Hasta La Creative!

Translation has just debuted its first work for the NBA, following being awarded the account in December.

In the new spot, entitled “Barrier Breakers,” Translation celebrates the NBA’s history of inclusiveness: from the league’s color barrier being broken in 1950; to Violet Palmer, the league’s first female ref; to Jason Collins, the first openly-gay player in the NBA. Images of these “Barrier Breakers” are set to excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech. The ad made its debut online today and will extend to broadcast during NBA games this coming Monday, Martin Luther King Day, and continue to air for five weeks.

“Barrier Breakers” seems to be Translation and the NBA’s effort to put last year’s Donald Sterling incident behind them as a dark moment in the history of a league that otherwise has many moments to celebrate. How tasteful viewers find the ad will depend largely on how they view the commercial use of the words of Martin Luther King, and whether they interpret the ad as simply designed to sell more seats or as having higher intentions.

Credits:

Title: Breaking Barriers
Client: NBA
Agency: Translation
CEO: Steve Stoute
Chief Creative Officer: John Norman
Executive Creative Director: Betsy Decker
Art Director: Matt Comer
Copywriters: Andy Ferguson, Betsy Decker
Director of Content Production/EP: Miriam Franklin
Associate Producer: Philinese Kirkwood
Account team: Tim Van Hoof, Chris Martin
Chief Strategy Officer: John Greene
Head of Brand Strategy: Tim Flood
Strategist: Lindsey Neeld
Project Manager: Matt DeSimone
Editorial Company: Cut & Run
Editor: Dayn Williams
Assistant Editor: Adam Bazadona
Post Executive Producer: Rana Martin
Post Producer: Jean Lane
Visual Effects: Sibling Rivalry
Creative Director: Matt Tragesser
Animator/Compositor: Gabe Darling
Executive Producer: Maggie Meade
Head of Production: Joanna Fillie
Post Producer: Tracey McDonough
Telecine/Conform: Company Three/Method
Colorist: Rob Sciarratta
Flame Artist: Carmen Maxcy
Audio Post: Heard City
Mixers: Phil Loeb, Evan Mangiameli
Executive Producer: Gloria Pitagorsky
Music: Trackmasters

Deutsch Inc. has big plans for 2015, according to an agency-wide internal memo that went out this afternoon.

Following the Pizza Hut and Sprint wins, the year begins with several big staffing changes at the agency, most prominent among them being the appointment of LA CEO Mike Sheldon to the position of North American CEO and the departure of Donny Deutsch, who has been “a non-active Chairman for the past several years.”

Deutsch LA is the big winner in the new arrangement, which also sees CCO Pete Favat promoted to chief creative for the entire North American organization.

COO Kim Getty will assume the presidency of the West Coast office while LA-based SVP/Director of Business Development Jeff White will be North American EVP/CMO.

The biggest surprise in the announcement may be the fact that very little will change at the agency’s New York office.

Here’s the note from current North American CEO Linda Sawyer, who will soon replace Deutsch as chairman:

Deutschers –

I am pleased to share with you some exciting news about the future of Deutsch. I am announcing our succession plans and appointing Mike Sheldon as North American CEO overseeing both the LA and NY offices. Mike will report to me as I take on the role of Chairman. Donny, who has been a non-active Chairman for the past several years, becomes Chairman Emeritus. He will formally end his relationship with the agency at the end of March 2015 as he begins work on his recently announced new USA Network show.

Those of you who have had the pleasure to work with Mike know he has a big heart and big brains to match. Under Mike’s 17-year run, the LA office has grown from a handful of people to what is now the largest agency on the West Coast. He has built strong client relationships, has an innate ability to attract top-tier talent, land new business and to foster our culture. Beyond Mike’s business skills, you’ll find a down to earth guy who is the epitome of a fearless leader. It will be exciting to see how Mike helps write the next chapter of our agency.

New York will continue to be run under the strong leadership of Val DiFebo, CEO, and her management team. Val’s tenaciousness and unstoppable passion has made her a true force at the agency. She is an inspiring leader focused on influencing client’s business results through creative solutions.

Additionally, Mike and I are making a few other changes. To help grow both offices we have tapped Winston Binch as Chief Digital Officer North America, and Pete Favat as Chief Creative Officer North America. They will work hand-in-hand with both offices to maximize talent, share best practices and sharpen the tools in our toolbox.

