TAXI fare now includes Amsterdam-based digital ad agency Ottonico. A majority interest in the Dutch shop was bought by TAXI, extending the Canadian independent advertising network’s reach to Europe. Launched in 1992, TAXI operates five offices in Canada as well as one in New York and now the Amsterdam shop.
Ottonico was founded in ’08 by Eric Verhage and Maarten van Huijstee. The 22-person agency offers strategic and creative solutions across all forms of media, including digital, gaming and mobile. Its clients include Heineken, KPN Royal Dutch Telecom, TNT Post, Foot Locker, ING and telecommunications brands Hi and Telfort.
The deal has been several months in the making. TAXI executives considered several European cities and partnerships before deciding upon Amsterdam and Ottonico. “This was a decision to invest in Europe to deliver local and global reach to both European and North American clients,” said TAXI chairman Paul Lavoie. “We chose Amsterdam because it is a creative and multi-cultural hub, and we chose Ottonico because they embody the future of integrated communications.”
Ottonico’s Verhage and van Huijstee assume the titles of general manager and executive creative director, respectively “Our creative visions are a natural fit” said van Huijstee. “We share the belief that there is no ‘new’ and no ‘old’ media; every channel can deliver results when the choice is rooted in consumer insight.”
Verhage and van Huijstee will work closely with TAXI co-founders Lavoie and Jane Hope in the coming months on integrating Ottonico into the TAXI network. “Our first responsibility is to existing clients, the integration of diverse capabilities across our network is aimed at delivering on their needs now and into the future,” concluded TAXI CEO Rob Guenette.
Prior to opening Ottonico, Verhage and van Huijstee worked at Heineken and other global corporations. The pair also developed a business dedicated to video streaming and brand activation.
Jane Schoenbrun Jolts Cannes With Queer Slasher Movie “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”
"A good electric chair" is how Jane Schoenbrun describes their first Cannes Film Festival premiere.
"I really felt like my body was in a state of convulsion," says Schoenbrun.
The day after the premiere of "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma," a bold, bloody queer slasher film starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, Schoenbrun and their co-stars were still buzzing from the ecstatic response. The movie, one of the most prominent American films in Cannes this year, gave the festival a gonzo jolt.
For Schoenbrun, the leading trans filmmaker of their generation, the film extends their intensely personal exploration of gender and the movies that defined their youth. But their first two films — 2024's "I Saw the TV Glow" and 2021's "We're All Going to the World's Fair" — were the raw, burning products of Schoenbrun's transition. "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma," drawn from Schoenbrun's happy, exploratory post-transition life, isn't that.
It's about desire and sex. It's a biting satire of reboot-mad Hollywood. It's a schlocky and subversive slasher movie homage. It's a lot of fun, and quite tender, even when bodies are blood-spurting geysers.
"This is the first movie that feels like it represents the fullness of who I am," Schoenbrun says.
But Wednesday's moment of triumph in Cannes was hard-won. Ten years ago, Schoenbrun, now 39, was working in the film industry in a job they hated.
"The first time I came here, I just felt like, 'Oh my, god. I can't believe I'm in Cannes.' I went to, like, 'The Lobster,' at the Palais in my boy tux. I was like: 'This is it. I've done it,'" says Schoenbrun. "Then the next year I came back and I was so depressed. I decided to quit my job. If I'm depressed at Cannes,... Read More