Hasta La Creative!

You may think it’s a little weird that Volvo is asking to see your selfies. but they actually do have a plan. They design their cars around real people and real behaviour, so they need to see real people and real behaviour. Asking selfie-taking people to simply tag them when they are already taking a selfie while sitting in a (parked) car is a good way to learn how people are actually sitting in their cars, and how they are wearing their safety belts.

I suppose this is a new twist on the old “tag us on social media” ploy, which we have seen plenty of times before. This is market research under another name and with a bonafide Doctor at the helm of the research, we might see some interesting insight come out of the analysis. 

”The amount, the range and the diversity of data that we can gather via this approach is very difficult to replicate elsewhere.”

says Dr. Lotta Jakobsson, senior technical specialist at Volvo Cars Safety Centre.

“The Selfie For Safety initiative uses the selfie, but in an unselfish way. From The E.V.A. Initiative we saw that people wanted to join the conversation about safety and equality. We are now taking it a step further by inviting everyone to contribute. Once again it’s been possible thanks to our close relationship with Volvo Cars”, said Hampus Elfström, creative at the Forsman & Bodenfors office in Gothenburg, Sweden.
 

The final report from Volvo Cars is expected in late 2019. The results will be made publicly available for the whole automotive industry on the E.V.A. Initiative website.

Advertiser: Volvo Car Corporation
Client: Auste Skrupskyte, Dominique Amkell Client Supervisor:
Adress Client:
E-mail Client: auste.skrupskyte@volvocars.com, dominique.amkell@volvocars.com
Phone Client:
Year: 2019
Airdate: September 2, 2019

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
Art Directors: Karl Risenfors, Leo Dahl, Sophia Lindholm Copywriters: Hampus Elfstro?m,
Account Supervisor: Magnus Wretblad
Account Executive: Katarina Klofsten
Agency Producer:
Music Supervisor:
PR: Bjarne Darwall
Planner: Trine Keller-Andreasen
Digital Strategist: Sara Bjo?rnung
Web Design: F&B Inhouse
Artwork: Martin Joelsson, Christian Sunde?n

Media Agency: Mindshare

FILM:
Title: SelfieForSafety
Director: Marcus Ibanez
Producer: Dea Saracevic
Production Company: New Land
D.O.P: Jake Hunter
Executive Producer: Sophie Tamm Christensen Online: Chimney
Online Post-Producer: Moa Looft @ Chimney

STILLS:
Photographer: Therese O?hrvall

MUSIC

Composition: Pierre Riddez
Performed by: Pierre Riddez
Master rights owned by: Pierre Riddez Publishing rights controlled by: Pierre Riddez

Canadian singer Esthero joins other musicians and groups like Vulfpek who have found a way (or at least tried) to circumvent Spotify’s notoriously low royalty payments to make a living wage. As the BBC points out,

“Fans streaming the new single by pop singer Esthero have discovered it’s been deliberately doctored to protest against Spotify’s royalty rates.

Ninety seconds into Gimme Some Time, the music dips, and Esthero explains the full version of the song will only be available on her website.

The money Spotify generates is “really not a liveable income,” she explains.

“I really hope you enjoy my music enough to actually go and support and buy the song from me.”

The BBC didn’t bother to add the part where Esthero directs you to her website to download the song, so I will add her link. And I will add it a second time, too.

This isn’t the first time an artist has shall we say intervened with the listener. Back in 2003 Madonna rightly knew that torrents and other sites would take a chunk out of her livelihood. So when she “leaked” American Life, it was actually a trolling message demanding to know “What the fuck do you think you’re doing,” which is why I will forever love her. But people didn’t listen then which is why Spotify appeared as the wolf in sheep’s clothing to dole out a pittance to musicians, masquerading as a legitimate business. A legitimate business who constantly has to settle lawsuits from the very people it depends on to keep its service going.

While Madge was typically on brand with her chutzpah, Esthero’s message was more refined and heartfelt about it,  explaining why it’s important to support artists. Most people have no idea that if they use Spotify’s free service very little money goes to the musicians they love, just as the majority of people have no idea that even if they use the paid service, it’s not a one-for-one payment system. So even if you support Esthero by listening to her stuff hundreds of times, that money is pooled to other artists. So it’s unfair on countless levels.

