• Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016
Yan Elliott joins CHI&Partners as joint ECD
CHI&Partners' (l-r) Yan Elliott Sarah Golding and Micky Tudor
LONDON -- 

Yan Elliott is joining CHI&Partners as joint executive creative director, alongside Micky Tudor.
 
Elliott leaves Lucky Generals where he was creative partner, and responsible for notable recent campaigns including the Radiocentre work talking directly to the UK’s leading marketers, and Popchips campaign “Be a Bit Good.”
 
Previous to Lucky Generals, Elliott’s career spans two years at HHCL, nine years at Mother and five years as joint ECD at WCRS before leaving to start up his own agency, Fabula, in 2012.
 
Throughout his career, Elliott has created and overseen work for brands including Coca Cola, Dr Pepper, Super Noodles, Weetabix, Selfridges, Brylcreem, Sky, Orange, 3Mobile, 118 118, The Observer, Kiss FM and TfL.
 
At WCRS, he was responsible for famous work including Sky’s £100m brand campaign “Believe in Better.” He also oversaw campaigns including Brylcreem’s “Effortless,” Weetabix’s “Steeplechase,” TfL’s “Cycle Safety” and 3Mobile’s “Expo.”

At Mother, Elliott created work including Orange’s D&AD Pencil-winning “Gold Spot” cinema campaign in which celebrities such as Patrick Swayze, Carrie Fisher, Spike Lee, Darth Vader and Darryl Hannah pitched their film ideas to the Orange Film Funding Board, only to have their pitch ruined by a mobile phone. This led to the creation of Orange Wednesdays: one of the UK’s most successful sponsorship and reward programs ever, with tens of millions of tickets redeemed.
 
Elliott also made headlines at Mother for Dr Pepper’s Lion-winning “What’s The Worst That Could Happen?”--in which people tried the drink and were dramatically publicly humiliated--and SuperNoodles’ West-Side-Story-inspired spoof campaign ‘Face Off’.
 
Elliott said: “It will be hard to leave Lucky Generals – I’ll be leaving a rock-steady ship with a rock-steady crew, but for me this is a golden opportunity. CHI is small enough for me to make a difference and big enough for us to make an impact. I’m already really looking forward to working with Micky [CHI joint ECD Tudor] and Goldie [CHI CEO Sarah Golding]. 

  • Friday, Oct. 7, 2016
Director Aram Rappaport joins No Smoke
Aram Rappaport
NEW YORK -- 

No Smoke has added Aram Rappaport to its directorial roster. He just directed via the production company an Optimum Cable campaign for The Martin Agency.
 
While this is Rappaport’s initial ad effort for No Smoke, it’s hardly his first time in the director’s chair. He opted to write and direct a feature film rather than attend college at age 18. While many pursue that path, few persist—as Rappaport did—to the finish line. The result of his journey was “Innocent,” an ambitious one-take drama starring Alexa Vega. He’s since written and directed more feature films, including  “Syrup” starring Amber Heard, Brittany Snow, Shiloh Fernandez and Kellan Lutz (Magnolia Pictures), and “The Crash” (January 2017), which stars Minnie Driver, John Leguizamo, Frank Grillo, Dianna Agron and AnnaSophia Robb. Leguizamo introduced the director to No Smoke’s leaders.
 
This is fitting because Leguizamo actually stars in the Optimum ads, which focus on the company’s app. In “John vs. John,” Leguizamo, the character actor/comedian/cable customer, goes up against himself in various guises that represent his favorite content. As he interacts with his flirty woman, foreign chef and street-hustler selves, the audience learns that they can get all their favorite content on their smartphones. The 30-second ad tags with, “Optimum. Let’s connect more.”
 
Rappaport’s commercial credits include campaigns for Nike, Hasbro, Dalmore Whisky, One Teaspoon, Misfit Wearables, Betterment, Vroom.com and IT Cosmetics.

  • Friday, Oct. 7, 2016
DeShaw named Academy Museum’s managing director, advancement & external relations
Katharine DeShaw (photo by Brant Brogan)
LOS ANGELES -- 

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced the appointment of Katharine DeShaw as its managing director, advancement and external relations.

Beginning on November 1, DeShaw will direct all aspects of fundraising, including completion of the $388 million capital campaign to support the new Museum, now under construction. She will play a key leadership role in expanding external relations efforts, including community and civic outreach, while supporting publicity and marketing initiatives for the Museum. 

“As we forge ahead toward our opening, Katharine brings not just expertise but also superb leadership, born of nearly three decades of success in philanthropy and the arts,” said Kerry Brougher, director of the Academy Museum. “She has the skills, the vision and, above all, the talent to help us create the great movie museum that the film capital of the world expects and deserves.”

