Hasta La Creative!

TBWAChiatDay L.A. expanded its executive leadership team with a series of promotions.

Executive creative director Brent Anderson was promoted to chief creative officer, tasked with day-to-day operations of that department. Group planning director Neil Barrie was promoted to CSO, responsible for handling strategic direction across all agency accounts. CCO Stephen Butler takes on the newly-created role of creative chairman, and now he’s behind “driving agency vision, creative culture and development.”

Anderson, Barrie and Butler round out an executive leadership team that also includes recently-appointed president Erin Riley, global CSO Nick Barham and chief production officer Tanya LeSieur.

Anderson first joined TBWAChiatDay L.A. in August of 2005 as a senior art director following three years in that role with JohnsonSheen. He then moved up within the organization, becoming executive creative director in November of 2013 after working on Nissan, Gatorade, Playstation, Airbnb, adidas and more.

“Brent is an incredible talent and has been an integral part of our progress in his time at the agency, and especially in recent years,” Butler said in a statement. “He is also a natural, effective leader, and the ideal and obvious choice to help guide the evolution of our creative product and the next wave of our agency.”

Barrie joined the agency as a planning director in September of 2012 after serving at partner and strategy director BBH London’s ZAG. He eventually handled accounts including Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, Disney and The Grammy Awards.

“Having worked alongside Neil for the last few years, I’m supremely confident in his ability to lead and continue to evolve our strategy department, and to further our commitment to developing disruptive strategies that fuel creativity and drive brand growth,” said Barham. 

Butler was promoted to CCO in April of 2014 after serving as a creative partner at Mother London. In the past, he also worked as a creative director at BBH London handling the Levi’s account.

“As an agency of our size and scope, we needed to expand the depth of our executive team to better incorporate both vision-focused and product-focused leaders at the top. We’ve elevated Brent and Neil, who are equally distinguished for their mastery of craft as for their passion for our business and our agency, to ensure that the executive team remains as connected to the product as possible,” Barham added.

TBWAChiatDay bids adieu to Yankees captain (and regular starting shortstop since 1996) Derek Jeter in a 90-second send-off spot for Gatorade, an MLB sponsor since 1990.

While there has been no shortage of fanfare surrounding Jeter’s exit from baseball at the quickly approaching end to the season (including a somewhat excessive display at the All Star game), TBWAChiatDay’s farewell for Gatorade, which Jeter collaborated on, manages to charm. Back in July (when it still looked like the Yankees had a shot at the postseason), TBWAChiatDay and Gatorade roped off a few blocks before a home game in the Bronx and, in the words of Molly Carter, Gatorade’s senior director of consumer engagement, “just kind of let Jeter go.”

Jeter is seen interacting with some very surprised and excited fans, signing autographs and even dropping in to Stan’s Sports Bar. Most of the spot’s charm comes from the authentic reactions of the fans, delighted by the opportunity to meet the star player.

Jeter’s collaboration for the ad also extended to the soundtrack, with the shortstop choosing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as the song that summed up his career. “It was a true collaboration between Derek and Gatorade,” Carter told Adweek.

The spot breaks online today, followed by a broadcast premiere this Saturday on the YES Network and Fox, when it’s sure to make more than a few Yankees fans teary-eyed. Gatorade will follow this with a full-page ad, written by Jeter, in the New York Daily News and Sports Illustrated on Sept. 28-29. Addressed to New York, the ad will see Jeter thanking fans for their years of support, opening, “From my first at bat until my final out, you helped make me who I am.” The print ad is timed to coincide with Jeter’s final game on September 28th (unless the team makes the playoffs, which they won’t). (more…)

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After reportedly searching to fill the role outside the agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day L.A. has instead filled the chief creative officer position from within, Adweek reports, turning to Stephen Butler, formerly an executive creative director. Fabio Costa and Brent Anderson were also promoted to executive creative director positions, working under Butler.

Butler joined the agency in July 2013, following a stint as a creative partner at Mother in London, where he worked with brands like Coca-Cola, Ikea, Motorola and the London 2012 Olympics. He also served time as a creative director Bartle Bogle Hegarty, also in London, where he worked with Levi’s. In his new role, Butler will manage a department working with Gatorade, Adidas, Southwest Airlines and Energizer.

“Clients want to work with him, agencies want him on their team,” director of media arts Lee Clow said of Butler. “His brave, groundbreaking and unforgettable ideas will help push our creative boundaries.”

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Nissan’s new online initiative “The Briefcase” courtesy of TBWA\Chiat\Day LA features a high octane car chase (starring the new 2014 Nissan Rogue) ending in a click through to a contest offering contestants the chance to win one of three 2014 Rogues.

The video opens with a man getting in a hired car for his usual commute home from work. When a motorcycle pulls up and hands off a briefcase to the driver, however, all hell breaks loose. Soon everyone seems to be after the Rogue, including a helicopter that attempts to land on the car. In the end, they run into a blockade and a man shouts “Open the briefcase,” at which time viewers are prompted to click on a link to open it. This link clicks through to the contest on Nissan’s Facebook page. It’s a clever, interactive way to lead viewers to the contest, even if the video is a little over the top. Fans of the brand should enjoy having a background story going into the contest, where they can enter once per day, or more if they share information about the contest via email or social media — a pretty good way to incentivise sharing.

The contest begins today and runs through February 13th at 11:59 PM. You can enter the contest here for your chance to win a 2014 Nissan Rogue. Credits after the jump.

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