Meanwhile, as people finally wake up to the so-called gig economy only exiting to benefit the corporations (meet the new boss, worse than the old boss) more and more musicians are hopefully coming to the conclusion that playing a gig is one thing, but adding their songs to the gig economy is not paying. Good for Esthero for speaking out.

We’ll see how long Spotify takes before they pull the song for “violating their terms of service,” or whatever reason they make up. Because if it’s one thing Spotify is really bad at, it’s getting musicians and singers and bandmates on its side. No, not fake artists it invents so it doesn’t have to pay the real ones, but real ones.

Jessica Hartley, a creative PR and advertising expert with several Cannes seasons under her belt, is teaming up with New Zealander Lucy von Sturmer, a sustainability and thought leadership expert – who is also an outspoken environmental activist. This partnership brings something new to the market. 

Lucy, who founded The Humblebrag in 2017, has a background working in NGOs and sustainability, while Jessica has deep roots in the creative industries, having instigated the PR strategy for some of Amsterdam’s most thought provoking and awarded campaigns such as The Next Rembrandt and School for Justice. 

After six years as an independent consultant, Jessica is now joining The Humblebrag as Managing Partner, bringing two decades of experience in advertising, marketing and PR as well as numerous clients with her. 

Jessica Hartley, Managing Partner The Humblebrag:

“I have spent many years as an independent consultant working with some of the best creative talent on campaigns I’m very proud of.  However the reason I am joining Lucy at the Humblebrag is to continue working on the best creative work, but with a strong mission to create positive impact. Lucy and I have the same vision which is to deploy business as a force for good. This is why The Humblebrag is much more than a commercial communications agency. We are investing time, resources and capital into social, environmental and cultural projects that align with our mission. The most urgent topic being the climate crisis.”

Hartley moved to Amsterdam from the UK in 2006 when she joined 180 Amsterdam as head of PR and awards, working extensively on adidas campaigns such as Impossible is Nothing, +10 and numerous World Cup and Olympic campaigns. During Hartley’s five years at 180 Amsterdam, the agency grew incrementally and won numerous awards and accolades. Originally from London, Hartley was first trained in film production in Soho in the 1990’s, then moved into advertising to work with Trevor Robinson’s progressive agency, Quiet Storm. Settling permanently in the Netherlands, after her stint at 180 Amsterdam, Hartley gained extensive brand marketing and consumer PR experience by working at brands such as TomTom and Bugaboo. 

Most recently she has been working as an independent consultant on award-winning campaigns with agencies such as J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam, DDB Unlimited, HERC the agency, HEIMAT Berlin, &Co Copenhagen and many more. An advocate for creativity and the importance of different and diverse voices within it, Hartley was this year’s Amsterdam ambassador for the inaugural Gerety Awards, a creative benchmark for advertising – judged only by women. 

Lucy von Sturmer, Founder & Managing Partner, The Humblebrag:

“As any entrepreneur will know, finding the right partner is a key. Jess is strategic, forward-thinking and very passionate, but most importantly on a day-to-day level, she’s really fun to work with. Having Jess on board gives me the confidence to take our mission to the next level – already we have an amazing client roster who are striving to create social impact, and I’m excited to see what we can do next.”

Lucy is also the Founder of The Amsterdam Creative Entrepreneurs (ACE) Collective, a community of 400+ creative entrepreneurs in Amsterdam for which she hosts a range of seminars, events and networking opportunities and she is the podcast host for B Building Business. 

The Humblebrag is a strategic communication and thought leadership agency, dedicated to amplifying the voices of innovators, forward-thinkers and industry disruptors who are driving positive change. Working with a mix of brands, NGOs, creative agencies, sustainable fashion and digital disruptors – the agency is setting the agenda for a new breed of fearless business leaders. While deploying time and resources to agenda-setting initiatives on the climate – and building communities around topics like diversity, social inclusion and creative entrepreneurship. 

Hartley adds:

“The direction I hope to take with The Humblebrag is to instigate wider change within the creative industry, moving away from a ‘brief and respond’ way of working to a place where we are setting the agenda and pushing back on commissions that don’t align with our values – and the needs of our planet. This is hard, and it’s an imperfect process, but I feel strongly that this needs to happen.”

