Agency news you need to know this week

BBH USA works Jif’s peanut butter and chocolate merger To roll out Jif’s new peanut butter-and-chocolate-flavored spread, Publicis Groupe’s PSOne, creatively led by BBH USA, created a campaign around the merger of two fictional companies: The Peanut Butter Group and Chocolatey Corp. “The Merger” ad, featuring “Succession” star J. Smith-Cameron, shows how the combination of two flavors upends society and causes business chaos. BBH USA is “constantly looking for new corners of culture for Jif to hack,” said Alan Wilson, senior VP, group creative director, in a statement. “And when we got the brief about two titans of taste combining to create Jif peanut butter-and-chocolate-flavored spread, it allowed us to insert ourselves into the most unexpected corner yet: big business mergers.” Ads will run nationally across TV, video, radio and social. The campaign also features a full-page print ad made to feel like a press release and a branded content article in The New York Times, as well as a landing page for the fictional PBC Inc. Ad Age Small Agency Conference & Awards Join us July 23 & 24 in Boston Learn more here Giant Spoon establishes new executive role Giant Spoon has named Corbin Brown as its first chief transformation officer. Brown, who formerly led the independent agency’s strategy efforts, will support clients facing business challenges beyond advertising, such as helping brands elevate their market positioning, integrate new technologies, expand partnerships and rethink potential customers. Reporting to Giant Spoon co-Founder Jonathan Haber, Corbin will assemble custom teams across departments from the agency to solve complex problems for clients. “Brand and business transformation is an organic evolution of what we’ve been doing since the day I started over a decade ago,” Brown said in a statement. “The Giant Spoon way of thinking has provoked bigger, more existential questions for our clients—about their brand strategy, their understanding of the customer, their business model and product roadmap—and led us to some of our most impactful work as an agency.” Brown’s appointment comes as other key marketing players invest in similar roles. In April, Ogilvy and General Motors named chief transformation officers. Other companies that have used the term as part of job titles in recent years include Gap, Kraft Heinz, Albertson’s and HP. New agency’s model attracts three clients Mitch Bennett and Wes Whitener, who formerly worked together as executive creative directors at Fitzco, have opened a new shop called Guesthouse. The agency launches with three clients: Magic Spoon, Citizens Trust Bank and fashion brand Raleigh Denim Workshop. Guesthouse bills itself as a “simpler way to great creative,” going from strategy to brief to concept to production with “no handoffs.” The agency staffs up with the right amount of freelance “guests” to handle big projects and then scales down to optimize client budgets. “We don’t have certain services we need to sell, so we can adapt to clients’ exact needs, bringing on the perfect guests to help them knock it out quickly and efficiently,” Bennett said in a statement. “If you’ve spent months on your strategy already, that’s great—we’ll pick it up from there. If you need help with it, that’s great, too—we’ll help you get it right.” Guesthouse will debut its first work for Magic Spoon this summer, with a TV and digital campaign and brand refresh for Citizens Trust Bank slated for later this year, the agency said in a statement. See Ad Age’s Tech Power List honoring marketing leaders Omnicom makes significant production change Omnicom has unveiled Omnicom Production, a new practice area designed to bring together the holding company’s global production capabilities. It will encompass Omnicom Studios, eg+, Designory, Mother Tongue and Link9, as well as the production departments currently housed within Omnicom’s creative networks and agencies. Omnicom Production will be led by Sergio Lopez, former global CEO at Publicis Production, and include more than 3,000 Omnicom employees. “Today, clients are demanding more customized content to be delivered across more media channels than ever before, and at faster speeds,” Lopez said in a statement, adding that Omnicom Production will offer the necessary "scaling and optimizing." “By unifying our production operations under one roof and connecting it to our data technology suite, we can provide our clients access to a wider range of talent, specialized skills and services,” Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren said in a statement. Just briefly Opry Entertainment Group, owner and operator of entertainment venues including the Grand Ole Opry, has tapped Omnicom’s The Marketing Arm for creative, brand and strategy support. TMA won the business after a competitive review. There was no incumbent agency. Publicis Media’s PMX appointed Joel Lunenfeld as its U.S. CEO, succeeding Jay Askinasi, who recently decamped to Roku to serve as head of ad sales. Before PMX, Lunenfeld was global chief marketing officer for Lingo, a biowearables division of Abbott. Telecommunications company C Spire has appointed Lewis as its agency of record. The creative agency, which takes over the account from Tombras, will be responsible for a wide range of efforts, including media planning and creative development and production. Cannes Lions coverage See all of the Grand Prix winners here Top 5 Grand Prix campaigns Cramer-Krasselt hired Kevin Drew Davis as its new executive creative director. Davis replaces G. Andrew Meyer, who has left the independent agency for personal reasons. AI search engine Perplexity has hired Interpublic Group of Cos.’ media agency UM as its first media AOR. UM, which won the business without a review, will help the company launch its first major brand campaign, handle media buying duties and advise on ad product development. EP+Co has appointed Kat Shafer as president. Shafer will assume the role on September 1 and succeed Allen Bosworth, who has been with the IPG agency since he helped found it 36 years ago. She most recently was chief client officer and chief growth officer. Software maker ServiceNow has handed its global media duties to independent digital agency PMG following a competitive pitch. A spokesperson for PMG said Omnicom previously worked with ServiceNow, but declined further comment.

Agency news you need to know this week

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