Former Deutsch L.A. Partner Kyle Acquistapace Joins Supermoon as President

Santa Monica agency Supermoon, which counts Jessica Alba‘s The Honest Company, Ancestry, Custom Ink, and Campbell’s Fresh/Bolthouse Farms among its clients, hired Deutsch L.A. veteran Kyle Acquistapace as president and managing partner. He joins founding partners CEO Amir Haque, executive creative director David DeRoma, director of strategy Jill Burgeson, and group account director Nicole Rowett at the agency. The latter three are also veterans of the Deutsch organization.

Acquistapace spent sixteen years with Deutsch L.A., including serving as partner, director of media and data strategy from June of 2006 through last September. He originally joined the agency seven years earlier and served as executive vice president, group media director during that period, working with clients including Mitsubishi and Expedia. Acquistapace has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California for the past nine years.

supermoon

“Kyle’s take on leadership is hands-on and human, a perfect match for Supermoon,” Haque said in a statement. “He’s a champion of a disciplined form of advertising: creative and strategic, and always in the service of building a brand’s business.”

“I wanted to help create something great again, surrounded by passionate people who trust each other,” Acquistapace added. “I believe there’s an evolved form of agency out there waiting to be built, an agency based on creativity and reason and fairness. And I’ve found the right group of people to bring it to life.”

Supermoon specializes in serving companies as they move through the “second stage” of their life cycles. No longer startups, these companies are looking to expand their consumer bases in the interest of long-term success.

“Second-stage companies reach a point where they can’t grow anymore,” Haque says, adding, “We help people people break through that wall.”

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Deutsch L.A. Wants You to ‘Unleash Your Rrr’ for Volkswagen

Deutsch L.A. launched an unusual campaign for Volkswagen, calling on viewers to “Unleash Your Rrr” in an AI-fueled campaign built around Deep Learning, a subset of Machine Learning artificial intelligence which “analyzes each unique vocal pitch to create customized film of Golf R driving in sync with the sound of the user’s voice.”

“The King of Sound Effects” Michael Winslow demonstrates the technology in a 40-second online video. He appears to be responding to the footage of professional racecar and stunt driver Tanner Foust driving the Golf R, but really it’s the other way around, with the footage chosen to correspond to the sound effects. The Deep Learning technology works by analyzing users’ vocal pitch and choosing matching footage from hundreds of clips. You might not have the vocal chops of Winslow, but you can give it a try for yourself over at www.rrr.vw.com. It’s certainly one of the stranger, and attention-grabbing stunts we’ve seen for an automotive brand recently, although we’re not sure it will make anyone run to the car dealership.

Credits:

Agency: Deutsch LA
Chief Creative Officer, North America: Pete Favat
Chief Digital Officer, North America: Winston Binch
Executive Creative Director, Digital: Jerome Austria
Executive Creative Director: Todd Riddle
Executive Creative Director, Platforms: Tara Greer
Group Creative Director: Heath Pochucha
Creative Director: Andrew Hsu
Creative Director: Daniel Barak
Senior Interactive Creative: Karan Dang
Senior Art Director: Neph Trejo
Senior Art Director, Social: Rocio Alvarado
Senior Copywriter, Social: Marijke van Niekerk
Copywriter: Eddie Babian
Copywriter: Shiran Teitelbaum
Art Director: Alice Blastorah
Designer: Erica Park
Experience Design Lead: Paolo Benvenuto
Executive Director, Digital Pam Scheideler
Executive Integrated Producer, Digital: Nick Ngai
Digital Producer: Jenny Court
Executive Creative Technology Director: Marc Gowland
Executive Creative Technology Director: Josh Hirsch
Creative Technology Director: Martin Legowiecki
Associate Technology Director: Jeremy Bunting
Associate Technology Director: Mike Dyer
AI Engineer: Sabri Sansoy
Senior Creative Developer: Hassan Elzein
Senior Creative Developer: Jesse Pinuelas
Quality Assurance Manager: Chris Suchy
Quality Assurance Tester: Tito Goldstein
SVP, Director of Digital Analytics: Sailesh Patel
Data Strategy Analyst :Brad Nogle
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Executive Integrated Producer: Erik Press
Executive Producer, Video and Motion Design: Ted Markovic
Senior Integrated Producer: Eric Kaufman
Integrated Producer: Win Bates
Associate Integrated Producer: Eric Kunau
Music Director: Dave Rocco