Canada apologizes for not living up to its land conservation promises
 

New campaign from Outside Thinkers points out that Canada is falling behind other UN countries on its commitment to protect 17% of its land by 2020

Canada is doing what it does best—apologizing—in an awareness campaign for the non-profit collaborative Outside Thinkers that acknowledges the country’s continued failure to honour its global commitment to critical environmental protection. 

The ads take the form of an apology from the fictitious Gord Burton, the self-appointed Deputy of the Canadian Bureau of Foreign Apologies. They acknowledge Canada’s failure to uphold its promise to permanently protect 17% of its land by 2020 as part of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Approximately 10.6% of Canada’s land was already protected when it became one of 195 countries around the world to make the commitment to the Aichi Targets in 2010, but that number has risen to barely 11% in the nine years since then. Canada ranks a lowly 124^th among countries that signed the initial agreement, and is last among the G7 nations.

Outside Thinkers wanted to call out Canada’s foot-dragging on this key issue and urge Canadians to push for further action. The campaign is led by a 90-second video showing Burton seated at his desk, outlining the original promise and pointing to some of the more than 100 countries that have exceeded Canada’s achievements.

“I want to personally apologize to every country in the world because we are letting them down,” he says, before urging Canadians to take action quickly because he’s already booked what will likely be an expensive Uber trip to Equatorial Guinea.

The campaign also features a series of videos apologizing to countries that have done a better job than Canada of preserving their biodiversity, such as Andorra, Brazil, Chad and Hungary. In addition, a series of influencer videos direct apologies to notable environmental advocates, such as noted Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg.

The second phase arrives just days after the annual G7 Summit in France, which included climate change as one of its key areas of focus. It also follows the Canadian government’s pledge of $175 million towards 67 conservation initiatives in every province and territory, as part of Canada’s Nature Legacy initiative.

Outside Thinkers is encouraging people to spread the messages via social media and visit the website for the Canadian Bureau of Foreign Apologies (cbofa.ca) to send a letter to their local provincial politicians.

Also, here is the campaign video, launched earlier this year.

Here’s another video, from Autumn Peltier, Chief Water Commissioner of the Anishinabek Nation

Naomi Klein, Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker weighs in too.

Greta Thunberg, Swedish student who is credited with raising global awareness of the risks posed by climate change.

Turns out that there are actual laws, still, even when you are drinking White Claw. Despite their attitude-filled tagline, as comedy writer and Director Deanna Director discovered the hard way (pun intented) and tweeted about today.

Turns out, there are laws when you’re drinking Claws. pic.twitter.com/mqMZw5Eo5Z

— Deanna Director (@DeannaDirector) September 15, 2019

But… But! Officer, that’s not what the product’s tagline implies, sir! Now all that remains is testing this in court. Deanna promises to bring this shirt. We should all show up in the same shirts, with a can of White Claw in either hand. Judge might have to join us.  (As an aside, is it any good? I need to try this drink now, can White Claw hook us up?)

Hoping this shirt holds up in court pic.twitter.com/zwmOvOHxM3

— Deanna Director (@DeannaDirector) September 15, 2019

The grey brutalist apartment ghettos we in Sweden call the “million programme”, familiar to anyone who has lived in Northern or Eastern Europe, or in the Deutsche Demokratische Republik itself, are not pretty places. They tend to feel isolating, overbearing, inhuman and soulless, and these areas tend to eventually house the rough boys, the gangs. Shot in Marzahn-Berlin, this video is based on the photo series “Loose Ends” by award-winning photographer Si Wachsmann. “It follows a group of boys on an adventure in the rough neighbourhood, as they escape their harsh reality to a place where boys can be boys.”  The rough boys are Sebastian, Alex, and Kuba, who smoke and fight and blow off steam. They look like Polish supermodels to me, so when the eventual fight begins, I start worrying about their pretty faces. 

Director Adi Halfin wanted to continue the narrative that Wachsmann, her frequent collaborator and real-life partner, had established with “Loose Ends” and Lief joined forces with record label LuckyMe to add S-Type’s first single from his upcoming album ‘S-Type-Beat’ as the score for this story. 

