Stink Studios has hired Tom Barnes as head of strategy in London, as the global creative studio brings a renewed focus to building strategic partnerships.
Barnes will report to Jax Ostle-Evans, managing director of Stink Studios, and will work across all the company’s clients which include Spotify, Ocado, giff gaff, Google and Peloton.
Before joining Stink Studios, Barnes held sr. strategist and strategy director roles at agencies including Joint London, Brand Union, Superunion and Young & Rubicam.
Barnes has also worked on BBC iPlayer’s channel strategy and Intel’s gaming rebrand, as well as on high-level strategy for Vodafone, British Airways and TSB.
In addition to industry awards, Barnes’ biggest accolade is a BAFTA for his work on Channel 4’s “Day as it Happens” which won in the Digital Creativity category for the show’s real time, 24-hour re-enactment of D-Day.
Comedic Director Roderick Fenske Joins Yard Dog TV For U.S. Spot Work
Roderick Fenske, the award-winning agency copywriter/creative director turned comedic director of commercials and films, has joined Yard Dog TV for U.S. representation.
Fenske--known for his idiosyncratic casting, stylish art direction, and blend of practical and digital effects--saw his newest commercial work, for Drink Weird Ice Tea, break earlier this month. His most recent short film, I’m Dead, You’re Welcome, starring JR Russell, Taissa Zveiter, Sandy Eels, and Julia Lorpriore, is making the rounds of film festivals now, having won Best Comedy Short at the Flagstaff International Film Festival last month.
Fenske, who started out in the business as a copywriter, is one of a select group of agency creatives to have found success in both New York and London, where his last post was as a creative director at TBWA there. “I owe so much of my career to Trevor Beattie [TBWA London chairman/creative director at the time], because he believed in me and started my career directing commercials,” said Fenske, citing work for Sony PlayStation, French Connection UK, and Channel 5.
Those spots led to an invitation to become a member of the visionary Swedish film collective known as ACNE. “I learned so much there working in a directing collective. With everybody talking about how to make stuff look stylish and cinematic it was like a film school for me,” Fenske explained. “Production design is so important because humor can be much more unexpected when you have an elevated look.”
Over the course of his career, Fenske’s work has received many international awards from shows including the Cannes Lions, British D&AD, and AICP. He moved from London to Los Angeles, and during this time he met Yard Dog... Read More