Hasta La Creative!

The onion alert is in full effect. Skype has been promoting their global capabilities with a “Stay Together” campaign produced by Pereira & O’Dell, and the fourth video in the series, “The Born Friends Family Portrait,” is a smart showcase of the program’s utility. Two girls, Sarah from Indiana and Paige from Auckland, were both born without fully developed left arms and formed a long distance friendship over the years. Sarah and Paige are now teenagers, and as you can see in the accompanying clip, finally met in-person. It’s touching and respectfully filmed.

The three prior videos cover similar stories – a father talking to his family still in Africa, a zookeeper in America keeping tabs on an animal family in Australia, and a two young cousins (common theme) closing the gap between Brazil and America. We should probably expect more tearjerkers from Skype, because these are the kind of tales that sell themselves. No misdirection or exploitation, just a documentary setup that has the right kind of appeal. Credits after the jump.

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After spending the last four years at mcgarrybowen, where she last served as managing director/digital strategy & social media, Ariana Stolarz has, as of last week, officially moved on and joined up with MRM, where she now serves as EVP/director of strategy for the agency’s eastern region that includes the New York and Princeton offices. According to the MRM buildup, the new EVP’s “perspective on building global insights and ideas across brands, geographies and culture will add tremendous benefits to our clients, navigating the intersection between strategic branding, digital transformation, and the world we live in.” Someone cue some dramatic flair from Hans Zimmer, stat.

Anyways, Stolarz replaces Adam Donnelley, who you may recall left MRM this past summer and headed back to his native Australia, where he now serves as managing partner at DDB Sydney. As for Stolarz, prior to mcgarrybowen, the exec spent several years on the digital strategy side at the Vidal Partnership as well as JWT.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

San Francisco-based agency Evolution Bureau (or EVB if you will), which is perhaps still recovering from last Friday’s Ad Ghetto Bl0ck Party, has brought on a pair of senior writers in Kate Getty and David Satterfield. Normally, appointments like these might be relegated to the news roundups, but we got a little kick out of the Star Wars-referencing welcome memo sent to EVB staff last week announcing the pair’s arrival. But, as the EVB staffers who happen to be hardcore fans of George Lucas‘s brainchild have pointed out to the authors, the Star Wars quotes are from Episode III while the image toplining the memo is from Episode IV. Tsk tsk.

Anyhow, as elaborated upon below, Getty joins EVB after spending nearly four years as a senior copywriter at Draftfcb San Francisco while Satterfield worked as a copywriter at Boulder’s Made Movement prior to assuming his new role. Read on below for the somewhat colorful memo, complete with Luuuuuke:

“Subject: You were the chosen ones! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them.

 Heroes of The Confederacy! You may have noticed some new faces prairie dogging up from the cubes this week. That is because we have three new members of the EVB team! I know, right?!

Check out Senior Writer Kate Getty. She came to us all the way from across the street. Big fan of bow ties, Bourbon (she’s from Kentucky), and dancing, that Kate. In her own words:

Kate spent the past three-and-a-half years directly across the street at dfcbsf.com, working on Air New Zealand, Kikkoman, Dockers, Ooma, EA and Habitat for Humanity. She doesn’t smoke, but still met Hilldawgg on the corner last year, where they challenged each other to a dance fight. Before that she was working in Austin in the green sector at the social marketing agency Enviromedia.com, working on keeping the world beautiful and water around for a while longer. And before that, she got her start as a bartender at The Cock Pit (really), while working at The Butler Bros. (now Bogusky/Fearless Cottage’s storytelling partners, for the Crispin boys) to get her start, working on Livestrong and Sweet Leaf Tea. She’ll talk to you about: food, surfing, dancing, physics, and spirituality.

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Details are somewhat vague at this point, but sources familiar with the matter confirm that Charles Pinkerton, who’s been with kbs+ and its media arm, Media Kitchen, for nearly a dozen years, is no longer with the agency. During his lengthy stay within the kbs+ fold, Pinkerton moved up from director of interactive media and marketing to partner/director of client services at Media Kitchen in 2006 to his most recent role as partner/director of communication insights at MK.