Despite the ghetto surroundings, it looks a little surreal and dreamy, with a sweeping aesthetic that feels almost fragile, and somewhat homoerotic. The close-up portraits deliver glimpses of their emotional world. They are frustrated, they are angry, they feel hopelessness, they feel dejected. Sentiments that generations who grew up in concrete jungles like these have felt.

Halfin felt the desire to film ‘boys being boys’ due to her tendency to express extreme emotions in her work;
 

“I like things that come from the gut and not from the head. And there’s something about this period of adolescence that I find fascinating, especially when it comes to boys. The borders of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are not always clear and you constantly want to test your limits and the limits of your environment. Every emotion is magnified, and a small game can easily turn into something extremely violent. There’s something fearless and careless about this age and it connects to primeval feelings – jealousy, anger, love, sexual attraction – it’s all out there, with no filters.”

CREDITS ‘Waiting’

A project by Si Wachsmann & Adi Halfn

Cast: Alexander Lukowski, Sebastian Dabkowski, Jakub Werra

Production Company: Lief
Music: ‘Waiting’ S-Type via LuckyMe

Record Label Founder: Dominic Flannigan

Production Company (Berlin): True Motion Pictures

Director: Adi Halfin 

DoP: Si Wachsmann 

Producer: Margo Mars

Producer: Alexander Papastawrou

Production Manager: Miriam Henri 

Editor: Shahar Amarilio

Colour Grading: Maria Carretero, Framestore

Colour Grading Producer: Rachel Cohen, Framestore

Hair & Makeup: Claudia Fischer 

Art Director: Shira Wachsmann 

AC: Lisa Dutschmann 

Lighting Assistant: Julian Hemelberg 

Production Assistants: Svenja Nagel, Alex Moore, Jakob Wiechsmann

Location: FELiX Wohngenossenschaft eG (Frau Lüttke)

House Manager: Uwe Illert 
 

Special thanks: Max Zimmermann, Peggy Geibig, Maya Lu, Yaro Blo, Kalle Kallovsky, JMP Agency

Camera and lenses kindly supplied by Canon.

About LuckyMe
LuckyMe is a record label and design studio specialising in the release of new electronic, hip-hop, pop, rock and underground dance music. Referred to as ‘one of the most innovative and prolific independent record labels of the decade’ and acclaimed for ‘distinctive visual arts projects and collaborations’.

FCB New York, in partnership with Unibet – a premium online gambling operator – today announced that it has launched a new campaign entitled “Crazy About the Odds.” The work is the first by the agency since Unibet selected FCB New York as its U.S. Agency of Record in December 2018.

The new campaign, which launches Unibet Online Sportsbook in the United States, reflects the universal truth that when you have money on the line, the experience is intensified to a rather absurd degree.

“We’re winking at bettors, acknowledging that when you have skin in the game, you may be reacting in ways that are perceived as odd by less-invested fans,” said Gary Resch, FCB New York EVP, Executive Creative Director. “For instance, why are you on the edge of your seat when it’s 49-3 while everyone else is filing out? Well, you took the over at 52, so the result is still in the balance.”

In Europe, Unibet has earned the trust of serious bettors, demonstrating for over 20 years an understanding of what players need in order to make informed bets and amplify their sports-watching experience. They seek to begin earning that trust in the U.S. by celebrating their kindred spirit with these bettors.

“We wanted the campaign to be an inside joke between Unibet and the savvy sports bettor. Not everyone will understand the dynamic portrayed in the ads, but the ones who do will know in an instant that we’re the brand that gets them,” said Arnas Janickas, Head of U.S. Marketing at Unibet. “They have a lot of choices out there, so we want to prove that Unibet is the one they want to be watching the games at the pub with.”

In this vein, the new campaign focuses on the raw emotion underlying sports betting moments. With different vignettes for different sports, the campaign will be relevant in every season.

For instance, two hockey fanatics have oddly been converted to tennis fanatics because of a simple bet. Two other bettors make a scene just seconds into a basketball game because they had money on who wins the tip-off. A gentleman pulls his own hammy celebrating a winning bet of a stolen base. While onlookers may think it pretty strange, FCB and Unibet understand that having a bet on a game amplifies the experience to the extent that exhibiting odd behavior is absolutely normal. Thus, the campaign rallying cry, “It’s not odd, it’s the odds.”

