Hasta La Creative!

Yesterday we broke the news that veteran producer Rupert Samuel would be leaving his position at goodness Mfg., but we couldn’t confirm which agency had signed him. Now we know: Samuel will rejoin the CP+B team after seven years away in the role of executive director of content production.

Many credit Samuel with developing the standard integrated production model during his original decade-long stint at CP+B, and with his re-hire the shop looks to recapture the glory that led one source to tell us that “I have never worked at a better agency” than CP+B in the early 2000s. Samuel confirms that sentiment in the release, writing:

“CP+B is literally family to me. I couldn’t be more excited to be headed back to where it all started and be re-united with the agency and everyone there.”

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Representing 4 continents, @cpbgroup about to share the work they do across the world #GreatTalent #AWXI pic.twitter.com/Y63J2l7Zh4

— MDC Partners (@MDCPartners) October 2, 2014

CP+ B brought its creative talent to Advertising Week New York from around the globe last week, with none other than Chairman Chuck Porter on hand to emcee a select panel.

While CP+B has a worldwide presence, many of its offices are small. Porter likes it that way; as he noted during the event, strong collaboration between offices works well in serving the agency’s varied clients.

One such location is CP+B’s Copenhagen, Denmark office, which handles the account for III, a brand of headphones used primarily by DJ’s. Mathias Birkvad, CEO of CP+B, Copenhagen, outlined the “how” behind a agency’s creative approach which led to a rap contest that generated lots of media attention.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Last week we reported that the number of agencies still involved in the ongoing Infiniti pitch had gone down from four to two: CP+B and GS&P.

Silence on the PR front confirmed that story, but as soon as we posted it we began to receive a steady stream of both tips and comments (not that we actually read the comments, mind you) claiming that the pitch was over and that Crispin had emerged victorious. References to VW abounded.

When we contacted the agency itself, we received only a perfect comment about their inability “to comment on new business.”

And yet, it certainly seems like someone is either trying to tell us that the pitch has been won or trying to mislead us on that point.

So let us know, readers: what’s the status?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

This CP+B PSA for Boys and Girls Clubs of America, which received a New York Times writeup today, is a little frightening.

It’s far cry from the generally upbeat messages this group has shared in the past. If anything, it reminds us of the famous “It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?” line (which was not a paid ad but was created by an on-air promoter).

The copy goes on to clarify:

“…they’re out on their own, out with nowhere to go, out with nothing to do, out all afternoon when anything can happen.”

Now we’re scared–and we always knew not to play on the train tracks or accept gifts from strangers.

CP+B CD Sue Anderson told Andrew Adam Newman that it’s all about fundraising, because parents will be more likely to give when they sense that the kids’ safety depends on their donations.

Effective! For the music snobs in our audience, we’d also like to note the excellent use of “Fratres” by our greatest living composer, Arvo Pärt. Yes, we hate superlatives too, but it’s true.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Brooklyn/Boulder-based experience design firm Usable has added an agency veteran to its leadership team.

Due to a recent growth trend, the firm hired Joe Salvati, who previously spent two years as ED of digital marketing at Starz Entertainment.

Prior to the Starz gig, Salvati was director of digital strategy/MD at Boulder’s Sterling-Rice Group; that agency stole him from CP+B, where he was an account director. He also served as SVP and partner at The Wonderfactory.

Salvati is hardly the first ad vet to join the firm. Usable partner Cyrus Clemensen worked alongside him at CP+B as Creative Technology Director leading Old Navy, Amex Travel and Coke Zero. Two of Usable’s Brooklyn-based partners also worked at R/GA “on and off…for the past 15 years.”

A list of 2013/14 clients includes TedMed, Canon, PopDust, Google, Ruth Chris and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Euroleague ballers Shawn James, Kyle Hines, Robin Benzing and Sergio Rodriguez hoop it up poolside and make a big splash in Crispin Porter + Bogusky London's new Turkish Airlines spot that builds up to an amazing aqua-dunk.