Winston is a highly respected digital leader in our business. Since joining four years ago he has built a team of 190 digital specialists. As a result, digital is now

35% of the LA office’s revenue. Pete has been with LA for just over a year. In that time he has attracted top-tier talent, helped the office win eight pieces of new business, and bought home eight Lion’s from Cannes.

Mike and I are also happy to announce that current Partner, Chief Operating Officer Kim Getty is being appointed President, Deutsch LA. Over the years Kim has been responsible for helping manage LA’s fast-paced growth. Under her ambitious and get-it-done leadership, Kim has nurtured a world-class department of entrepreneurial thinkers and expanded services in experiential, public relations, and multicultural marketing.

And finally, SVP, Director of Business Development in LA, Jeff White, is being promoted to EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, North America. Deutsch LA has had some banner years, and working with the vast talent in both offices, Jeff will help generate even more new business for Deutsch.

Donny’s legacy, along with his father David’s, will be an enduring part of who we are. Every one of us will continue to make them proud. The Deutsch brand has always been dynamic, passionate and progressive. This leadership team, along with the strong and talented teams we have in NY and LA are going to be an unstoppable force in this industry.

Next Wednesday, January 21st, Val will be arranging an agency meeting in the afternoon to introduce you to Mike, and hopefully Winston, Pete and Jeff will join. It will be a nice opportunity for everyone to have a chance to connect with one another. More details to follow on this.

Please join me in congratulating Mike and the entire team of executives. 2015 is going to be a landmark year for us.

McCann New York launched a new digital campaign for Jose Cuervo today, promoting the limited edition Jose Cuervo Especial Gold and Silver bottles the brand is releasing in celebration of its 220th anniversary.

The animated 30-second spot, called “The Blacksmith,” shows a blacksmith hammering away to create the gold and silver bottles of Cuervo Especial. Brooding music matches the dark animation, which fit the Dia de los Muertos inspired artwork on the bottles, an homage to Jose Cuervo’s Mexican roots. In support of the video, the brand’s Instagram feed has been slowly revealing details about the new bottles since January 11th. Animated GIFS on Jose Cuervo’s social channels will follow today’s video release.

Credits:

McCann

Chief Creative Officers: Thomas Murphy / Sean Bryan

Executive Creative Director: Mat Bisher

Creative Director: Jason Ashlock

Senior Copywriter: Nick DiLallo

Senior Art Director: Ryan Quigley

Chief Production Officer: Nathy Aviram

Senior Producer: Jessica Coccaro

Music Producer: Mike Ladman

Account: Lauren LaValle / Christopher Jeyes / Rachel Heiss

Production

Animation Company: Elastic

Director: Andy Hall

Executive Producer: Jenn Sofio Hall

Music & Sound Design: Q Department

Mix Studio: Sonic Union

Engineer: Fernando Ascani

A Havas spokesperson confirmed today that the agency’s New York office laid off some of its staffers this week as part of a post-holiday restructuring that follows the September departure of CCO Darren Moran as includes this week’s hiring of Tom Goodwin as SVP of strategy and innovation.

Here’s the official statement:

Havas Worldwide NY made a slight reduction in staff, less than 2%. This decision came as part of a broader plan to improve internal efficiencies, and to realign our capabilities to better service our clients and streamline our operations.

That quote would place the total number of staffers no longer with the agency in the low two digits; no word on which departments were most affected.

Havas’ New York office continues to search for Moran’s successor.

Goodby Silverstein & Partners launched a new campaign for Cisco Systems, touting the Internet of Everything, entitled “Building Tomorrow Today.”

In “The Last Traffic Jam,” the agency imagines a recreation of a traffic jam in a museum presented as the “scourge of 20th century city life.” Near the conclusion of the spot, the voiceover assures viewers, “…one day soon, we’ll see the last one ever,” since “Cisco is building The Internet of Everything for connected cities today that will confine the traffic jam to yesterday.”

It’s an intriguing approach. After all, who wouldn’t want to see the traffic jam turn into a museum relic? Other ads in the campaign will reportedly follow a similar approach, presenting “last” scenarios (including “the last product recall,” according to Campaign). It will be interesting to see where Goodby Silverstein & Partners takes the idea next.

Credits:

Agency Walton Isaacson (rather than the brand’s usual agency, Team One) crafted a 30-second Super Bowl spot promoting the Lexus NX, entitled “Make Some Noise.”

The spot employs a Stomp-like approach, building a soundtrack from sounds made by the vehicle, such as a beep from the car unlocking, the sunroof opening and the sound of the engine revving. Highly stylized shots of the vehicle, interspersed with dancers, accompany the sounds until a voiceover announces, “Go beyond utility: introducing the Lexus first-ever NX Turbo and Hybrid from Lexus. Be seen. Be heard. Make some noise.”