Unibet, which offers online sports betting, casino games, poker and bingo in 20 different languages for over 25 million customers throughout the UK, Europe and Australia, announced that it would expand into the U.S. in 2019, and tapped FCB as its key launch partner for the Unibet brand. Unibet is live in New Jersey, and looking to roll out in Pennsylvania later this year.

As legislation enabling online sports betting expands into states across the U.S., Unibet aims to deepen its authentic connection with its target audience while broadening the appeal to more casual sports fans who want some more “hell-yeah” moments.

“Crazy About the Odds” consists of online videos, digital radio spots, geotargeted paid social assets, as well as out-of-home and OTT video ads.

FCB New York:

Ari Halper – Chief Creative Officer

Gary Resch – Executive Creative Director

Hernan Ibanez – Associate Creative Director

Justin Batten – Art Director

Nick Romano – Copywriter

Jon Gruber – Copywriter

Todd Sussman – Chief Strategy Officer

Adam Isidore – Director of Integrated Production

Henna Kathiya – Senior Integrated Producer

Jesse Morris – Project Manager

Janice Katz – Business Affairs Manager

Jared Shell – Account Director

Miles Brickley – Account Executive

Unibet US:

Arnas Janickas – Head of Marketing, US

Manuel Stan – SVP Kindred, US

Mateusz Samolyk – Brand Manager, Global

Director:

Adam Goldstein

Circle:

Chris Bowles – Executive Producer

Chuck Ryant – Executive Producer

Steve Schofield – Executive Producer

Kevin Johnston – Executive Producer

Vanessa Lenarduzzi – Producer

Production Manager – Chelsea Ruckle

Lost Planet:

Krystn Wagenberg – Executive Producer

Casey Cayko – Senior Producer

Charlie Johnston – Editor

Rachel Butler & Kenji Yamauchi – Assistant Editors

Black Hole – Finishing/GFX:

Felix Cabrera – Finishing Producer

Reginald Butler & Andre Sam – Animators

Tim Farrell – Flame Artist

Isabel Gomez – Flame Assistant

Honey Mix:

Mary Tomasiewicz – Owner/Executive Producer

Eric Thompson – Sound Mixer

Photography:

John Keatley – Photographer

Sean Frith – Producer

The Mill:

Fergus McCall – Colorist

Rochelle Brown – Producer

Café Bustelo, the legacy espresso-style coffee brand, is making its national debut in a vibrant new ad campaign, blending modern and traditional Latin imagery and music in a celebration of the brand’s heritage. Since 1928, Café Bustelo’s bold flavor and iconic, colorful packaging have been both known, and loved, in Latin communities across the country. Now, for the first-time ever, the brand is available nationwide. The new ad campaign is titled, Café Bustelo Estuvo Aquí (Café Bustelo Was Here), and debuts September 2^nd on Univision, VH1, Travel Channel, Ion, Nick at Nite, and others, with a spirited :30 broadcast commercial as the creative centerpiece. Additional campaign elements include online, digital banners, social, OOH, and radio.
 

The campaign is the first creative work for the Café Bustelo coffee brand from PSOne, the Publicis Groupe’s Power of One team, a bespoke solution for The J.M. Smucker Company.

The campaign boasts bold, minimalist illustration-style visuals, with a retro poster feel, in a colorful and creative nod to the authenticity of the brand. Both modern and traditional Latin imagery are used to represent Café Bustelo’s multi -generational appeal. The music featured in the campaign adds to the mix, marrying old and new, by combining traditional Latin rhythms, with modern electronic beats, and was created by HiFi Project. One taste of this bold Latin blend and you’ll understand why it’s always more exciting in the knowledge that “Café Bustelo Estuvo Aquí.”

“It’s so exhilarating to see this brilliant work capture the authentic Latin spirit, passion and heritage of Café Bustelo coffee in an artistic way,” stated Liz Mayer, Consumer Engagement & Omnichannel Customer Marketing Lead, The J.M. Smucker Company. “We cannot wait for this work- the first campaign of this nature for the business – to drive awareness of this growing brand that already has such a loyal following. In a crowded category like coffee, this brand definitely holds its own, and this creative created by PSOne further exemplifies this.”