DeShaw said, “I can’t imagine any opportunity more exciting than helping to bring the Academy Museum to the public in Los Angeles and movie fans around the world. The new facility will be extraordinary, the exhibitions and programs under development are remarkable and the base of support is strong. I can’t wait to begin fundraising for the remaining third of the $388 million campaign.”

DeShaw has led record-breaking fundraising campaigns for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the New York City Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City. She most recently led the consulting firm Philanthropology, which focuses on best practices in philanthropy for clients in a variety of areas, including the arts, culture, the environment, health and social justice. DeShaw serves on the faculty of the Getty Leadership Institute, an executive management program for international museum directors, and designed its fundraising curriculum.

In 2005, DeShaw was recruited by the presidents of the Ford and Rockefeller foundations to serve as the founding executive director of United States Artists (USA). In eight years, she built a national board of directors and secured a donor base of arts patrons that included Michael Bloomberg, Eli and Edye Broad, Agnes Gund, Elaine Wynn and Target. She secured $56 million in funding--including a $10 million endowment--for the USA Fellows program, providing grants to artists across all disciplines. She also incubated USA Projects, the world’s first crowdfunding website for artists.

  • Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016
Todd Lancaster joins greenlight as creative director
Todd Lancaster
DALLAS -- 

Creative agency greenlight has added creative director Todd Lancaster. He will be responsible for leading the creative team on all projects across the agency’s client roster including La Quinta Inn & Suites, Gold’s Gym, La Cantera Resort & Spa, and Dallas-based companies Plum Yoga and the historic Statler Hotel. Reporting directly to COO Olivia Cole, Lancaster will also contribute to the future vision of the agency.

Lancaster joins greenlight from Schaefer Advertising Co. in Fort Worth, Texas. He also held creative leadership positions at Epsilon and The Marketing Arm throughout his career. An over 35-time Gold ADDY Award winner, Lancaster has also taken home Graphis and Communication Art Awards.
 
This creative director hire comes at an opportune time for the agency, rounding out the executive leadership team alongside CEO/founder Erik Herskind and Cole. Coming off its 10-year anniversary celebration, greenlight recently relocated to a new office space in Dallas’ iconic Design District.

  • Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016
Nuri Djavit joins Troika as general manager
Nuri Djavit
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- 

Strategic branding and marketing innovations agency Troika has hired Nuri Djavit as its new general manager. Djavit joins Troika with 17 years of experience in global digital marketing and advertising. He is charged with overseeing day-to-day operations and leading agency growth, development and innovation from within.
 
Most recently, Djavit served as the chief marketing officer at Emotiv, a San Francisco-based tech company, where he successfully carried out marketing efforts and key commercial activities with brands such as Disney, ABC, Lucas Arts, Sony and organizations such as the World Economic Forum. At Last Exit, he transformed the design and tech innovation boutique into a multidisciplinary, full-service agency as chief operating officer. Prior to that, he was the managing director and partner at Brick & Bond, a New York-based digital strategy, marketing and product consultancy. Throughout his career, Djavit has worked with Apple, Belvedere Vodka, Cablevision and Estee Lauder, among many others.

  • Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016
Michael Buran named director of user experience at Digital Pulp
Michael Buran
NEW YORK -- 

Digital Pulp, a New York-based independent agency that specializes in building businesses and brands across digital platforms, has tapped Michael Buran as its new director of user experience. He will be responsible for overseeing the agency’s UX operations and will be tasked with finding new ways to develop memorable customer experiences. 

Prior to joining Digital Pulp, Buran worked as a consultant and creative director with some of the top creative agencies across New York City, including Organic, Strawberryfrog, and JWT. He studied film directing and worked in TV advertising before transitioning into design full-time. His work has spanned the entertainment, e-commerce, and financial sectors and has included brands like HBO, Coca-Cola, Cosmopolitan, and American Express.

  • Monday, Oct. 3, 2016
Richard Tubman, Robbie Wiedie join Cutwater
Richard Tubman
SAN FRANCISCO -- 

Independent agency Cutwater has brought on board Richard Tubman as associate director of communications and content strategy and Robbie Wiedie as content producer. Tubman will focus on collaborating with Cutwater’s media and creative teams on digital content across campaigns. Alongside Tubman, Wiedie will aid content strategy efforts and will lead in-house video production across all of Cutwater’s clients including Brawny, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, MDsave, and American Giant. The appointments mark a clear move for the agency as it carves out a focus in social media and content creation.

