Hasta La Creative!

Emily Brooks is leaving her position as SVP/group marketing director with Arnold Worldwide Boston for an unspecified account management role at MullenLowe Boston.

Brooks has held the position with Arnold for the past two years while focusing on the agency’s global Jack Daniel’s business. That stint followed nearly a year and a half spent as VP/marketing director on the same account.

An Arnold spokesperson said that Brooks’ departure does not reflect any changes in the Jack Daniel’s business and that managing director Paul Nelson will continue running the account moving forward. The agency wishes Brooks the best in her new role but did not specify whether it plans to find a replacement to fill her position.

Before joining Arnold in 2013, Brooks spent two years as an account director with Droga5, focusing on Prudential and UNICEF Tap Project. That followed a year with Publicis as VP/management supervisor working on Citibank and eight months as brand manager for Spirits Marque One. Before that she spent five years with KBS as an account director working on Diageo Reserve Brands (Don Julio Tequila, Bulleit Bourbon, Classic Malts of Scotland, Ciroc Vodka), Hennessy Cognac, Starz Entertainment and Mohegan Sun casino. Prior to that she spent three years as an account executive with Ogilvy & Mather, working on AT&T and American Express.

Hershey’s has added three agencies to its roster following a creative review: Anomaly New York; Barkley in Kansas City; and Argonaut in San Francisco.

The creative review was launched in January, with incumbents Arnold Worldwide and Havas Worldwide not taking part, as they will remain on the client’s agency roster. “Arnold/Havas work is continuing and this is not a replacement, it’s just an addition,” spokeswoman Anna Lingeris told AdAge.

Hershey’s new agencies will be overseeing new strategic project work, although it is unclear exactly what that will entail as Hershey’s “declined to describe the specific brand assignments for its new agencies” to AdAge.

That publication pointed out Hershey’s new additions to its brand portfolio in new product Hershey’s Caramels and the acquisition of jerky maker Krave Pure Foods and it’s possible the new agencies will be used for work on these new additions. Hershey’s spent $726 million on measured media in 2014, according to Kantar Media, and increased its marketing expenses by about 8 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Arnold Worldwide has appointed Jim Elliott to the position of global chief creative officer. In the newly created position, Elliott will be based out of Boston, but will also travel to New York to assist Arnold’s team there.

Elliott joins the agency from Y&R New York, where he has served as chief creative officer since June of 2011, working with such clients as Virgin Atlantic, Land Rover and Dell. Prior to Y&R, Elliott spent over four years with Goodby Silverstein & Partners as a group creative director, which followed an eight year stint as a creative director and partner at Cole & Weber.

“The creation of this role is a really big part of the next part of plans here at Arnold — building our brand here in the U.S. and beyond,” Pam Hamlin, Arnold global president, told AdAge.

While Arnold did not confirm an official start date for Elliott, AdAge stated that it will be sometime this quarter.

CenturyLink has named Arnold as its lead creative agency, following a review. We originally received tips about the appointment two weeks ago. At the time, no one commented on the lead, but today the agency confirmed the news to Adweek. Havas Worldwide also tweeted its congratulations to the (Havas-owned) Boston-based agency. CenturyLink spends approximately $90 million on media annually. Media buying and planning duties were not part of the review, and remain at Rochester agency Butler/Till.

Arnold’s Boston office will handle duties including digital and direct marketing, in additional to traditional advertising. Shirish Lal, chief marketing officer at CenturyLink, cited Arnold’s “strategic thinking and people” in choosing the agency over other finalists, who remain undisclosed.

“That’s the opportunity—to really build brand awareness,” said Pam Hamlin, Arnold’s global president, speaking of the lack of brand recognition for CenturyLink, despite the company’s $18.1 billion in revenue last year. “This really represents the next chapter of them as a marketer.”

Elliott Seaborn, a managing director at Arnold’s Boston office, will manage the account, while Group Creative Director David Register will be responsible for creative development. Arnold’s first work for CenturyLink is expected early next year.

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Arnold Worldwide is launching a new multimedia campaign for Jack Daniel’s entitled “The Few and Far Between,” which celebrates, “the quirky stories told by the proprietors, bouncers, barflys and patrons who frequent…fine establishments and questionable joints.” Or, in other words, drinking stories. The brand avoids accusations of promoting excess with the disclaimer, “You can’t tell a story you don’t remember. Please drink responsibly.”

In addition to short videos, the website hosting the campaign also features “tales of whiskey, revelry and mischief” in the form of written stories, audio and mixed media. You can take a look at a teaser video above, and head to the campaign site for the full experience. The launch features thirty bar stories gathered from around the country, but the brand plans to release even more later this year as part of this massive digital campaign and has also partnered with Vice Media for a user-generated photo contest. (more…)

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Today Arnold Worldwide named two executives to manage the recent expansion of its health and wellness service offering.