“Make Some Noise” will run during the first half of the Super Bowl, making Lexus one of only a few automakers advertising during this year’s game, along with Toyota, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz. General Motors, Volkswagen and Lincoln will be conspicuously absent. Lexus last ran a Super Bowl ad in 2012, promoting the 2013 Lexus GS.

Credits:

Digital agency POSSIBLE announced today that it has been named global digital agency for Shell, following a competitive review which included four other agencies. Efforts for Shell, beginning with corporate brand work, will be led by POSSIBLE’s London office. A “major launch” is expected from the agency some time in early 2015.

Shell is trying to present itself as an energy company with an “ongoing commitment to meet global energy demand in a responsible way,” despite a track record that suggests otherwise (to put it mildly). This past October, Lego ended its longtime partnership with Shell following a successful Greenpeace campaign. So repairing Shell’s image will be no small task. Still, in a press release POSSIBLE Global CEO Shane Atchison referred to the company as “the ideal client, both innovative in their approach to energy and global client reach and scale.”

“We selected POSSIBLE because they are a forward looking agency partner that can collaborate with us on new ways to reach our customer audience,” said Malena Cutuli, global dead of brand communications and capability at Shell. “They are uniquely positioned to help us engage in this fast moving, socially connected global world that we live in with offices worldwide and core strength in the digital space.”

Strategic and creative agency Matter Unlimited announced the additions of Alexandra Gordon as account managing director and Jake Kahana as creative director, design.

Gordon will be responsible for leading management, developing client relationships and overseeing the internal account team. She joins Matter Unlimited from mcgarrybowen, where she spent approximately the last three years as an account managing director and led several integrated campaigns for Marriott International. Prior to mcgarrybowen, Gordon spent over two years serving as an account director at DDB Sydney, where she worked on the McDonald’s Australia account. Prior to that she served as an account manager for M&C Saatchi.

As creative director, Kahana will manage creative output for all client work, acting as creative lead. He joins Matter Unlimited following over a decade as a freelance art director and designer. During this time his clients included Microsoft, Nestle, Unicef, HBO and President Bill Clinton. He has also worked as an art director for Deutsch LA, a lead designer at 72andSunny and an instructor at Otis College of Art and Design.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have these two rock stars joining the Matter Unlimited team,” said Rob Holzer, founder and CEO, Matter Unlimited, in a statement. “They both bring just the right mix of experience and passion to use their skills for positive social impact that make them perfect for our mission and the important work ahead of us.”

DDB Worldwide announced today that Icaro Doria has been named chief creative officer of its New York office, effective as of March. Doria will report directly to Chris Brown, who assumed the role of president and chief executive officer of DDB New York in September. He will be responsible for overseeing the entire creative department and maintaining the agency’s overall creative direction.

Most recently, Doria was a founding executive creative director at W+K São Paulo, spending the last four years with the agency and working with clients such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Heineken and Smirnoff. Before returning to his native Brazil, Doria served as creative director with Saatchi & Saatchi New York, global creative director for Dell and Bacardi at Young & Rubicam and group creative director at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, working on Hewlett Packard and Sprint. In 2007, while Doria was still with Saatchi & Saatchi New York, Creativity named him “Most Awarded Copywriter in the World.”

“DDB New York is on a mission to blaze new trails and therefore finding the right creative partner and leader was really key. I’ve been describing DDB New York as the ‘original boutique’ agency and that is why I am so excited about Icaro joining,” said Chris Brown in a statement. “His appointment helps solidify our singular mission to create game-changing work and business ideas for our clients, and I’m confident he will be the perfect partner to help lead DDB New York into the future,” he added.

Social media agency We Are Social announced the addition of Old Navy to its client roster, and the subsequent opening of a San Francisco office to accommodate current and prospective West Coast clients.

Leila Thabet, We Are Social’s US managing director, will initially lead the new office, splitting her time between New York and San Francisco until the agency can assemble a senior leadership team for West Coast operations. Jenn Bader, group account director, will also relocate to the San Francisco office from New York.

“We’ve experienced strong demand for social strategy and creative from leading brands, and opening the office in San Francisco is the next step in helping us meet client needs,” Thabet said in a release. “This expansion demonstrates how our approach to putting social thinking at the center of marketing resonates with brands, and why We Are Social has been successful both here and throughout our growing network of offices around the world.”