Brendan Gaul has been appointed McCann’s global chief entertainment officer, bringing with him the original entertainment company, Traverse32, from IPG Mediabrands. This move signals McCann’s focus on building brands through all flavors of creativity, using long-form entertainment storytelling to create deeper connections with audiences. Gaul will report directly to Daryl Lee, global CEO of McCann and McCann Worldgroup.
Gaul, who will continue to serve as global president of Traverse32, brings a proven history of developing entertainment properties. The recent Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Film win for The Final Copy of Ilon Specht, produced in partnership with McCann and Breakwater Studios, exemplifies this success. The film, which also garnered a Gold, Silver, and Bronze Lion, demonstrates the power of culturally resonant stories that brands can authentically tell. This marks the second Grand Prix for Gaul, highlighting his effectiveness in producing hits for brands.
“Brendan is truly a pioneer of brand entertainment,” said Lee. “His arrival brings original content development into the heart of McCann and our global creative community. Brands often talk about making culture–with Traverse32 that will actually be true.”
Javier Campopiano, global chief creative officer of McCann, added, “ At McCann we believe in finding truths and to tell them with the highest level of storytelling. That is why this is so exciting: Brendan and his team will be critical to help us to bring those truths to life in all the arenas of creativity that exist. And we can’t wait to make more movies!”
Gaul’s return to McCann marks a homecoming. Gaul started his career at McCann in 2002 as an art director. He left McCann in 2005 to build branded content units in J3, UM and IPG Mediabrands before launching Traverse32 in 2020 as a pure original content company working with brands. Recent original properties have included Dear Santa, a film and then TV series for the U.S. Postal Service, which won Best Documentary Premiere at The Heartland Film Festival and Best Feature Film at TribecaX, and 5B, a documentary about the first AIDS ward in San Francisco set up by nurses, for Johnson & Johnson, holding a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and is included in the permanent collection at MoMA in NYC. Traverse32 has multiple projects in development with top Hollywood players like Imagine Entertainment, Breakwater Studios, Blink49 and Helium, and is represented by CAA.
Gaul has been working closely with McCann this past year, highlighted by his instrumental role in producing the Ilon Specht documentary for McCann and L’Oreal Paris.
“It feels great to be back,” said Gaul. “McCann builds some of the most compelling brand platforms in the world, usually through iconic advertising and experiences. I’m excited to return to McCann and help our teams drive those platforms in new ways where entertainment becomes central to moving people towards the brands we work with.”
Through these moves, McCann is taking a long tradition of working with Hollywood-level talent in campaigns and forging new creative partnerships with top-tier directors and writers for original storytelling. The recent collaboration with Ben Proudfoot, two-time Academy Award®-winning director, on The Final Copy of Ilon Specht exemplifies this approach.
McCann recently enjoyed a highly successful Cannes with a Gold Lion in Entertainment for Music for Mastercard’s partnership with Lady Gaga and multiple Lions for Xbox’s Cheeky Controller integration with the blockbuster movie, Deadpool & Wolverine.