Christine Beeby and Gary Scheiner both have extensive agency backgrounds; Scheiner landed at Arnold earlier this year in the EVP/GCD role after leaving Rosetta where he served as CCO. He also spent time in the ECD role at TBWAChiatDay.

Beeby is a more recent addition to the Arnold roster, joining the agency in July after spending more than a decade at Ogilvy as EVP and senior partner specializing in healthcare and seven years as SVP/account director at Lowe New York.

While both have particularly relevant experience with healthcare and pharmaceuticals (Scheiner currently leads the accounts for “Sanofi’s diabetes and cholesterol franchises”), they’ve both worked with a wide variety of clients in automotive, tech, consumer goods and other categories.

In the release, Beeby reveals a bit more behind the strategy, writing:

“We envision creating a new model for the healthcare arena. We’ll pitch not only traditional pharmaceutical products, but will also target foods, hospitals, technology companies, doctor networks and similar products and services that require brand building and need to engage with consumers.”

The expansion may also explain July’s hiring of President Peter Grossman; he will lead the expanded practice in Arnold’s New York office.

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This morning brings news that Peter Grossman will be the new president of Arnold New York effective next week. He replaces Corey Mitchell, who left in May.

A bit on Grossman’s agency background: after handling AT&T and Nabisco for FCB, he spent more than a decade at JWT, eventually serving as EVP/director of client services before leaving to lead startup QWiPS, or “a global platform that enables the integration of real voice into digital communication platforms”. His most recent position was managing director at digital strategy consultancy Takeout.

In the new role, he will also focus on client leadership and new business development while managing the agency’s 100-plus New York operation.

Grossman will report to Arnold Global president Pam Hamlin, who cites his experience “leading global brands and helping Fortune 500 companies evolve their business model for the digital economy” in the press release; he will also sit on Arnold Worldwide’s Global Executive Committee.

In the release, he writes, “The agency has one of the best client rosters in the industry and a philosophy and culture built on creativity.”

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Arnold New York has a new campaign for Unilever’s brand Simple, the leading “perfume and color-free” skin care brand in the UK for over 40 years which launched in the US back in 2012.

Evolving from the idea that all skin can be sensitive, especially with the impact of cold, heat, wind, and city pollution, the campaign takes an approach to match its product’s name. Arnold dramatizes the idea by projecting images of possible triggers for sensitive skin (UV rays, stress, pollution, etc.) directly onto skin. It’s a straightforward but visually interesting approach that attempts to demonstrate that “the best way to fight the harshness is through the kindness of Simple.” Whether it can help Arnold build the brand into a powerhouse this side of the Atlantic remains to be seen. Credits after the jump. continued…

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Arnold Worldwide has a new campaign launching the new Brushing Chews for Milk-Bone, which feature “a patented shape that has been developed over the past three years, earning them the trusted Veterinary Oral Health Council’s (VOHC) seal of approval.”

To introduce the new product, Arnold keeps it simple, telling the story of a man and his dog (Ted and Rudy), and explaining how their new Milk-Bone Brushing Biscuit is designed to work as well as a toothbrush to keep dogs’ teeth clean. Because no one wants to brush their dog’s teeth, this is a pretty effective selling point. Ted and Rudy’s story extends beyond the broadcast spot above to a series of online videos, all set against the red backdrop matching Milk-Bone’s packaging, and following roughly the same formula. The campaign strategy is based on the insight that “The more you care for your dog, the happier and healthier he’ll be.” Ted and Rudy’s relationship is intended to to be “funny and adorable” but arrives at something closer to “hokey, but kind of cute.”

“They’re very much a classic comedy duo, with Rudy being the straight man and Ted as the accidental comedian,” explains Arnold creative director Tristan Kincaid. “We put them on a bright red background to give them a simple but visually striking stage for them to tell their stories.”

The campaign also includes social elements, with each of the six online videos (which act as pre-roll video assets on sites including Hulu, AOL, Discovery, TubeMogul and Yahoo) featuring an end card driving traffic to Milk-Bone’s Facebook page. Future social posts will also include Instagram and Twitter. Stick around for credits and a pair of online spots after the jump. continued…

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We’ve received a statement from the Arnold camp to address some tips we’ve received today, mainly that the agency has cut some staff. According to sources familiar with the matter, we’re told, like usual, the number is lower than expected. We’re hearing in the range of approximately 20 staffers and according to the statement from the agency, perhaps we can shed some light.

“We can confirm a reduction in staff. This is never an easy situation, as it impacts people who have made a valuable contribution to our company. As we have re-engineered we have used the opportunity to ensure our talent mix reflects the strategic growth areas for our company  – namely, content enabled by new media platforms and technology  – products and services that are most important to our clients.”

Staff layoffs happened, FYI, in the New York and Boston offices.

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