Tubman brings over a decade of experience in the digital space to Cutwater with a wide range of positions under his belt before the age of 30. Before joining the team at Cutwater, Tubman launched and led the campaign creative at Chubbies, a cult favorite lifestyle and e-commerce brand making waves in the digital content space. Prior to Tubman’s work for Chubbies, he launched a digital media strategy business for a roster of clients including Cutwater, where he worked as a digital consultant. Prior to launching his consulting business Tubman worked for four years on the global digital marketing team at Levi Strauss and Co. 

Wiedie brings seven years of brand strategy and video production experience to Cutwater. Prior to Cutwater, Wiedie worked in the fashion-tech space as sr. web producer at Betabrand and head of brand content at MeUndies. Wiedie also spent time as a freelance director and editor at Grey San Francisco and writer at Shareability. Wiedie founded his consulting business in 2014, most-recently working as a brand consultant and creative producer for clients Chubbies Shorts, Myles Apparel, and GameTime.

“The importance for brands to have a voice across multiple channels is imperative in order to connect with today’s modern consumers,” said Christian Hughes, president and principal at Cutwater. “As we continue to advise our clients in this direction, we believe that Richard and Robbie both possess the professional skillsets that will bring our client’s businesses to the next level. They have joined us as experts in social and influencer strategies as well as efficient content creation.”

  • Friday, Sep. 30, 2016
Arielle Zakowski promoted to editor at Work Editorial
Arielle Zakowski
LOS ANGELES -- 

Work Editorial has promoted Arielle Zakowski to full-fledged editor. She has been with the company’s L.A. office since its inception 14 months ago, starting out as an assistant editor.

Working alongside company partners Rich Orrick and Stewart Reeves, Zakowski has edited commercials for Powerade for Wieden + Kennedy, Jaguar out of Spark 44, Mobile Strike for twofifteenmccann and Subaru out of Carmichael Lynch, working directors including Peter Thwaites and Henry Hobson. In addition to commercials, she continues to hone her storytelling and has maintained a constant stream of film projects, web series and music videos. She served as co-editor of the feature film “Night Owls,” which premiered at SXSW 2015, and the short film “Wannabe,” which debuted in the Narrative Shorts competition at Tribeca 2016. Zakowski was also the sole editor of Game of Thrones’ “The Sight” campaign, which won a Bronze Lion at Cannes, and the title sequence for Netflix’s “Daredevil,” nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design. 

Previously trained under Angus Wall and Grant Surni at Rock Paper Scissors, Zakowski completed a BA in Critical Studies from the School Of Cinematic Arts.  

Editor Reeves, partner at Work Editorial LA, said, “Arielle was born to be an editor, observant, patient and with impeccable taste. It is impossible to teach someone how to be a good editor, you just hope that exposure teaches them about good work practices and discipline. The rest can only be learnt from knowing when something is done, when the work is as good as it can be. Its about being confident that the choices you’ve made are not only the right ones but the seemingly inevitable ones, crafted into something greater than the sum of the parts. It’s easy to put shots together, the software is not that hard; it’s much harder to put them together in such a way that we can only feel exactly what the director wanted us to.” 

  • Thursday, Sep. 29, 2016
Kyle Acquistapace named president of Supermoon
Kyle Acquistapace
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- 

Creative agency Supermoon has tapped a former partner of Deutsch LA, Kyle Acquistapace, to serve as its new president.
 
Acquistapace will handle day-to-day operations and business development at Supermoon. A 16-year veteran of Deutsch LA, most recently as partner and director of media and data strategy, Acquistapace played a crucial role in guiding Deutsch LA’s growth and culture. Supermoon’s founder, Amir Haque, will take the role of CEO.
 
Acquistapace joins three Deutsch LA veterans, who were founding partners at Supermoon: executive creative director David DeRoma, director of strategy Jill Burgeson, and group account director Nicole Rowett.
 
Supermoon’s clients include Ancestry, Custom Ink, and Campbell’s Fresh/Bolthouse Farms. The agency has also completed two new spots for The Honest Company, the health and lifestyle brand cofounded by Jessica Alba.

  • Thursday, Sep. 29, 2016
Rebecca Wray joins Durable Goods as EP
Rebecca Wray
VENICE, Calif. -- 

Production company Durable Goods, headed by founder/partner Hani Selim, has hired Rebecca Wray as executive producer. Wray has nearly two decades worth of experience in the advertising and entertainment industries and brings a passion for cultivating and evolving creative talent to her role at Durable Goods.
 
Wray’s background includes serving as a producer for a number of commercial production and post shops in Los Angeles. She eventually landed at Digital Kitchen where she was a producer for three years. Next, she  spent seven years as executive producer for atSwim and Milk and Honey Films, growing their international directorial roster and expanding her global production expertise with an eight-month stint in Prague.

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