CP+B Poaches W+K ECD to Run LA Creative

kevin jones

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.

CP+B Gets Sweet for WeMo

CP+B has just launched the first ever marketing campaign for home automation company WeMo, taking aim at viewer’s sweet sides with a 60-second broadcast spot.

The spot, entitled “The Big Anniversary Rig” tells the story of a couple separated on their first wedding anniversary. To celebrate, the husband sets up an “anniversary rig” using WeMo’s automation, surprising the wife when she gets home with a series of romantic gestures accomplished using WeMo. Depending on your tolerance for sweetness, the spot may or may not be overly saccharine, but it’s a clever way to show WeMo in an emotional context. “The Big Anniversary Rig” debuted online today, prompting viewers to watch three separate “How Dan Did It” videos. It will make its broadcast debut on network television next month. (more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

CP+B and James Harden Call on Master Groomer ‘The Beard Guru’

In this new, extended clip created by CP+B to promote NBA2k15 (set to be released in October), Rockets guard James Harden has a problem. Not, it’s not his defense: it’s his beard, which is too intense for the game’s new “face scanning technology.”

In order to address the matter, he turns to the appropriately Germanic “Beard Guru”:

As people with beards, we love this spot. Anthony Davis’ cameo really makes it, and we’d like to test that scanning technology ourselves.

Unfortunately, the Guru is not real. Germans’ ability to grow and preen amazing facial hair, however, is almost too real.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

ECD Gaboriau No Longer with CP+B Los Angeles

CPB-LogoThis afternoon we learned that VP/ECD Jason Gaboriau is no longer with Crispin’s Los Angeles office.

He joined CP+B in 2011 when the agency hired him, along with co-ECD and in-house vet Tiffany Rolfe, to re-establish its L.A. location.

Gaboriau, who helped found New York’s Amalgamated, made the move to L.A. after former DDB CCO Eric Silver took majority ownership of the previous agency in late 2010. Rolfe later left CP+B to join CO: Collective, where she still serves as partner and chief content officer. Several months afterward, CP+B lured Sue Anderson away from TBWAChiatDay, where she had served as GCD on the Absolut account; she currently holds the ECD title at CP+B L.A.

At Amalgamated, Gaboriau worked on creative for Coca-Cola, Svedka and Ben & Jerry’s, among other clients. Recent CP+B credits include A1 and an extended 2012 campaign for Old Navy that played heavily on 90?s nostalgia.

We have no information on the details of Gaboriau’s departure, though a tipster tells us that he was involved in recent pitches to win business from Turbo Tax, the L.A. Clippers (which went with RPA after a very quick review) and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

CP+B Warns Parents on Behalf of Boys and Girls Clubs of America

This CP+B PSA for Boys and Girls Clubs of America, which received a New York Times writeup today, is a little frightening.

It’s far cry from the generally upbeat messages this group has shared in the past. If anything, it reminds us of the famous “It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?” line (which was not a paid ad but was created by an on-air promoter).

The copy goes on to clarify:

“…they’re out on their own, out with nowhere to go, out with nothing to do, out all afternoon when anything can happen.”

Now we’re scared–and we always knew not to play on the train tracks or accept gifts from strangers.

CP+B CD Sue Anderson told Andrew Adam Newman that it’s all about fundraising, because parents will be more likely to give when they sense that the kids’ safety depends on their donations.

Effective! For the music snobs in our audience, we’d also like to note the excellent use of “Fratres” by our greatest living composer, Arvo Pärt. Yes, we hate superlatives too, but it’s true.

(more…)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Bryant, Messi Face Off in ‘Selfie Shootout’ for Turkish Airlines

Last year, Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant faced off in an ad for Turkish Airlines, competing for a young fan’s attention. The ad, “Legends on Board,” became a gigantic viral success, now with over 105 million views on YouTube.

For better or for worse (definitely for worse), 2013 might as well be the “Year of the Selfie.” The ubiquitous word found its way into the vocabulary of everyone from grade schoolers to their grandparents and was even named Oxford English Dictionary’s Word of the Year. If you’re sick of hearing people jump at every opportunity to use this word, we’re with you. At any rate, it’s undeniable that the selfie has won itself a lasting position in our culture.

In an attempt to recapture the success of last year’s “Legends on Board” spot, CP+B has brought back the Bryant Vs. Messi formula, this time positioning the two in a “Selfie Shootout” in which each attempts to one-up the other with self-shot photos in exotic locations. The spot is the first ad CP+B put together for Turkish Airlines since winning ad duties for the airline back in September, and it’s a fine first effort. Without giving too much away I can say that Bryant and Messi both jump through hoops to one-up each other, and their photos get more and more exotic and over-the-top as the minute long spot progresses. CP+B manage to work something of a surprise ending into “The Selfie Shootout,” incorporating another Internet photo phenomenon.

Can “The Selfie Shootout” hope to match the success of “Legends on Board”? We would say yes. The entertaining ad incorporates the selfie phenomenon, has a much larger production budget than Alametifarika’s work last year, and is designed to jumpstart conversation. “The Selfie Shootout,” which was uploaded to YouTube yesterday, has already surpassed the 5 million view mark, and is certainly not showing any signs of slowing down. Its combination of star power, humor, and topical references make it just about unstoppable. Make no mistake, people will be talking about this one for some time. Our reservations about the overuse of “selfie” aside, we can’t blame them. “The Selfie Shootout” is just plain fun. Credits after the jump.  continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.