Hasta La Creative!

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.”

Saatchi & Saatchi New York has hired Paul Bichler as executive creative director.

Bichler arrives at Saatchi & Saatchi from Droga5, where he has served as group creative director since February 2013, working with clients including Hennessy and American Express. Prior to Droga5, Bichler served as executive creative director with JWT New York, following creative director stints at Fallon and BBH.

Saatchi & Saatchi New York also announced, via AdAge, that creative director team Luca Lorenzini and Luca Pannese would be moving from Milan to accept roles as global creative directors. The duo have worked together for around 15 years, and are most well-known for their work on behalf of CoorDown, including last year’s campaign for World Down Syndrome Day.

With tax season approaching, Fallon has a new broadcast campaign for H&R Block, a client the agency has handled since winning the account from DDB in 2010.

With a host of rivals, Fallon attempts to use humor to differentiate H&R Block from other brands. In “Nein Nein Nein,” for example, a man teaching German repeatedly drills his pupil on the pronunciation of the word “nein.” The connection — that H&R Block charges only $9.99 to file taxes online — isn’t revealed until the spot’s conclusion. In “Nine Nine Tee Nine,” by contrast, the deal is revealed upfront, while the play on words comes across as a bit…inexplicable. (That ad also features an appearance from what appears to be Todd Bosley of Little Giants fame.) Still, both spots succeed at making H&R Block’s selling point memorable for viewers, whether or not they actually find the ads funny. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Digitas LBi thanked passengers on behalf of Delta for “An Amazing Year” in a spot which debuted late last month.

“165 million people,” the spot begins with voiceover delivered from Donald Sutherland, “that’s how many of you chose to fly with us this year. That’s how many of you we want to thank.” Delta crew then goes on to craft paper airplanes out of boarding passes, which in turn create a larger model of an airplane, completed by a “backdrop of airy light.” It’s a visually interesting homage to passengers, and Sutherland’s instantly recognizable voice is voiceover gold, as usual, adding to the warm tone of the spot.

“Our goal was to shoot an elegant, tasteful and restrained visual narrative while creating a sophisticated art installation — something that might actually belong in a museum setting,” said director Sam Ciaramitaro. “Handheld, close-up shots that focus on the sincere and honest performances of the real-life Delta employees, combined with the strength of Donald Sutherland’s narration resulted in a very warm piece.” (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Yesterday, McDonald’s aired “Signs,” the latest in Leo Burnett’s brand refresh for the fast food giant, which aired during NFL Divisional Playoff games and the Golden Globe Awards yesterday.

Following on the heels of “Archenemies,” Leo Burnett’s latest continues to celebrate the love, this time focusing on the lovin’ between McDonald’s and local communities. The ad shows customized messages on McDonald’s signs (you know, the ones that say “Billions Served” by default), beginning with “Thank You Veterans” and also featuring “We Remember 911,” and “Boston Strong” while also offering some more personal signs, such as “We Believe In You Crystal.” At the end of the version running online, viewers are invited to explore the stories behind the signs at mcdonalds.tumblr.com.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Johannes Leonardo explores the meaning of the term “superstar” and celebrates Adidas’ original Superstar shoe from 1969, while trotting out a slew of celebrities, in a new 90-second spot entitled “#OriginalSuperstar.”

Those celebrities aren’t just current and former athletes; NBA player Damian Lillard makes an appearance, along with David Beckham, but so do Pharrell Williams and Rita Ora. It’s a sign of the brand moving away from an athletic-wear image and hyping up its fashion cache. “If you think a superstar is standing on stage, filling up stadiums, and selling out concert halls,” Ora begins at the opening of the spot, and the rest of the 90 seconds follows the same basic formula. Each celebrity begins their own “If you think a superstar…” statement before passing it on to the next, until Pharrell finally concludes, “…then I am not a superstar.”

Over the course of the 90 seconds the repetitive, onanistic approach becomes a little grating. The self-congratulatory statements hint at the question “What is a superstar?” but, ultimately, the ad doesn’t say anything of substance on the (rather facile) subject. This would be a bit more excusable in a quick 30-second spot, but ninety seconds of celebrities musing about nothing in particular begs the question, “Where have we seen that before?”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

adam&eveDDB London has a fun new campaign for Temptations, in which they unleashed hungry cats on packs of the treats.

The results were, of course, completely predictable: the cats destroyed the bags in an attempt to get at the goodies inside. adam&eveDDB London not only captured their shenanigans for an online video (above), but used the wrecked bags for print and OOH ads. The video, which was just uploaded today, is all but guaranteed to go viral, since cats+destruction is a pretty winning formula. At the beginning of the spot, the hashtag “#PackAttack” appears onscreen, and the brand is calling on cat-loving viewers to submit their own photos of Temptations bags destroyed by hungry felines. It’s a nice way to bring in social engagement and get everyone excited about the “#PackAttack” effort — especially the cats.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.