No word yet on if there are plans to replace Pinkerton, but during his career, the 25-year ad vet also worked as a planner at Campbell Mithun early on before serving in senior exec roles at the likes of Horizon, Ammirati Puris Lintas and The Martin Agency.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Grey Group CEO/chairman Jim Heekin just announced a big leadership change at the agency this afternoon. Of course, we do have the memo, but the gist of it is that Tim Mellors, who’s history with Grey dates back to 1998 and who’s served worldwide creative director at the agency since 2007, is parting ways while Grey NY president/CCO Tor Myhren will assume the role of worldwide CCO of the agency network along with maintaining his management post in the Big Apple.

Anyways, Heekin’s memo, which includes memories of Mellors during his lengthy stay at Grey, is below. Read on:

“I wanted to share the news with you that Tim Mellors, Vice Chairman and Worldwide Creative Director of Grey Group, and the founder of our Grey Global Creative Council, has decided to leave while he’s on top since the word “retirement” is not in his vocabulary.

In 2007, I charged Tim with the critical mission of raising Grey’s creative quality and profile around the world.  What he has accomplished is the stuff of legend, surpassing everyone’s wildest expectations, and mostly, our own.  Under his creative leadership, together we have built Grey into a vital, stimulating, confident, winning agency which is respected and increasingly feared by others.

Tim has been a unique, and inspirational, evangelist for Famously Effective work.  He has identified and recruited world-class talent and mentored rising stars from Beijing to Rio.  Ever the free spirit, he’s done it with passion, joy and humor.

Tim came into the Grey orbit in 1998 when we bought his successful agency, Mellors Reay, in London.  After a sabbatical in 2003, we coaxed him back a year later as President and Chief Creative Officer of Grey North America, based in New York, before assuming his global responsibilities.
#@CC
Earlier in his career, he set London on fire at Saatchi & Saatchi, creating breakthrough work for British Airways, launching the Independent newspaper and catapulting Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives into power.  Along the way, he worked at Publicis, GGT, FCB London, DDB and Lintas, amassing 15 Lions, 5 D&AD Pencils, the Grand Prix at the European Advertising Festival and serving on every major worldwide award jury.

While rising to the pinnacle of our business, Tim has managed to be a magazine journalist, a commercial film director, a BBC TV host, a trained psychotherapist, renowned photographer, painter and poet and it’s only Wednesday.

One thing is sure, we will never see his like again.  Please join me in thanking Tim for his vast contributions to Grey and wishing him much happiness as he conquers new worlds.

Importantly, I am very pleased to announce that Tor Myhren will assume the role of Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Grey, leading the Grey Global Creative Council, in addition to his management role at Grey New York.

Tor has played a pivotal role in the ongoing success story of our flagship, Grey New York.  We have transformed our talent ranks, creative product, digital prowess and new business fortunes, achieving our sixth record year of financial and creative performance in 2013. In his new role, he will have the opportunity to evolve this culture of innovation across our global footprint.

A natural leader and team builder with an intuitive feel for work that captures pop culture imagination on a global scale, I’m confident he will build on the momentum we have achieved and help make us the undisputed leader in our industry.

Please give him your congratulations and full support as we take the next big leap.
#@CC
Regards,

GREYgroup | Famously effective since 1917
Jim Heekin, Chairman & CEO”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

If the name Nobbie Kim doesn’t ring a bell, you might remember the creative from his days back in fall 2011 when he pledged to do at least one piece of iconic work at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA. Well, we’re not if that actually ever panned out, but he did get his fair share of attention in the ensuing days/weeks. Though he’s been off our radar for the past two years, Kim has resurfaced(minus any agency blood oath this time), accepting an executive creative director position at the Costa Mesa HQ of digital/direct agency, Rauxa. Kim will officially assume his post this Friday, Nov. 1 and report to Ian Baer, chief creative/strategy officer at Rauxa who’s based in its NY office. Along with his stint at Chiat LA, Kim has also served on the creative side at Innocean during his career.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

As you may have heard this morn, Lincoln Bjorkman, who moved up to the big chair as CCO of Digitas North America three-and-a-half years ago, will join Wunderman effective Nov. 11 and report to Wunderman chairman and CEO Daniel Morel. In his new role, Bjorkman will oversee the creative efforts of 60 offices in 170 countries for clients including Coke, Shell, Land Rover, Microsoft, Nokia, and Dell among others. According to the Wunderman camp, Bjorkman is only the second global creative director in Wunderman’s history. London’s Steve Harrison first served in the role (2006-2007). Anyhow, the unicorn whisperer that is Tony Weisman, CEO of DigitasLBi North America, reflects for a bit on Bjorkman’s departure below:

“Lincoln Bjorkman shared with me that after ten remarkable years with us, he has decided to leave DigitasLBi for another agency. He will be with us for a couple of more weeks.

