Hasta La Creative!

Meet Octicorn, a half-octopus half-unicorn abomination that has either teeth or gills affixed to the front of its face.

What began as a simple sticker designed by former W+K producer and current filmmaker Justin Lowe now has a Kickstarter page devoted to bringing Octicorn to life in the form of a children’s book. The hope, of course, is that Octicorn’s mixed-species parentage will help little boys and girls who have tails or whiskers feel better about themselves, knowing that somewhere, there’s a terrified looking seabeast who’s also a bullying victim just like them. Remember, any two animals can successfully conceive offspring with the power of self-confidence.

As with anything created under the guise of “children’s entertainment,” Lowe already has planned for his book to become Disney-fied with pillows, t-shirts and, potentially, a mobile app that finds Octicorn searching for his true parents, only to find that they disowned him years ago when they tried to distance themselves from their “crazy sexually experimental college years.” In fact, if the $15k total is met in the next 24 days, there’s even the hint at a future Octicorn rap video that finds our loveable hero talking about how a history of getting bullied inevitably turned him to the gang life, where he worked as a drug runner until getting in with a connected producer who helps him jump start a hip-hop career under the pseudonym “Ock-T.” Dreams do come true, if you pony up and donate to this Kickstarter.

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Ahh yes, what better time to dust off the ol’ blind item category than with this little ditty that showed up in the tips box last night. A management supervisor at a certain fairly well-known San Francisco agency appears to be on the hunt for a husband, and by golly, she’ll crowdsource if she has to in order to land one. Is she “wookin pa nub” in all the wrong places? Well, only time will tell we suppose. As you’ll see below, there’s $10,000 up for grabs if it all works in the end. We’ve redacted the name, though, as we don’t to add insult to injury if this idea backfires (we’ve been told though that this is “dead serious” and that she’s “already gotten 100 potential dates”), so read on and take your guesses.

“Hi to my most favorite friends,

Remember that time I offered you $10,000 to find me a husband? Me neither. But we both will in about one minute and forty five seconds.

I just finished the book “Lean In.” And whether you’re a fan of this feminist social movement is neither here nor there. What is here is an idea that came to me after reading this book. I thought, “I get it, I need to sit at the table. I need to be deeply committed to becoming a leader.” Got it. I’m on it. And then I thought, “It’s 11PM on a Sunday night, I’m single, I just had to squirt dish soap on leftover pizza so I wouldn’t eat 2 more slices and this is the second self-help book I’ve read this month.”

And then it was as if Sheryl Sandberg and Patti Stanger bitch slapped me across the face with a soaking wet “stop being single” towel. If I wanted a new job, would I sit in the lobby of the employer’s building just hoping that someone would offer me my dream job? No. If I want a husband, will he just show up out of thin air and ask me to hang out with him for the rest of his life? No. Okay—maybe if I looked like Kate Upton. But I don’t. (However, in 2005 the freshman class of my sorority did say that Charlize Theron was my doppelganger. Yes, we might have been hazing them. Yes, they might have been blind folded. But they said it.) So yeah, I’m not Kate Upton. You get the point.

And so I’m writing you today because I’ve decided to make an aggressive action plan on finding that one fella that I get to hang out with forever. And I’ve recognized two things that are important to this plan: (1) a great percentage of marriages are the result of introductions by friends and (2) most people do not give a lot of thought about introducing one of their single friends to another one of their single friends. I get it. Introducing me to my husband is just not high on your to-do list. But I think I have an idea that might change that…

I will personally give ten thousand dollars to the friend who introduces me to my husband.

Here is how the referral program works:
Step 1: You set me up on a date with a man
Step 2: I marry that man
Step 3: I give you $10,000 on my wedding day

I know you’re thinking that this is nuts. Just plain crazy. “[Redacted], you can find a husband without dishing out $10,000.” Well for starters, thank you – I’m flattered. And secondly, I totally agree. But the reality is finding a husband always costs money. I just collected 1,000 insider points from Sephora and this isn’t because I buy beauty products to impress my 4-year old nephew.

To substantiate this offer, I have the complete support and admiration from my parents—who are both included on this email.

So, remember that time I offered you $10,000 to find me a husband? Me too.

Always and forever,
[redacted]”

 

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Just to clarify things right quick for those on the Spy line, we spoke to sources in the know, and yes, we’ve received confirmation that Judith Carr, currently president and now-Publicis Groupe-owned DigitasLBi, is changing courses just slightly. From what we’ve been told, Carr, who’s been with what was then LBi for seven years, will be part of a move that includes “streamlining management,” though she’s staying within the organization and starting her own practice within the Publicis Groupe network.

Timeline has yet to be finalized (we’re told it could be anywhere from six weeks to end of year at this point), but we’ll keep you posted if and when we hear more about Carr, who sources say is just one of a few upcoming leadership shifts at DigitasLBi/MRY on coming up. We’re of course staying tuned.

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We knew something was in the air when just the words “Matt Ian” popped up in our tips box on Saturday of all days. Well, as we alluded to in our earlier TBWA\Chiat\Day NY-related post this morning, the “big announce” is that, yes, Matt Ian, is taking over for Mark Figliulo as creative head of said agency’s New York office. As tipsters mentioned, the CCO title does not apply as of now; Ian, now in his second stint at TBWA, instead joins as executive creative director. Figliulo, who spent the last five-plus years as CCO/chairman of Chiat NY, is moving on to start his own shop.