“Cafe Bustelo is a bold espresso-style coffee brand with deep roots in Latin communities,” stated Tina Meyer-Hawkes, Vice President of Marketing on Coffee, The J.M. Smucker Company. “This new creative beautifully blends Latin-inspired music and art into an energetic story that is unique to Café Bustelo. I can’t think of a better way to invite new consumers to join our brand tribe.”

“We want to invite you to get a “taste” of our coffee and culture through the vibrancy and energy of our magnetic “Café Bustelo Estuvo Aquí” national campaign; a first for our brand,” said Eduardo S. Merino, Senior Brand Manager, The J.M. Smucker Company. “We feel very proud to continue with our Latino traditions of inviting and bringing people together over a cup of cafecito, and we want to continue doing so for generations. ¡Están invitados!”

“Coffee is such a cluttered space with most brands relying on the same roasting, brewing and sipping imagery we’ve seen for years,” stated Andy Bird, Chief Creative Officer, PSOne. “The Café Bustelo Estuvo Aquí campaign disregards the category tropes and artfully creates a space unique to this very special brand. It’s loud, proud, and incredibly ownable.”

“We felt a real sense of responsibility in creating the first-ever national campaign for Café Bustelo, said Erica Roberts, Executive Creative Director, PSOne. “The brand has been a staple in the Latin community for almost a century; it’s got serious street cred. So whatever we created needed to preserve this and be unapologetically Latin. In fact, we were originally going to release the work in English & Spanish, but agreed with the team at The J.M. Smucker Company that we wanted to stay true to our roots and only release in Spanish.”

Client:                                                  The J.M. Smucker Company

Brand:                                                  Café Bustelo

Campaign Title:                                   Café Bustelo Estuvo Aquí
Agency:                                              Publicis Groupe, PSOne

Agency Location:                               New York

Chief Creative Officer:                        Andy Bird
Executive Creative Director:               Erica Roberts

Creative Director/Copy:                     Larissa Kirschner

Creative Director/Art:                         Matthew Leopizzi

Creative Director/Art:                         Jana Pejkovska

Director of Integrated Production:     Jenny Read

Executive Producer:                            Lauren Schneidmuller

Producer                                             Dylan Mizner

Music Producer                                   Rachel Rauch                        

Group Account Director:                    Yuri Lee

VP, Account Director:                         Tabatha Roman

Account Executive:                            Nia Bolling

Production Company:                        Blacklist
Managing Director:                             Adina Sales
Executive Producer:                            Danielle Amaral
Producer:                                            Jodi Kraushar

Animation House:                                Wizz
Director:                                              Gary Levesque
Producer:                                            Matthieu Poirier 

Animation:

Bong Nguyen 

Pierre Rutz

Rachid Guendouze 

James Molle

Laure Escadafals 

Tom Rameaux 

Compositing:                                       Benoit Galland

Background:                                       Gary Levesque

Intern:                                                  Quentin Rigaux

Music House:                                       Hifi

Executive Producer:                            Chris Heidman 

Audio Engineer:                                   Mark Turrigiano

Production House:                               Harbor

Executive Producer:                            Jesse Schwartz

Papa John’s International, Inc. announces the launch of its new “Better Day” campaign featuring Board of Directors member and franchisee Shaquille O’Neal. The campaign includes three television ads featuring O’Neal making pizzas with Papa John’s team members and engaging Los Angeles residents across the city during deliveries at different locations.

“Shaquille has a dynamic presence and sharp business sense. We wanted him to take the wheel in these ads and show it truly is a better day at Papa John’s,” said Karlin Linhardt, Papa John’s global chief marketing officer. “You’ll see in the commercials Shaquille being Shaquille – visiting team members at Papa John’s restaurants, showing off his charisma, embodying the changes so pervasive across Papa John’s.”

The “Better Day” campaign was directed by filmmaker Amir Farhang with Hungry Man Productions.  Farhang is a former agency creative turned award-winning director who worked with O’Neal previously, as well as working with brands such as Adidas, Nike and Dove.

This is the first campaign with Papa John’s from its new partner Camp + King. 