What to say, what to write.

When I look for writing inspiration, I often pull up Lincoln’s famous emails. Each shares a piece of news worth writing about. Each written with an artful dose of humor that brings smiles across our faces. Each frothy with authenticity and love for the subject. Each uniquely Lincoln.

I won’t talk about Lincoln’s credentials. They stand like skyscrapers on their own. And, anyone who knows Lincoln knows well that the very last thing he likes to do is praise himself. He much prefers giving the warm spotlight to others. Again, uniquely Lincoln.

Instead, I simply want to say thanks to our resident gentleman, soulful writer, exceptional creative talent, music lover, tireless perfectionist, rock star manager, artist, a tennis player with an awesome forehand, and champion of our formidable creative team that he helped build, nurture and grow. I want to thank Lincoln for making “the work, the work, the work” at the center of why we come to the office every day. I want to thank Lincoln for elevating our creative muscle earning us award-winning, record breaking  creative streaks.

Lincoln, you crushed it at DigitasLBi. We’re just sayin’.

Our very, very best to you.

Tony Weisman
CEO, North America”

 

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While there may have been a little confusion over names on the Spy line last night, we’ve cleared it up and have received word from sources familiar with the matter that is indeed Piers North who has left Mother New York. North spent just over a decade at the agency’s London and NY offices as a creative, specifically serving as an art director for clients including Crunch Fitness, K-Y and 10 Cane.

There’s no confirmation on this as of yet, but we’re hearing that North, who’s also an avid cyclist and perhaps fashionista, has left Mother NY for a gig downtown at production company, Spring Studios. We’re still waiting to hear back from Spring, which has worked with Target and Harper’s Bazaar and is opening up a new space in Tribeca in, yes, spring 2014. We’ll keep you posted.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

After spending the last 11 years at Minneapolis-based food giant General Mills, home to everything from Cheerios and Lucky Charms to Pillsbury and Betty Crocker, Doug Moore is leaving the company. Here’s a statement from General Mills to clarify: “Doug has announced plans to leave General Mills at the end of the year.  He and we have communicated Doug’s decision to our agencies and our brand teams.  No announcement has been made regarding a successor… or Doug’s future plans.  But he is continuing to work with our brand teams and our agencies to ensure that strong plans are in place.”

Moore initially joined General Mills in 2001 as VP/advertising & branding before being promoted to his most current role as VP/advertising & media in 2006. Prior to joining the company, Moore spent several years on the agency side working in various account roles including a lengthy stint as EVP/group account director at Saatchi & Saatchi (which of course counts General Mills as a key client) and VP/account supervisor at BBDO, where he worked with clients including Pizza Hut and HBO.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Well, while Publicis Kaplan Thaler appears to be keeping quiet on CEO Robin Koval‘s departure, the folks at Legacy, her new employer, were kind enough to send over their official announce of her joining the anti-smoking nonprofit org behind initiatives such at truth and EX. Koval joins Legacy as president/CEO and will replace Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH at the 14-year-old operation.

In a statement, the new chief exec says, “As a marketing leader, I have been a long-time admirer of Legacy and the behavior changing impact of the truth campaign. To be given the opportunity to evolve Legacy’s counter-marketing efforts for a new generation of youth in an environment of ever-increasing communication complexity is an honor and the opportunity of a lifetime. I see this as a natural and very purpose-driven extension of my many years working for healthcare brands and cause-related programs.”

Prior to joining Legacy, Koval, who’s also penned a handful of best-selling books, spent 16 years in all at what is now Publicis Kaplan Thaler. The exec served as president of Kaplan Thaler Group prior to the merger in summer 2012, which resulted in her being promoted to CEO of the new entity.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.