Dave Rolfe has been appointed to the new role of global head of production, WPP and Hogarth.
Rolfe, who was most recently head of production for global business marketing at Facebook, will be based in Hogarth Worldwide, WPP’s creative production arm. He joins this month, reporting to WPP’s incoming global chief creative officer, Rob Reilly, and Hogarth CEO Richard Glasson.
In this newly created role, Rolfe will be responsible for executing a strategy that elevates the role of production in delivering creative excellence across WPP. He is tasked with attracting and nurturing the best production talent from across the industry and building a best-in-class production community that offers integrated and innovative solutions for clients. Given Hogarth’s long-standing partnership with Ogilvy, Rolfe will also oversee production at the agency.
The appointment is another key move in delivering WPP CEO Mark Read’s commitment to making WPP the most creative company in the world. Rolfe is one of several notable new hires across the WPP network, including Rob Reilly and Devika Bulchandani, CEO of Ogilvy North America, with whom he will work closely in his Ogilvy role.
Rolfe is one of the industry’s most recognized and celebrated heads of production, widely acknowledged for his transformative impact for clients. He has been a leader in the production industry for over 20 years, with roots as an independent producer in the Pacific Northwest in the ‘90s, followed by leadership roles with top-tier global creative agencies, and most recently with Facebook.
Prior to Facebook, Rolfe was global EVP, director of integrated production at BBDO for eight years. He played a key role in BBDO’s creative success, garnering numerous prizes for work ranging from social and innovation to Super Bowl, as well as high-profile cause-related work. Before that he was partner and global director of integrated production at CP+B for 12 years, helping them win Agency of the Decade in 2010.
He has consistently earned creative and innovation recognition working with clients such as AT&T, Burger King, GE, Mars, Bacardi, Microsoft, Anheuser-Bush, Domino’s, VW, MINI, as well as Sandy Hook Promise and American Legacy Foundation’s Truth.
Read said, “Dave is simply the best in the industry, and his appointment underlines our commitment to outstanding creativity on behalf of our clients. He will be a great partner to Rob and the Hogarth team, and a great champion of excellence and innovation in creative production throughout WPP.”
Rolfe said, “Over the past five years I’ve focused much of my efforts on how the consolidated production model can best perform, as it both innovates for clients at the highest level and aligns with agencies–respecting and bolstering their production offering. As much as I’ve spent time cultivating projects small and large, the scaled model enables effective partnership and great work at all levels. I couldn’t be more excited to work with the talented team at Hogarth and to help deliver WPP’s creative ambitions for its agencies and clients.”
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More