for the Covering of the Face,” colloquially known as the “burqa ban.”

If that sounds a bit weird, consider that Austrians came close to electing a far-right presidential candidate last year. The government later insisted on passing the ban even though it will only affect the estimated 0.03% percent of Austrian Muslim women who choose to cover their faces in public, or a grand total approximately 150 citizens.

Lots of Austrians were not too happy about it, and Vienna-based agency Warda Network decided to make a very public point about how ridiculous this law is … by dressing some dude up as a shark.

Here’s an image from the agency’s own Facebook page.

Why a shark? Turns out this was both a social statement and a stunt to help promote client McShark, which operates a chain of electronics retail stores.

A Warda spokesperson calls it “a simple but effective strategy to expose the absurdity of the new law while at the same time us[ing] the gained attention” to score media coverage for McShark.

“At the opening of the new McShark Store an employee was dressed up as a shark to dance on the street and animate pedestrians to enter the store,” the rep said.

Someone called the cops, and three officers quickly arrived to tell the man to remove his shark mask. He refused to do so and was subsequently fined.

According to Al-Jazeera, the Vienna police later issued a statement on Twitter indicating that they are tasked with enforcing the law that one James Anderson did indeed violate.

“Generally, it is allowed to wear disguises or covering for artistic, cultural or traditional events, as well as for professional practice,” the statement read. “This particular case is currently being examined within the framework of administrative penal proceedings.”

Creative director Jakob Kattner later told the Washington Post that the agency would not appeal the fine, acknowledging that Shark Man had violated the law and adding, “He was dressed as a stuffed animal and not as a terrorist.”

It’s not clear whether Anderson, who lives in Dublin, is a Warda employee … or whether the agency called police to ensure the success of its own stunt.

We also find it kind of amusing that reports about the incident can’t seem to decide whether Warda is a PR firm or a creative shop. It’s pretty clear what they’re good at, though.

[All pics via Warda Network]

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Oct 12

OKRP Acquires Digital Agency Juice Interactive

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O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul acquired Juice Interactive, a digital agency that counts MillerCoors, Mead Johnson Nutrition and SAP Hybris among its clients.

Founded by partners JoAnn Leonard and Tim Rawls (pictured) in 2004, Juice Interactive provides clients with a range of services including digital and social strategy,  integrated marketing campaign development, branded content developing, user experience design and commerce solutions.

The acquisition follows a search by OKRP to find a digital agency that would help it offer clients integrated creative solutions. It also comes on the heels of OKRP expanding its design capabilities by hiring Marian Williams as creative director last month.

“We’ve been looking for the right digital agency partner who can bring innovation and technology solutions to enhance our creative ideas in service of ever-changing client needs,” OKRP president Nick Paul said in a statement. “Having worked with Juice on several client engagements, we know they are the perfect cultural and business fit for our agency. Like us, they have big brand experience and can deliver creative solutions that transform business.”

Juice Interactive will relocate its employees into OKRP’s Chicago headquarters.

“We believe every digital experience should invoke an emotional reaction from the audience. The creative, the message and the time and method in how it’s delivered are vital in connecting with consumers,” Rawls said in a statement. “By partnering with OKRP, we’re able to be part of the conversation early on, and bring insights from digital that help deliver brand messaging into high touch interactions.”

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Oct 11

HackerAgency Loses AT&T, Lays Off 50% of Staff, and Leaves the IPG Network

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Today IPG confirmed that it had divested itself from HackerAgency, which is now no longer part of the Interpublic network after 18 years.

The news first ran on Adweek.

According to one party who spoke to us, the decision came because the Seattle-based direct marketing company’s “core competency is not aligned” with IPG’s goals. It also follows the gradual loss of HackerAgency’s largest client, AT&T, over the course of several months.

CEO Spyro Kourtis provided the following statement:

“[I’m] confirming that while Hacker Group has had a great partnership with IPG and FCB over the years, we’re excited to bring the power of our re-established independence to our clients, driving business results through modern, innovative marketing solutions. Clients are increasingly demanding agile agency resources and talent that focus on performance and are willing to put skin in the game. We believe being an independent is the best way to do this, unburdened by the complexities of a holding company network.”

Regarding AT&T, he acknowledge that the changing relationship, partly caused by the DirecTV acquisition, damaged the agency:

“We’re proud of the partnership we have shared [with AT&T] and wish our clients the best of success. Having to say goodbye to friends and colleagues is never easy. We remain optimistic for the road ahead as we strike out independently and allow our data-driven heritage and CRM specialization to shine.”

Multiple current and former agency employees tell a slightly different story.

According to 5 different sources, the agency laid off around 50 percent of its staff in Seattle last week, including North American president Julie Rezick, formerly of Wunderman. One source says recent events came about due to a “failure to modernize.”

HackerAgency will now operate as an independent company. The three international FCB offices that merged with what was then called Hacker Group to form HackerAgency in 2014, however, will remain within the IPG network.

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Oct 11

Agencies Helping Agencies

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Why doesn’t Wieden + Kennedy/Portland spawn more startup agencies—something that Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco has successfully done for years? As someone who knows the Portland market, lack of client opportunities is the most obvious answer. FYI, there are just two big fish in the Portland market—Intel and Nike. Adidas America is also […]

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