Global creative agency Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) has named Mike Davidson and Matt Hunnicutt co-directors of production. The move was a promotion for both, who now oversee multidisciplinary production capabilities across the Portland office, including broadcast, interactive, experiential, and art production.
The role was previously held by Patty Brebner, who recently moved into a newly created role, heading up the agency’s branded content and creators studio.
“Everything we’re doing at W+K Portland is focused on ‘Becoming the world’s most provocative maker of branded everything’ and modernizing our approach to production is absolutely critical to that,” said executive creative director Eric Baldwin.
His partner, Jason Bagley, added, “We like to say that if an idea is possible, and within budget, we’re not interested. And Matt & Mike absolutely love the challenge of making amazing/impossible ideas happen, and teaching others to do the same.”
A native of Illinois, Davidson began his advertising career at the Richards Group in Dallas after graduating from Texas A&M University. After a stint with the Houston Rockets, he moved back to Chicago for account management roles at J. Walter Thompson and Energy BBDO, working with a range of clients including Kraft and Jim Beam, before heading west to Goodby Silverstein & Partners where he began producing interactive work for clients including the NBA and Frito-Lay. He joined W+K in 2011 as a senior interactive producer and was promoted to director of interactive production in 2014. At W+K, he’s produced award-winning work for clients including Old Spice, KFC, and Samsung. Notable projects include Old Spice’s “Muscle Music,” “Dikembe Mutombo’s 41⁄2 Weeks to Save the World,” and “S.Q.U.I.D.”; KFC’s “Zinger Launch to Space”; and Portugal.The Man’s interactive music video for their Grammy-winning single, “Feel It Still.”
Hunnicutt, a native Texan, got his start in film as a national Eastman Kodak Scholar in college, which led to a mentorship at the International Cinematographers Guild in Hollywood and work on feature films and television shows at Warner Bros. Studios, such as ER, Frasier, The West Wing, and Friends. He went on to produce television for A&E, the History Channel, and Discovery Channel before making the switch to advertising in 2001 as a producer at Energy BBDO. He joined W+K in 2006, and during his 12 years here has produced award-winning work for clients including Nike, Coke, Old Spice, Kraft, EA Sports, Facebook, and P&G. Prior to his promotion, he spent five years as executive producer and integrated production director, overseeing production across the Nike Global and North America business. Notable award- winning projects include leading multiplatform campaigns like Nike’s “Risk Everything” for the World Cup, “Unlimited” for the Olympics, the “Equality” campaign, and advertising’s first originally scripted and Cannes Gold Lion–winning episodic series, “Margot vs. Lily.” Other highlights include P&G’s Emmy Award-winning 2012 “Thank You, Mom” Olympics spot; five Super Bowl campaigns for Coca-Cola, including “It’s Mine” and “Heist,” which won the primetime commercial Emmy in 2009; and Nike’s “Fate” and the “Most Valuable Puppets” campaigns.
“We couldn’t be more excited to lead W+K’s Production Department into the future under a mission of relentlessly finding a way to bring seemingly impossible creative dreams to life and to create culturally impactful work in any form for our clients,” Davidson said.
“We’re proud of Wieden+Kennedy’s legacy of production excellence. It’s a great honor to build on that as we find innovative and provocative new ways to connect with audiences,” Hunnicutt said. “It’s exciting to partner with someone who brings a different production background to the table as we diversify our content output and seek new ways to create. Mike and I look forward to leading a dynamic department that will bring all the agency’s creative ideas—we like to call it Branded Everything—to life.”