Ian, meanwhile, joins from Deutsch L.A., where he served as EVP/group creative director on VW (recent examples include the baseball and Rubik’s Cube/racing spots). Prior to joining Deutsch, Ian worked as a senior creative at the likes of CP+B (on Microsoft Windows) and BBH New York, the latter of which he spent nine years at working on, of course, Axe as well as Johnnie Walker and Levi’s. In a statement regarding his move back to NYC, Ian says, “I wasn’t actively looking to leave Deutsch, LA or Volkswagen. But when I met Robert and talked with him about his plans for the NY office, jumping at the chance to write the next chapter of the TBWA\Chiat\Day NY story was a no-brainer.” Ian will officially join TBWA\Chiat\Day NY in August.

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Le photographe américain Richard Renaldi parcourt les rues de la ville de New-York et demande à des inconnus de poser ensemble. Sa série intitulée « Touching Strangers » force la communication et le contact entre les individus, obligés de se toucher lorsqu’ils se font photographier. De très belles photos à découvrir.

Speaking of Commonwealth, sources familiar with the matter confirm what we’ve been hearing since yesterday, that the Detroit-based, Chevy-focused agency, which is now solely under McCann’s control, has had to let go of some staff. From what we’ve been told, the number of those affected is approximately 10 and among the most notable ones that have been cut are executive creative directors Andrew Reed and Larry Frey. Frey, if you didn’t know, served as creative director on the 90-second Chevy anthem spot, “Find New Roads,” from earlier this year while at Commonwealth.

Both Frey and Reed (pictured) joined Commonwealth from the Goodby Silverstein & Partners side of the now-defunct agency structure. The latter also had stints as a GCD at Razorfish and served as a freelance creative at the likes of W+K and Saatchi & Saatchi LA. Our sources tell us that this week’s Commonwealth cuts were due to the usual “making adjustments in staffing levels and capabilities across departments, realigning resources to best service the client.”

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After a brief, nine-month spell as CEO of Newsweek/Daily Beast, Baba Shetty has rejoined the ad industry, assuming the role of chief strategy and media officer at what is now DigitasLBi. From what sources tell us, Shetty will officially assume his role in mid-August and will work out of the Boston office, reporting directly to Digitas North America CEO, Tony Weisman.

Prior to his most recent gig in the publishing world, Shetty spent seven years at fellow Boston-based agency Hill Holliday, where he last served as chief strategy officer and worked on accounts including Dunkin’ Donuts, Liberty Mutual and Bank of America. During his career, the returning ad exec also served as a managing director at Fallon and worked on the client side in marketing/comms at BMW early on.

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And now, a little SoCal news. We’ve received confirmation that digital agency MJD Interactive, a seven-year-old operation that houses offices in both San Diego and L.A., has welcomed Matt Motschenbacher as CMO/managing partner. The new exec, who officially assumes his post at MJD tomorrow, arrives from Santa Monica-based agency Blitz, where he spent the last 18 months as senior director/business development. Along with the usual CMO duties including overseeing strategic marketing, biz dev and PR efforts, Motschenbacher is also tasked with expanding MJD’s L.A. presence.

Regarding his new shop, the new CMO says, “They have elevated their offerings to better address the needs and wants of today’s digitally savvy customers and it’s inspiring to be a part of their tremendous growth and amazing work.” Prior to Blitz, Motschenbacher spent two years as director of biz dev at Digitaria’s San Diego hub. As for MJD, the digital shop currently counts clients including Oakley, Titleist Golf, Vail Resorts and Riot Games. In addition, we’re hearing that the agency is also set to launch a project for Comic-Con and Legendary Films, which we should hear about some time this week.

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It’s been a couple of years since we heard the name Walt Connelly, but the creative exec has now returned to his old stomping grounds at Havas New York, where he worked early on in his career when it was still known as Euro RSCG. Last we remember, Connelly and Ogilvy New York parted ways in summer 2011 after he spent just five months at the agency as executive creative director on the IBM account. Since that time, the creative exec has served as CMO at startup denim jeans brand I Am Not a Virgin and founded his own collective called Creative Apostles.

Now back at Havas, Connelly will assume the role of global ECD on the agency’s Merck Consumer Care business that includes the Claritin and Afrin accounts. Along with his Havas and Ogilvy stints, Connelly spent six years as ECD at JWT on Microsoft, Kimberly-Clark, HSBC, Ford and Bloomberg, and also served in a similar role for several years at McCann Worldgroup San Francisco

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After 13 years spent moving up the charts at DDB, Paul Gunning has now taken on the top role as CEO of the agency’s Chicago office. Gunning replaces Peter McGuinness, who spent two years at the helm, but is leaving the agency and returning to New York to take on the role of chief marketing and brand officer for Greek yogurt brand, Chobani. Doesn’t seem too surprising considering that Chobani was a client of Gotham, the IPG-owned agency where McGuinness served as president/CEO before moving to DDB. As for Gunning, the newly minted DDB Chicago chief exec spent the last five years as CEO for Tribal Worldwide before assuming his new title.

In a statement regarding his appointment, Gunning says,  ”Chicago is my hometown, and DDB Chicago is one of the most storied and well-respected ad agencies in the world. I look forward to my new role and guiding the agency’s way forward with an emphasis on delivering outstanding results to our clients.”

Gunning first started out as an account director at Tribal DDB before moving up to VP/GM and then president before assuming his most recent role.

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