Account Management Credits:
Group Account Director: Tom Else
Group Account Director: Monica Jungbeck
Account Director: Alex Gross
Account Supervisor: Erin Shanahan
Account Executive: Ashley Su
Assistant Account Executive: Sheila Ashouripour

Account Planning:
Chief Strategic Officer: Colin Drummond
Director of Digital Strategy: Zach Gallagher
Group Planning Director: Susie Lyons
Senior Digital Strategist: Brendon Volpe
Senior Account Planner: Armando Potter

Product:
Director of Product Information Jason Clark
Product Information Supervisor Eddie Chae

Business Affairs/Traffic:
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Group Director, Integrated Business Affairs: Gabriela Farias
Associate Business Affairs Manager: Jade McAdams

Live Action Production Company: Steelhead
Director: Eric Kaufmann
Executive Producer: Ted Markovic
Line Producer: Eric Kunau

Editorial Company: Steelhead
Editor: Ian Paxton
Assistant: Tony Bernard
Executive Producer: Ted Markovic

Post Facility: Big Block Entertainment Group
President: Scott Benson
Producer: Pete King
Senior Colorist:  Brandon Chavez

Licensed/Composed Music, Credits and Track Info:
Track: “Snake Juice”
Composer: Sanford Livingston
Track: “Contact”

Composer: Nico Mansy

Mophonics
Executive Producer, Partner: Shelley Altman
ECD, Partner: Stephan Altman
Managing Partner: Adam Harriman

Audio Post Company: Steelhead
Executive Producer: Ted Markovic
Mixer: Chase Butters

POSSIBLE Appoints Daniel Chu as Global CCO

Creative agency POSSIBLE announced the appointment of Daniel Chu as global chief creative officer, based out of the agency’s Los Angeles office.

Chu arrives from Deutsch L.A., where he spent the last four years as executive vice president, executive creative director while working with clients including Taco Bell, Volkswagen, Sprint, Snapple and Target and leading the agency’s experiential department. Before joining Deutsch, he served as senior vice president, executive creative director for over two and a half years at Momentum Worldwide, co-leading the agency’s branded entertainment discipline and working with clients such as American Express, Microsoft and Verizon. Prior to that he spent nearly two years as an executive creative director PMK/HBH, which followed a year-long stint at R/GA as an associate creative director.

“I’m thrilled to have Daniel on-board. His ideas are dynamite and he’ll be a huge asset for us, helping to strengthen and align creative across the agency,” said POSSIBLE CEO Shane Atchison. “He has great form when it comes to landing new accounts and he proudly represented POSSIBLE at Cannes.  Daniel brings with him a wealth of experience virtually unparalleled in our industry.”

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It’s OK If Your Mom Is Completely Overbearing, So Long as She Feeds You Taco Bell

Everyone knows the smother mother. She drowns you in unwanted attention and unsolicited advice—popping up where she shouldn’t, like at your office meetings, or when you’re in the shower. But not everyone knows the Smothered Burrito, new from Taco Bell. The brand’s latest ad from Deutsch LA encourages you thirtysomethings who are still living at home to forgive your obnoxious mom if she bribes you with Taco Bell. (Presumably, she’ll be standing by with a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, too.) Of course, you could always just move out of the house. Your newfound confidence might help you move up the corporate ladder a little more quickly. Before you know it, you’ll be able to afford a meal that won’t give you indigestion—or at least Chipotle. (Directed by Aaron Stoller, at Biscuit Filmworks)


    

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