In the making-of clip, executive producer Rob Steiner sums up the challenge: "It's a one-shot ad—30 seconds. We've got two cranes, 12 players—four pros—all of whom have to be synchronized and choreographed perfectly. We've got one day to shoot this, but in reality we've got four hours, because the professionals are only here for that time."

After 22 takes, it all came together, with the guys making improbable passes across, around and into a fancy outdoor pool in Madrid. Ultimately, the shot gets made thanks to an epic assist from a guy hovering on some sort of jet-sneaks.  Boy, they sure play by different rules overseas! 

The ad was inspired by the explosion of epic pool dunks on Vine and YouTube last summer, such as this diving-sliding-balcony-tossing classic. 

Sigh. I can barely dunk chips in a bowl of salsa while watching a game on TV.

RELATED: Kobe and Messi Trade Epic Selfies for Turkish Airlines.

Today Burger King dropped the first spot by its new global AOR, WPP agency David.

As a faux “where are they now” covering the CP+B original’s fall from fame and return to viral advertising, it’s about as meta as you would expect.

It’s also more than a little “Rocky”: there’s an Italian trainer; there’s an instrumental montage; there’s at least one raw egg; there’s Screech as a costumed Mexican chicken fighter.

The campaign isn’t as interactive as its predecessor; while the rollout included a series of missing person-style print ads, viewers can’t tell this chicken what to do (and yes, we know the responses were pre-recorded in 2004).

The big question, given the spot’s very open-ended conclusion and the fact that BK CMO Eric Hischorn told USA Today that “[The Chicken] will stick around going forward”: where will the sequel go?

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Vitamin Water is obviously a CP&B client, but we have very little info for this slightly insane Japanese spot other than the fact that one Himanshu Kumar, aka “Heems” of Dat Racist, wrote the music and that DIESEL artistic director Nicola Formichetti may have provided something resembling creative.

Heems tweeted it out to the world yesterday before proclaiming himself the new, less recognizable Bill Murray. Not sure we agree…

Google translate isn’t helping much, but we’ll go with it anyway: how often do you see an ad repping the theater/restaurant you kept telling everyone you wanted to check out last year if only it weren’t a 65-minute subway ride away? We did glean this nugget from the translator:

“The flavor deployment bright colors, you can enjoy to choose what you like to suit lifestyle and mood, the condition of their own throughout the day.”

Accurate.

The key question: is this submission stranger than the 2012 CP&B spot after the jump?

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Proving yet again that there's no creative endeavor too specific to merit its own awards show, CP+B Los Angeles has launched the .GIFYs, honoring animated GIFs "as a medium, social commentary and art form."

Panelists from Buzzfeed, Gawker, Mashable and elsewhere picked finalists in 12 categories. Cats get their own bracket, separate from the otherwise all-inclusive Animals, which will make those feline freaks even more insufferably smug than they already are.

Other categories include News, Sports, Politics, WTF, GIF of the Year and Can't Look Away (actually, in most cases, I could—though not from that gal getting pelted by hot dogs). Vote for your favorites through month's end.

Unlike the seemingly endless Academy Awards ceremony, this ceremony is sure to be a brief one. You could screen the entire batch of nominees in just a few minutes. The whole show would be over in a .JIFFY!

In case you're curious, here are the nominees for GIF of the Year:

Se você perguntar para uma mulher o segredo da felicidade instantânea, há grandes chances de ela responder que é o chocolate. No caso do novo filme da JELL-O, a felicidade instantânea é, claro, um pudim de chocolate. E não é uma mulher quem diz isso, mas um homem que explica ao filho as razões de ele gostar tanto do produto. É aí que a história começa.

“Imagine acordar toda manhã com um pouco menos de cabelo. Depois, dirigir para o trabalho no trânsito pesado. Apenas para descobrir, quando chegar lá, que o projeto que você trabalhou durante um ano de repente foi cancelado…”

É claro que o pudim de chocolate faz tudo isso valer a pena no final das contas, mas o verdadeiro destaque deste comercial é o garotinho, que ouve o pai atentamente e coloca tudo sob sua perspectiva.

Ótima produção, com doses de fofura capazes de deixar o dia de qualquer pessoa melhor. A criação é da CP+B.

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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