Hasta La Creative!

After running a standard teaser that didn’t reveal much about the forthcoming ad, Avocados from Mexico debuted its new campaign by Austin’s GSD&M today.

Here’s the full spot:

After the launch, we were fortunate enough to speak with agency Creative Director Tom Hamling and VP/Account Director Sabia Siddiqi about the work (directed by Matt Dilmore of Biscuit).

Hamlin tells us that the client wanted “something to grab people’s attention” and remind them that “the world’s best avocados come from Mexico”:

“It’s the only place where they grow year-round, and that was the genesis of the idea: going back to the beginning of time and seeing where they would thrive best.”

The winning idea came at the very end of the pitch process:

“We showed them four or five ideas. They’d already seen three agencies and 15 concepts that day, and they told us on set that they knew the minute they saw it that this was the one they wanted.”

Siddiqi explains that the campaign will, of course, go well beyond the ad itself:

“What we’re most excited about is all the content created around the spot: we will have a live ‘draft’ with an hour of material and a related giveaway. It’s based on the understanding that avocados come from Mexico — and lots of other things come from Mexico too.”

Hamling says that, while the agency cannot yet reveal specifics about that content, it will allow viewers to “engage after they watch the game”; Siddiqi notes that the follow-up will be promoted via Facebook and Twitter, that the videos will live on YouTube, and that the campaign will run through Monday after the ad airs during the first quarter of the game.

On picking Doug Flutie and Jerry Rice to star, Hamling says that “they are iconic college/professional players who Americans are used to seeing behind the desk commenting on drafts.”

Here’s a teaser regarding the follow-up material:

“During the first draft ever, what else did Mexico grab?”

Back in September, sources confirmed that Eric Springer — former CCO at FCB/West best known for that 2011 VW Super Bowl spot — was no longer with the agency.

Now we know where he landed: at LA’s Ignited.

Springer will be the shop’s first CCO. In the past, the organization used ECDs to run its creative department, but the release claims that business growth and other changes facilitated the creation of a CCO role.

Ignited founder/CEO Eric Johnson writes that the hire points to “a new year and new direction for the agency,” and Springer himself says he’s “always looking for a new challenge…I am looking forward to helping drive the agency into this next chapter.”

Springer spent 15 years with the Deutsch organization before leaving to launch Culver City’s Pitch in 2012; FCB then hired him to run creative for its West Coast organization, and he spent just under two years in the role while creating work for clients like Levi’s and Taco Bell (for which he allegedly helped run the “Live Mas” campaign).

Ignited lists its current clients as “DTS, Fresh & Easy, Sanuk, U.S. Army, Activision and Pinkberry among others” like Clinique and NBC Universal. In other news, we assume that the agency’s “coolest employee” Jesse still lives, breathes, and even eats denim.

Strategic and creative agency Matter Unlimited announced the additions of Alexandra Gordon as account managing director and Jake Kahana as creative director, design.

Gordon will be responsible for leading management, developing client relationships and overseeing the internal account team. She joins Matter Unlimited from mcgarrybowen, where she spent approximately the last three years as an account managing director and led several integrated campaigns for Marriott International. Prior to mcgarrybowen, Gordon spent over two years serving as an account director at DDB Sydney, where she worked on the McDonald’s Australia account. Prior to that she served as an account manager for M&C Saatchi.

As creative director, Kahana will manage creative output for all client work, acting as creative lead. He joins Matter Unlimited following over a decade as a freelance art director and designer. During this time his clients included Microsoft, Nestle, Unicef, HBO and President Bill Clinton. He has also worked as an art director for Deutsch LA, a lead designer at 72andSunny and an instructor at Otis College of Art and Design.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have these two rock stars joining the Matter Unlimited team,” said Rob Holzer, founder and CEO, Matter Unlimited, in a statement. “They both bring just the right mix of experience and passion to use their skills for positive social impact that make them perfect for our mission and the important work ahead of us.”

Confirming rumors that began circulating Monday night, Y&R has approved the press release announcing the promotion of Ronny Northrop to chief creative officer of its California office.

Northrop’s ascent within the Y&R organization was particularly swift: while he joined the agency in February 2014 as freelancer, his promotion to the ECD position only went public in late October.

Earlier in his career, Northrop spent more than three years writing copy for CP+B and nearly six years as a copywriter and creative director within the GS&P organization. After leaving GS&P in 2011, he spent several years as a full-time freelancer writing copy for 72andSunny, Butler, Shine, and others.

In announcing Northrop’s promotion, the agency also confirmed the departure of now-former California CCO Mimi Cook (to whom Northrop reported). The official word holds that she is “leaving to pursue other interests” with no additional information forthcoming, but the fact that Cook spoke to Digiday about industry trends as recently as last October implies that the decision to promote Northrop was part of Y&R’s New Year’s reshuffling.

A quick refresher on that point: this week has seen the departure of New York CCO Jim Elliott (who went to Arnold Worldwide) and the promotion of Leslie Sims to his old position. Last week also brought major changes in the agency’s Chicago team, with CCO Bill Cimino departing and two co-ECDs replacing him.

