Hasta La Creative!

Well, since our inquiries last week to Havas regarding Vin Farrell went nowhere because Adweek apparently had some exclusive/vice grip on the agency’s comms, let’s just go “we hear” on this one before another “exclusive” pops up. Along with said agency’s new global chief content officer, we’ve been hearing all week that fellow R/GA-er Sean Lyons is following suit and joining up with Havas. Lyons has spent well over eight years at the agency for the digital age and for the last year has served as SVP, operations and business planning.

During his lengthy stay at R/GA, Lyons has moved up the ladder from group director to managing director to his current SVP post. We’ve checked in with both camps about the apparent move, but have yet to hear back. Maybe it was something we said, but we’ll let you know if we hear more.

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Just to soothe the usual doomsday tips, we’ve been told by those in the know that Margaret Murphy‘s position as chief operating officer at Olson is indeed being eliminated, but the exec is very much within the fold at the Minneapolis-based agency. Murphy will now take on the role of president at Olson’s 1:1 loyalty marketing unit, which works with likes of Amtrak, Best Buy and Toys “R” Us, as president. From what we’ve been told, the role shift is part of a “flattening” of sorts of leadership at the agency courtesy of CEO John Partilla, who took over for Kevin DiLorenzo at the beginning of the year.

Murphy most recently served as president/COO at the agency and was part of the initial leadership team when Olson joined forces with Denali Marketing back in 2010. During her career, Murphy also spent nearly two decades at fellow Twin Cities operation Carlson Marketing Group, where she last served as SVP, client services.

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After spending nearly the last three years at Digital Kitchen Chicago, where he served as executive producer/general manager, Jeff Brecker has moved over to R/GA’s Windy City office to assume the role of managing director. Brecker replaces Sean McCarthy, who parted ways with the agency for the digital age last fall and is now in the same role at Resource Interactive.

Anyhow, the new R/GA Chicago MD has high praise for his new boss Bob Greenberg, saying in a statement that R/GA’s founder “…is one of the greatest visionaries of our time, and it’s an honor to work with and learn from him. R/GA Chicago has a reputation as a high-end digital boutique backed by a global agency leader known for creating progressive digital and social solutions.” Prior to his stint at Digital Kitchen, Brecker served as SVP/creative director at Leo Burnett and has also served as director of interactive production at Ogilvy during his career.

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It took a bit to confirm to get confirmation from the agency itself, but to follow up on our brief mention last week, Bret Faszholz, account-side vet and reported real estate game-player, has joined Omnicom-owned Critical Mass in the New York office as VP/client partner. According to CM, Faszholz officially assumed his role, which calls for him to work on the HP business, on March 18. During his career, the exec has worked on the VW biz as account director while at CP+B and most recently on Dell as group account director at WPP-owned VML.

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After spending the last 15 months in Boulder at CP+B, where he last served as VP/executive creative director on accounts including Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese and Grey Poupon, Tom Markham is leaving the agency. From what sources tell us, Markham’s family wants to be in NYC, which is familiar territory for the senior creative as he spent two years working out of Lowe and Partners’ Big Apple office as global digital CD prior to joining Crispin. Markham’s departure seems to be an amicable one, as CP+B sends this statement: “”We truly appreciate all of Tom Markham’s contributions to CP+B. We will miss him and remain great friends.”

According to those in the know, there are no immediate plans to replace Markham, who has also served as head of digital/digital CD at Lowe Sydney during his career. His last day at CP+B was yesterday.

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“Well, how did I get here?” – David Byrne, Talking Heads

The submissions keep rolling in, and now we have a new scribe in Andrew Baker, who’s spent the last decade-plus as a copywriter/art director at the likes od TBWA\Chiat\Day, Team One, Deutsch and Dentsu. Baker will be chiming in fairly often to discuss what he likes to call “The Freelance Dance,” which should give you the basic gist of his entry. Anyhow, welcome Andrew and take it away. You can check out his website here and on Facebook at andrewbaker77.

