Guenier Out at Deutsch LA

No official word from the Deutsch LA camp as of yet, but a phone call to the agency tells us that Victoria Guenier is no longer at the IPG-owned operation where she’s spent nearly a decade. For the last four years, Guenier served as SVP/director of broadcast/content production at Deutsch LA, which last December helped fund her feature film effort, Between Us, via the agency’s Side Project Project initiative. As for her day job, Guenier worked on several campaigns for the likes of Volkswagen (including this), Playstation, Dr. Pepper and Taco Bell (including this). No word yet on reasons for her departure, but those on the Spy line allege that VW budget issues may have had something to do with it.

Prior to her lengthy stint at Deutsch LA, Guenier spent a few years on the production side at Ogilvy.

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Volkswagen Swims with Sharks for a Week


Discovery’s annual Shark Week extravaganza not only confirms that viewers go crazy for underwater creatures that can rip them into a thousand pieces, but that brands will use just about any tangential connection to a popular theme to try and wring out that extra dollar. Take the fat, colorful Tide billboard above the Lincoln Tunnel that I came across yesterday: “We get the blood out, too.” That’s one way to do it.

Volkswagen and Deutsch are going all in as well, bringing cars and sharks a lot closer than they’ve ever been before, a true sharknado of brand association if there ever was one. The VW campaign is loaded on social media, mainly focusing on sharable videos through Instagram and Vine. VW created a Beetle convertible that will be used as an underwater cage hooked up to cameras for the remainder of the week, hoping to conquer a chunk of the digital space floating around with these exclusive videos. Credits after the jump.

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And Now, a First Kiss That Smells Like Doritos from Taco Bell

We all remember our awkward first kiss stories, full of nervousness and rapid heartbeats. Based on “First Kiss,” the new 30-second ad in the Taco Bell Live Mas campaign that came through the tips line, we can now add sticky fingers and spicy breath to the list of uncomfortable descriptors.

Mixing Doritos Locos Tacos and kisses may not seem like the best idea, but this spot might strike the right cord for those who value some teenage sentimentality and John Hughes movies. Associating Taco Bell with cuteness is a tough trick to pull off, you know, with the greasy smells and penchant for attracting drunk college guys as a significant customer base, but Deutsch LA and director Zach Math found a way to pull it off. Taco Bell seems to have tapped the right nerve with Doritos Locos Tacos: the product helped create 15,000 new jobs. Maybe the company can use the profits to provide complimentary mouthwash with any purchase, so young lovers who want to make out in Taco Bell parking lots can have pleasant memories.

Credits after the jump.

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