Hasta La Creative!

Today we bring you the latest chapter in the spirited conversation that comes up in most creative industries on a yearly basis. This time, the two combatants debating the death of the AOR are:

• In the blue corner keeping it cheesy,  Kraft Foods Group Chief Marketing Officer Deanie Elsner
• And in the red corner helping you get your snack on, Dana Anderson, VP of marketing strategy and communications for Mondelez International

The feud started when Anderson published an editorial in the Wall Street Journal and opined that AORs are “no longer the pathway to Oz for clients or agencies.” Elsner took some serious umbrage with that sentiment from Anderson (for context, the two worked together at Kraft Foods before she flew the coop for Mondelez in 2012).

And so the debate is on.

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Hilton is in the final stages of a creative review for its Hampton properties, Adweek reports

Cramer-Krasselt, David&Goliath and GSD&M are preparing for a final presentation, according to Dan Pearlman, CEO of Bob Wolf Partners/TPG, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based consultancy managing the search. The winning agency will handle creative duties for Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites and Hampton by Hilton for markets “including the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.”

Young & Rubicam have been Hampton’s lead agency since 2011, when they took over for Draftfcb. They were defending in the review, which initially included over a dozen agencies, but failed to reach the final stages. Media, digital and public relations will remain with “OMD in Los Angeles, iCrossing in New York and Dallas and Emanate in New York, respectively.” Hilton expects to select their new lead creative agency for their Hampton properties by the end August.

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Cheil Worldwide and R/GA teamed up with production company Psyop for the six minute conclusion to Samsung’s ambitious sci-fi soccer epic, “The Match.” The first episode in the series launched all the way back in November.

“The Match Part 2? picks up with Earth’s Galaxy 11 team trailing 3-1 at the half, and in need of some serious rallying to defeat the alien team. Of course, it’s hardly a spoiler to give away that the team is up to the task. Samsung wasn’t about to end its month long campaign with an alien apocalypse, as that would hardly help them move product. For those who have been following all along, it’s the ending they were waiting for. While Samsung’s timing is a little questionable — “The Match Part 2? was released just two days ago as a coda to the World Cup, while “The Match Part 1? made its debut with the opening of the tournament — it has still seemed to find its audience, with over four million views in two days. We’ve included “The Match Part 1? as a refresher after the jump. (more…)

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BDA Creative’s original founder Bruce Dunlop issued a statement following the agency’s closure, citing “disagreements with the board regarding the future direction of the company” and “changes planned by the new management team” for his departure in April 2012. Dunlop went on to form a new agency, Dunlop Goodrich, with partner Daryl Goodrich following his departure.

In the statement, Dunlop largely blamed the new management team for the agency’s failure, stating “The company was run down by people who didn’t understand for one minute how we had got to where we were, and what potential was left in a big forward thinking creative company. We had done all the legwork, and just had to continue to produce good work, which was always our ambition above everything.” He speculated that “If the energy that went into destroying the company had been focused on making it better, the story would have been very different today.” Dunlop also thanked “all those who made BDA a great company” for their contributions. You can read the full statement, courtesy of The Drum, after the jump. (more…)

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Duracell made headlines around the ad world last month when The Acme Idea Co. split with the battery-maker’s parent company, Procter & Gamble, and declined to participate in the pending creative review.

Ye old industry trades listed four agencies involved in the review approximately six weeks ago: Grey, Anomaly, mcgarrybowen and Saatchi & Saatchi.

A tipster just told us that the number is now three and that the group’s makeup has shifted a bit: according to this source the names are now Grey, Ogilvy and Anomaly.

We’re a bit skeptical of this report as Saatchi created the Derrick Coleman spot that so many enjoyed back in January, but anyone with contradictory insider information should let us know. Updates as we receive them.