“These spots are meant to show how Shaquille is not playing a role of “spokesperson,” but instead is playing a real role of being more deeply invested in the company as both a store owner and member of the board,” said Roger Camp, chief creative officer and co-founder of Camp + King.

These commercials are part of a larger campaign, which will include additional candid moments with O’Neal and community engagement in select cities in the coming months, among other elements.

Advertising Agency: Camp + King, San Francisco, CA (USA)

Chief Executive Officer & Partner: Jamie King

Chief Creative Officer & Partner: Roger Camp

Creative Director, Junior Partner:  Rikesh Lal

Creative Director, Junior Partner: Jesse Dillow

Senior Art Director: Melissa Macarian

Senior Copywriter: Rick Morrison

Copywriter: Evan Burton

Director of Production, Junior Partner:  Stacy McClain

Executive Producer: Garrett DeLorm

Managing Director – Chicago, Junior Partner: Kristin Barbour

Brand Director: Melissa Stavish

Brand Supervisor: Helen Oddone

Assistant Brand Manager: Rachel Feigelman

Director of Strategy, Junior Partner: David Morrissey

Senior Strategist: Paige Robertson

Designer:  Joey Faccio

Director of Print Production: Amy Guzman

Production Company: Hungry Man

Director: Amir Farhang

Managing Partner/Executive Producer: Kevin Byrne

Managing Partner/Executive Producer: Mino Jarjoura

Executive Producer/Director of Sales: Kevin Byrne

Executive Producer: Caleb Dewart

Head of Production: Marian Harkness

Producer: Tine Densmore Bell

Production Supervisor: Alexa Brugger

Post-Production:  Cut+Run / Jogger SF

Editor: Ben McCambridge

Editor: Max Holste

Executive Producer: Deanne Mehling

Producer: Cassandra Guardado

Flame Artist: Brendan Crockett 

Online Producer: Caylee Banz

Mix:  One Union Recording

Senior Engineer: Joaby Deal

Color Grade:  Company 3

Senior Colorist: Sean Coleman

Music Supervision: Beta Petrol

Executive Producer: Dayna Turcotte

Producer: CMC Forecast, Dave Suchanek

ArtClass is pleased to announce an exciting addition to their team of next generation storytellers. Joining the roster of the LA and NY-based production studio is award-winning director Cody Stokes. Hailing from the Midwest, Stokes makes poignant commercials, narrative films, and documentaries that touch the heart.

As Executive Producer Geno Imbriale says, “Authenticity is the pillar of Cody’s work. He knows how to trigger emotion and connect with the viewer, a skill that runs throughout his expansive portfolio. At ArtClass, we’re looking forward to taking Cody’s artistry and production pedigree into new and unexpected avenues.”

The prolific Stokes has over a hundred commercial projects under his belt. He’s crafted ads for brands including Toyota, Nike SB, American Express, Microsoft, Yahoo, BMW, ESPN, and Dreambone. Inspired by his mother’s love of craft, and his father’s love of story (and classic 60’s films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Stokes was primed to impart a depth, richness, and relatability to all of his work.

In his short films, it takes Stokes only a couple of minutes to translate complex or deep emotions, be it mourning a loss, bearing loneliness, rooting for escape, or delighting in whimsy. His sense for pacing and performance results in narratives that are genuine, captivating, sometimes uplifting, and always emotive. The recipient of the Princess Grace Award for filmmaking, Stokes’ use of light and sound brilliantly punctuates scenes and transitions, especially in shorts like Paper Hallways, A Year Long Morning, and The Loneliest Place On Earth.

Stokes’ first full-length narrative, a crime drama called The Ghost Who Walks, is rounding the film festival circuit in summer 2019. It has already won six awards at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, including Best Narrative Feature, and won the Jury Award at the 2018 US IN PROGRESS section of the Champs-Elysees Film Festival.

For Stokes, having a supportive team can make all the difference, which is why he found himself linked up with ArtClass, having previously worked with EP Geno Imbriale. “ArtClass is the kind of company that helps directors – and creators of all kinds – be the best versions of themselves. They provide a platform to explore new ideas and really hone one’s craft,” says Stokes. “I feel very privileged to be part of such a diverse group of creatives.”