Hasta La Creative!

Toronto digital marketing agency Twist Image signed Jon Finkelstein as its new ECD. Finklestein, who most recently served as SVP/ECD at the BBDO “sibling agency” Proximity Canada, replaces Virginia Magaletta, who held the position for more than six years.

Prior to joining Proximity, Finklestein spent nine years as a partner and creative lead at Toronto’s Grip Limited; he also served as CD at henderson bas after starting his career as ACD at ICD and Ogilvy, where he worked on IBM, Amex and Kodak.

You may recall that Twist Image sold to WPP in May; at the time, President Mitch Joel described the move as “a bigger bet.”

“Branding, marketing and entertainment company” Omelet — which recently named  Shannon McGlothin, former director of Leo Burnett’s Samsung shop, as its GCD — promoted partner Mike Wallen to the newly created position of Chief Content Officer. Wallen, who the release credits with bringing in Walmart and Red Bull, joined the agency in 2011 and will continue to run its “branded content division” Omelet Studio in addition to promoting an upcoming feature film about “ex-LA gang leaders turned street saviors” (their words). He previously served as partner and EVP of content & development.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

I may be something of a Sony loyalist, but I’ve got to admit CP+B’s new spot “Invitation” makes the Xbox One shine. Even some of Sony’s biggest fanboys might concede it looks a lot better than the recent PS4 spot.

Directed by Hungry Man’s Bryan Buckley, the commercial vet who recently helmed the R&B-inflected DirecTV spot starring the Manning bros (and who earned an Emmy nod for Grey Poupon’s “The Chase,” also from CP+B),  “Invitation” features users invited into the world of several different games, and one movie. The spot opens with a giant robot warrior crashing a business meeting and making a “come here” gesture to a man giving a presentation. Then we see soccer player Steven Gerrard inviting a fan down from the stands. Spock invites a girl along for some sci-fi adventures. A sports car parks itself in front of some dude’s car and opens its door for him. (This is the automotive equivalent of “come here” apparently.) A zombie attempts to cajole a student in a library to join him, loses an arm, and then tells him to come along with the other arm.

Emphasizing the immersive nature of the next-gen platform, the spot announces, “This is an invitation to a new generation: where your games and entertainment are no longer separated, but together, in one.” Showing Xbox One users utilizing the system’s voice activation to launch games like Titanfall, Dead Rising 3, and the movie Star Trek: Enter Darkness gives fans an idea of what they can expect on launch day. The spot also shows users making use of the motion sensitive Kinect. You know, the camera that might be spying on you.

Mixing live action with just the right amount of actual gameplay, “Invitation” is slickly produced and should have Xbox fanboys chomping at the bit for the console’s Nov. 22 release date. My biggest problem with the spot is that the one woman featured uses the Xbox One not for gaming, but to watch a movie. Aside from this perpetuation of the gaming industry’s prevailing sexism (which most people won’t even notice), it’s a really solid ad. The whole “invitation” approach works to emphasize both the immersive nature of the system and the all-in-one entertainment value it offers. The $499 starting price, however, is less inviting. Credits after the jump.  continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.