Arnold Worldwide has appointed Jim Elliott to the position of global chief creative officer. In the newly created position, Elliott will be based out of Boston, but will also travel to New York to assist Arnold’s team there.

Elliott joins the agency from Y&R New York, where he has served as chief creative officer since June of 2011, working with such clients as Virgin Atlantic, Land Rover and Dell. Prior to Y&R, Elliott spent over four years with Goodby Silverstein & Partners as a group creative director, which followed an eight year stint as a creative director and partner at Cole & Weber.

“The creation of this role is a really big part of the next part of plans here at Arnold — building our brand here in the U.S. and beyond,” Pam Hamlin, Arnold global president, told AdAge.

While Arnold did not confirm an official start date for Elliott, AdAge stated that it will be sometime this quarter.

Cramer-Krasselt’s Chicago office has named Ken Erke to lead its creative department.

The new position marks a return home of sorts for Chicago native Erke, who served as group creative director at Cramer-Krasselt in 2006 before leaving for an ECD position at Y&R Chicago, where he eventually advanced to the chief creative officer role.

At Y&R, Erke helped win various pitches including Double Tree and Hotels.com while working on award-winning campaigns for Sears, The National Parks, and more. He moved to R/GA in October 2010 after spending more than three years with the Y&R organization; the agency hired him, along with fellow ECD Matt Marcus, to help build out a Windy City office that had just over a dozen employees at the time.

Erke replaces former SVP/ECD Derek Green, who left the agency in December and returned to his native Australia; he now serves as ECD at Ogilvy’s Sydney office. He will report to Vice Chairman/CCO Marshall Ross.

Accounts led by Erke will include Corona. In case you missed it, Cramer-Krasselt survived the October pruning in which the beer-maker’s parent company parted ways with GS&P and Constellation.

Havas Worldwide Chicago Group announced the appointment of Celia Jones as group brand director today. She will be responsible for both strategic brand building and external marketing, reporting to U.S. Chief Growth Officer Laura Maness. Jones will also be tasked with managing external communications, events and thought leadership, and will serve as “point person for all media inquiries for the Havas Chicago Group.”

Jones arrives at Havas following over seven years at digital agency Critical Mass, where she served as global marketing director, led external marketing communications across all of the agency’s offices worldwide and played an important role in global expansion. Prior to Critical Mass, Jones served as director of content and lead copywriter at Designkitchen (a WPP Wunderman unit) for two years. Commenting on the hire, Paul Marobella, president, Havas Worldwide Chicago Group, cited Celia’s “unique combination of marketing savvy, communications expertise, digital acumen and a passion for brand storytelling…”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Today in More CP+B News, the agency’s Los Angeles office has found its newest executive creative director in Wieden+Kennedy veteran Kevin Jones.

Jones will lead all creative efforts at the office moving forward, and he brings more than two decades’ worth of experience to the role. He spent approximately ten years in different positions within the W+K organization, beginning his career as a writer there and advancing to directorial roles at W+K and Hal Riney while performing freelance creative work for other major shops like Goodby and Publicis.

Jones held the ECD position at W+K Portland since 2009 before accepting CP+B’s offer, and his name appears atop much of the agency’s recent work for auto clients like Chrysler and Dodge as well as Target, Nike and T-Mobile.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

DDB Canada and the agency’s Montreal office announced several major hires.

Monique Brosseau joins the shop as VP/managing director; she most recently spent seven years in the EVP/GM role at ZenithOptimedia Canada, and her 20+ year career includes stints in similar positions at Publicis as well as top PR firm Edelman and cosmetics brand L’Oreal.

Etienne Bastien will be VP/creative director for the DDB Canada organization. Prior to joining the organiztion, he spent more than a year in a creative director position at TBWA’s Montreal office as well as three years as a senior creative at BBDO Montreal. In addition to the general CD role, Bastien will serve as co-creative lead on the shop’s Volkswagen account.

The agency’s Montreal office also announced five new staffers: art directors Arnaud Tartier and Arnaud Deneux, who join from Bleublancrouge and Palm+Havas, respectively; copywriters Emmanuel Chevallier from Marcel Paris and Ben Duquette from Bleublancrouge; and group account director Jacques Blanchet, previously with JWT.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We’ve just confirmed tips regarding layoffs at South Carolina/New York agency Erwin Penland this week.

Approximately 15-20 staffers, including at least one EVP and a creative director, are no longer with the agency. We do know that the Greenville, South Carolina office was hit harder than the Manhattan location, but we don’t have names at the moment.

Much of Erwin Penland’s recent news has been positive: prior to winning the L.L. Bean account in October, the agency announced the hiring of a new SVP/creative services director and two new creative directors to work with CCO Con Williamson in its New York office. This summer it also hired new creatives based in South Carolina.

A source tells us that this round of cuts is not the result of any business loss or the usual Q4 thinning of the herd; it is, instead, a response to shifts in client demands as businesses place greater emphasis on digital, social and other less-traditional services.

Over the summer, the agency also filed plans to build a new eight-story office building in downtown Greenville; we have no word on the progress of that project.

Erwin Penland currently employs more than 400, so the shift affects approximately 3-5 percent of total staff. Additional updates as we receive them.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.