In June of 2000, after returning to Deutsch LA from a Hawaii vacation, Donny’s mini-me fired me. Told me, though the vacation was approved, the fact I took it, was a clear let down of “team morale.” Throughout his lawyerish soliloquy, I enjoyed one of his fruit basket apples, crunches that drown out the ramble, and then interrupted him with a “Dude, the 405 is wide open, how much do I get?” His terse lips hesitantly released a figure. Didn’t even hear the number, but told him to double down that number or else I’d sue. Got booked on my first freelance project before I left the parking lot. He double’d down. Life was good.

Since then, it was ten years (2000 – 2010) of easypeasyJapanesey money. Digging ditches in the snow, crewing a dive boat in the winter, that’s work. I know, I did it. Getting paid crazy money to sit around and say “hey, what if…” from the comforts of your Malibu rum stocked home, that’s just too cool to quit. And for ten years, I rolled. Big money and three to four months off a year. No worries, all the way through permalancing 2008 to 2010 with the impossibly nice folks at Merkley on Mercedes-Benz. 2011 and 2012 didn’t exist, as I was bouncing around Southeast Asia chasing adventure. And now, 2013.

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It seems like Organic CEO David Shulman has been a busy man these days. Just weeks after bringing back Monik Sanghvi to serve as the Omnicom-owned agency’s chief strategy officer and appointing Audrey Melofchik as GM of its New York office, the CEO is now on the hunt for a new GM of Organic’s SF branch. Why? Well, because Alle Aufderhaar, who joined Organic in said role in 2010 after lengthy stints at the likes of Digitas, is leaving the agency to go client-side.

In the meantime, sources familiar with the matter tell us that while Shulman talks to candidates now–though, there’s no rush as “he wants to make the right choice”–CFO Tina Weber will be interim GM for San Fran and  chief client officer Joe DiMeglio will oversee portfolio of clients based out of San Francisco.

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Here’s a tweet since deleted that can be conjured using a quick Google search: “Feb 20 · Chris Apostle ?@cgapostle. First day was a great one…Florida and Zimmerman don’t disappoint.” Well, they did apparently, because after just a month, a phone call has confirmed that Chris Apostle is no longer with the Omnicom-owned, Fort Lauderdale-based agency.

No official comment as of yet, but what spies are saying, Apostle joined the agency to run its digital division as well as the social media team, but bounced after he wasn’t left with full control. We’re not naming names as of now, but we’ll let you know that the exec has previously served as managing director, client services at R/GA’s New York hub and has worked at the likes of Razorfish, where he once led the latter’s CPG practice. Zimmerman has yet to comment on the matter. Update: Ok, they “have no comment on the matter at this time.”

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Rabbis around the world just collectively shuddered, but the conservative kids who struggle to sit through a Passover seder have something unique to look forward to. The Haggadah, the prayer book that tells the story of Passover, has just been remixed by Nathan Phillips, a senior writer at SS+K. You may be familiar with a Lena Dunham ad he wrote and directed for Barack Obama‘s reelection campaign last fall. Now, with the help of Art Director and shiksa Jessica Stewart, Phillips has unleashed a cool, creative affront to Jewish grandmothers: Bob Marley Passover.

Yes, Bob Marley Passover…as in, Bob Marley Passover. So brazen, it just might work. You can see the project site and download the haggadah here. Don’t forget to #BobMarleyPassover, which is further evidence that hashtagging has gotten way out of hand. But the haggadah itself is legitimate, if not light-hearted and full of a sense of humor bound to clash with almost anyone over 30.

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We’ll spare you the prelude, so let’s just say the guy on the left is StrawberryFrog Amsterdam strategic planners Ben Culpin and Ashly Stewart, who have decided to help out the junior strategists of the world with a new service. Here’s their mission statement:

“It’s our hope that this project will become a resource to help inspire and grow the junior community the same way a good mentor would. We aim to talk with a variety of insiders in strategic roles, from client side to agency side, from communications to product design. We will also aim to highlight informants, those who inform and inspire our strategic thinking from outside of the industry.”

Contributors include the likes of Eddie Revis, Simon Neate-Stidson and Lauren Holden Kilbane. Ok kids, it’s your turn.

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