Agency news you need to know this week

Black Madison Ave

Black creative leaders from well-known agencies came together to film a three-part documentary in which they discussed the clear misrepresentation that still exists in creative leadership roles, their experiences with past biases, and more. The documentary, titled “Black Madison Ave” was led by VMLY&R’s Executive Creative Director of Experience Design Walt Geer and went live on New York Festivals’ site this week.

“If we look at the top five holding agencies in the US (accounting for over 358,000 employees), there seems to only be about nine Black executive creative directors. Seven of us met for the first time in person, to discuss the current state of the advertising space,” Geer said in a statement.

Besides Geer, the documentary includes panelists that hold various executive creative director roles including Grey’s Andre Gray; Ogilvy's Kaleeta McDade; Momentum’s Patrick Bennett; McCann’ Perry Fair; R/GA’s Shannon Washington and VMLY&R’s Sherman Winfield. 

Dave & Buster's 0 SPF sunscreen

New work for arcade/restaurant Dave & Buster's from agency of record Mother New York reimagines spring break for those looking to avoid not just sunburns, but the sun altogether. The joke is a 0 SPF sunscreen product with the tagline “0 SPF, 0 active ingredients, 0 problems,” perfect for enjoying games and grub in the chain’s neon-lit interiors.

“0 SPF is worthless except possibly as a moisturizer,” said retired dermatologist Dr. Marguerite Thew in a statement. The satirical campaign is a divergent approach to typically sandy spring vacation work and will run on digital, social and radio platforms as well as in out-of-home and banner ads.

Pacaso names Mediahub, BBH USA agencies of record

From the founders of Zillow, Pacaso is a real estate marketplace for buying into partial ownership of a second home. This week, it launched its first national campaign with newly-named agencies of record: Mediahub and BBH USA.

The “Own It” spot is a glamorous montage of gorgeous vacation homes and the chic individuals that own between an ⅛ and ½ share of them. It plays like a hype video for the emotional lift that ownership can instill in a buyer—but at a fraction of the full purchase price.

Mananging director carousel 

Forsman & Bodenfors New York has hired Christina Falzano as managing director, a newly created role for the agency. Most recently, Falzano served as managing director at Havas’s Conran Design Group. Prior to joining Havas, Falzano was the chief operating officer and head of program management at Wolff Olins.

Gut Miami has named Carmen Rodriguez as its managing director, a brand new role for the agency. She will maintain her role as global chief client officer and partner as she lead’s the agency’s Miami office. The agency has also hired Joselyn Bickford to take on the agency’s newly created head of account management position.

Vice’s Virtue Worldwide has appointed Darius Hines as managing director overseeing its North American operations. Hines joins from Ogilvy, where he served as managing director leading the North American businesses for both Unilever and Siemens AG, most recently working with Dove on its campaign supporting the CROWN (Creating a Respectful World for Natural Hair) Act initiative. Hines replaces Krystle Watler, who left the agency to join TikTok last year, according to a spokeswoman for the agency.

Good for you

Bumble Bee Seafoods has launched its latest campaign by The Many dedicated to dispelling what the brand says are misconceptions of tuna. 

“At Bumble Bee, we firmly believe that everyone deserves to eat well, no matter what,” Jeanine Lewis Canales, VP and head of marketing at Bumble Bee said. “The idea of democratizing wellness is what inspired us to confront the reasons why younger generations often do not choose tuna today. Our research shows that this is often because younger generations don’t view tuna as versatile, nor fitted for their foodie aspirations. Sometimes they even forget how good tuna is for them.”

The campaign videos highlight various uses and health benefits of the brand’s tuna products. It will run in local markets including New York; Baltimore, Maryland; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina and Richmond, Virginia. 

Agency rebrand

M/SIX, a joint venture between The&Partnership and WPP, will now be going by the name mSix&Partners. 

“As a business we are doubling down on partnership," Jack Swayne, managing director and global CEO at mSix&Partners said. “Partnership has allowed us, our clients and our people to adapt to change in the past and will be even more important as we lean in to continual change in the future. Our name must reflect who we are and who we want to be, an agency that is at the forefront of data, tech and media and knows how to connect that to brand experience, comms and unique ways of working; mSix&Partners does that perfectly.”

The identity change also comes with a new “Further, Faster” brand positioning.

Just Briefly

A new initiative from LeadingAge, a representative for over 5,000 elder service nonprofits, and agency Joy Collective will distribute COVID vaccine information to its network of health workers specifically tailored for Black and Hispanic caregivers. Through social media graphics, printable posters, vaccine information handouts and a campaign messaging brief, the partners hope to provide all the information needed for those aiding senior citizens to make informed choices about administering the vaccine and boosters.

Ogilvy has named Maria O’Keeffe as its chief people officer, replacing Jag Dhanji, who will be leaving the agency at the end of the month, according to a spokesman for the agency. O’Keeffe previously served 25 years at Edelman, where she recently held the title of global chief talent officer of practices, sectors and clients.

Seattle-based DNA has hired Mishy Cass as its new executive creative director, which is the agency’s most senior creative role. The role was previously held by Steve Williams, who is leaving the agency to pursue new creative endeavors, according to a statement by the agency.

Wavemaker has named Jessica Maley as its chief people officer, North America, replacing Kristen Metzger, who departed the agency in January. Metzger previously served as chief people officer for Wavemaker’s APAC region.

Retail chain Northern Tool + Equipment has named Minneapolis-based Colle McVoy as its agency of record following a client-led competitive pitch. The agency will partner with the company on strategy, creative, media, content and brand experience.

BCW has named Deb Freeman as its new chief strategy officer, North America. She replaces Thomas Bunn, who left the agency to join Zeno Group. For the past four years, Freeman ran Move Consulting, where she counseled brands and advertising agencies including McCann New York, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ulta Beauty, and McDonald’s. Before that, she spent two years as Chief Strategy Officer at FCB New York

Los Angeles-based Sibling Rivalry has brought on two new creatives to fill brand new roles. Mitch Monson has joined as executive creative director and Burke Miles has joined as creative director.

Chicago-based 1o8  has brought on Jen Bills to fill the newly created role of executive VP, executive creative director. Previously Bills served as group creative director at OKRP; she was one of the first 10 employees to join that agency.

Maryland-based RP3 has brought on three new hires for newly created roles. Alix Bortnick has been named head of business development; Brendan O’Brien was named associate creative director, copywriter; and Maryam St. Antoine was appointed account director.

Creative agency Glow has brought on Ellie Lloyd as its executive creative director, replacing Kurt Kretten, who left the agency in October. Prior to joining the agency, Lloyd served as global creative manager at Netflix working on originals projects including documentaries, unscripted, comedy, and kids and family content.

Red & Co. has appointed Clare Pickens as its global managing director, which is an expansion of the managing director role held by Brett Corrick, who left the agency in July for personal reasons, according to a spokeswoman for the agency. The role is also an expansion of Pickens’ previous role as global business director.