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Full-service marketing communications agency Erwin Penland has announced the addition of two new creatives. Craig Melchiano arrives in the role of executive vice president/executive creative director and Bee Reynolds will take on the role of associate creative director. Both are newly-created positions at the agency. Melchiano and Reynolds, who happen to be married, both arrive at Erwin Penland from Goodby Silverstein & Partners and will relocate to the agency’s Greenville, South Carolina headquarters, reporting to Chief Creative Officer Con Williamson in New York.

As executive vice president/executive creative director, Melchiano will oversee the Greenville creative team on all accounts, including Denny’s, Microsoft and Verizon. He arrives at the agency with a 15-year advertising background at agencies including Wieden+Kennedy, and TBWA Chiat Day prior to his stint at Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

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R/GA New York has announced the arrival of Mike Rigby as executive creative director, brand. In the role, Rigby will “lead innovative and commercially relevant brand thinking and design across R/GA offices and capabilities in addition to advising clients on how they can effectively express, manage and grow their brands” while partnering with the R/GA business transformation team. He will report to  Global Chief Creative Officer Nick Law.

Rigby arrives at R/GA from Interbrand Australia, where his most recent position was executive creative director. Since arriving at the company in 2010, Rigby helped grow the office from ten to over seventy employees. Since his arrival, Interbrand Australia has taken home awards such as the Campaign Asia-Pacific Specialist Agency of the Year Award and a Cannes Design Lion. Rigby began his career at UK design consultancy The Chase, and has also worked at top British design agencies Pentagram London and True North. In 2012, he was elected as the president of The Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) New South Wales and transformed the organization, “helping to usher in a complete organizational restructuring, rebranding and repositioning program that has attracted a younger member base.” (more…)

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Taco Bell fans north of the border have been waiting patiently for Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos to arrive in Canada. So to mark their arrival, Grip Limited designed an arcade game that made them wait a little bit longer.

They created a custom 8-bit “arcade game, called “The Waiting Game,” that “simulated all the excitement and high-octane action of patiently waiting in line.” Players could string together moves like “yawn,” “tap foot,” “check watch” or “chew gum.” The game was placed outside a Taco Bell location in downtown Toronto, and, soon enough, a line formed. To play a game about waiting in line. Since they aren’t complete sadists, Taco Bell rewarded players who made it through “The Waiting Game” by letting them be some of the first people in Canada to try the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco, free of charge. You can see the promotion in action in the video above, and play on online version of the game here. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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goodness Mfg. takes on Silicon Valley in a new spot for Toshiba, presenting their Encore 2 as “the one device that quiets the hype.”

In the animated, 30-second “Sillycon Valley,” goodness Mfg. presents a cartoonish tech world gone overboard, complete with coffee drones, 5D printing and “smart scissors.” While disparaging tech to sell a tablet may be a questionable strategy, and “Sillycon Valley” may go a bit too far into the ridiculous at times to seem like an effective satire of Silicon Valley tech hype, the tagline at least wraps things up nicely. Still, it’s hard to imagine “Sillycon Valley” persuading anyone to go buy the Encore 2.

The agency takes a different approach with “Unleash Yourself,” this time showing the tablet’s versatility at a wide range of tasks while highlighting its portability. It’s a more effective approach than “Sillycon Valley,” selling the product for what it can do, rather than what it doesn’t claim to be. Stick around for “Unleash Yourself,” along with credits, after the jump. (more…)

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Today we confirmed that BBDO is in the process of enacting staffing changes in its Atlanta office. An unspecified number of employees are no longer with the agency as of this afternoon.

Specifics are very light, though we hear that hirings may follow these dismissals and that the purpose of the larger reconfiguration, which involves personnel changes across departments, is to better align the agency’s offerings with the needs of its current and future clients.

Tips mention both digital creatives and senior staffers, so this looks to be part of an office-wide strategic shift.

For context, the most visible recent move at the Atlanta office was the departure of President/CEO Gill Duff and subsequent appointment of Drew Panayiotou to replace him. The move was significant in that Panayiotou was then new to the agency game, having previously served as SVP of US marketing at Best Buy after running in-house marketing and media buying teams at  Walt Disney, Coca-Cola and others.

Updates as we receive them.

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