Agency news you need to know this week

Had enough of Advertising Week New York? It might be time to go west. Nevada, Colorado and California are all beckoning with three new tourism campaigns. The first, from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's longtime agency R&R, revolves around parents coming up with sneaky ruses to have a kid-free getaway. The work was created under the direction of Chief Creative Officer Guto Araki, the former Deutsch LA creative who joined the independent shop this year. For the past four years, Araki led Big Family Table, the dedicated agency for Hulu created when the Interpublic Group of Cos. agency won the account. Advertising Week 2022 Updates and analysis from the annual event Read more here San Diego-based agency Shipyard, meanwhile, launched a campaign for Mammoth Lakes, California. “The Real Unreal” includes six videos focused on the various beautiful sites of the mountainous region. The campaign intends to show people who escape into the digital world that there are real-life fantasies "they can actually see, explore and experience in real life,” said Kerry Krasts, executive creative director at Shipyard, in a statement. “The pandemic led to many finding escape in the virtual world, and this campaign drives local and national consumers to a tangible wonderland.” Then there's Denver-based agency Cactus, which launched a campaign promoting the 75-year-old Colorado ski resort Arapahoe Basin. The “Legendary for a Reason” campaign includes a 30-second spot as well as out-of-home, digital, social and native pieces of content. One magazine image shows a skier powering through a snowy path with copy that reads, “The hardest fun you’ll ever have.” Little shop of horrors FX teamed up with NVE Experience Agency to open a shop in New York dedicated to "American Horror Story: NYC" ahead of the Oct. 19 premiere of the show’s 11th season. The AHS:NYC Shop is filled with custom goods and set pieces from the show and photo opportunities for people who make reservations to attend. The shop’s opening night included an appearance by entertainer, model and author Amanda Lepore. Located at 328 Bleecker Street, the AHS:NYC Shop will run for the next two weekends. Is your plant screaming at you? If you are one of those people who feel guilty about not taking proper care of your plants, stop reading now. In order to promote a new seaweed-based fertilizer for plants called Drugs for Plants, Brooklyn, New York-agency Major created a campaign showing plants literally screaming out for help while families go about their lives unable to hear their entreaties. And if that isn't enough, the agency brought the plant plight to life by making a tree in Brooklyn's McCarren Park "scream" as people go by and sent influencers boxes of plants that cry piteously as they are unboxed. Major Co-Founders and Creative Directors Andrew Fatato and Dave Haller said the idea was inspired during COVID lockdown. “The number of plants living, and dying, in our apartments went through the roof during the pandemic,” said Fatato. “My apartment was the scene of a horticultural massacre. Dave had a much greener thumb. But both of us had to quickly become minor plant experts to keep our plants alive.” VMLY&R promotes two for Coke account VMLY&R has appointed two key executives to its Coca-Cola Co. business. Stephanie DeCelles, previously an executive director of VMLY&R Kansas City, Missouri, has been promoted to the global client lead on the account, while Chase Cornett, previously head of strategy for VMLY&R’s Kansas City office, has been named global chief strategy officer for the Coke account. DeCelles and Cornett will join OpenX from WPP, the bespoke agency created to service Coca-Cola Co., and will partner closely with VMLY&R’s creative lead on the account, Rafael Pitanguy. 72andSunny New York’s first managing director 72andSunny has hired JT Pierce to take on the newly created role of managing director of its New York office. He succeeds Brett Edgar, who was the president of 72andSunny New York and is now serving as VCCP’s North America CEO. Pierce joins the Stagwell agency from DoorDash, where he co-led its creative studio. The news follows the appointment of Marianne Malina as 72andSunny's first-ever North American president earlier this year. At the same time, Laura Likos was elevated as the managing director of the Los Angeles office. Code and Theory launches inclusive design offering Stagwell’s Code and Theory launched its first Inclusive Design and Marketing Strategy offering that will focus on ensuring the agency’s work for its clients is inclusive. Kirstyn Nimmo was appointed as the discipline’s group director. "ID&M's purpose is to approach inclusivity the same way we have approached digital transformation for decades, which is to connect the dots for consumers and brands at every touchpoint," said Code and Theory Founder and Executive Chairman Dan Gardner. The agency also created an industry writing guide called Words Up meant to be used as an educational tool for other agencies to enable them to write with inclusion. Ogilvy U.K. receives menopause-friendly workplace accreditation Ogilvy U.K. has received a menopause-friendly workplace accreditation from Henpicked, an independent organization focused on helping businesses introduce and improve menopause awareness, education, and support for employees. Ogilvy claims it is the first agency in the U.K. to receive such an accreditation. “With the world of work rapidly changing over the last few years, our people increasingly expect us to support their wellbeing both inside and outside of work,” Gemma Davies, head of people at Ogilvy U.K. said in a statement. The agency offers a range of support services for employees going through menopause and perimenopause including access to private health coverage to assist those experiencing symptoms, agency-wide educational sessions to reduce stigma around menopause, programs to encourage open discussion on the topic and manager training on how to best support team members going through menopause. Female founders at Advertising Week Women founders—who represent only 1% of agency owners, according to Own It—showed up in full force at Advertising Week. Two of those agencies, Walrus and Cornett, hosted a dinner during the event to raise awareness and offer peer-to-peer sharing on how to get more women into the owner's seat. The event drew execs from seven women-run agencies, pictured below. See all of Ad Age's 2023 Agency A-List winners here Just briefly VMLY&R has launched Detroit Experience Studio, a program in which high school students in the city can explore creative careers, build skills in marketing, advertising, and design, and work alongside industry experts and leaders. The free program will run two cohorts a year in the fall and winter with 20 students in its inaugural year. The 10-week program meets twice a week, and class sessions are two hours each day. Accenture Song has elevated three of its leaders to new roles in Europe. Adam Kerj, formerly its chief creative officer of the Nordic region, has been appointed as the company’s first chief creative officer for Europe. Jon Wilkins, who joined the company as part of the acquisition of Karmarama in 2016, has been named global chief strategy officer for Accenture Song’s communications practice, and Liz Wilson has been given a new role leading growth and integrated client solutions for Accenture Song’s communications practice in Europe. Stagwell has acquired Epicenter Experience, a software company that uses mobile and location data to map and sequence consumer behavior patterns. Memac Ogilvy has appointed Claus Adams as its first CEO of the United Arab Emirates. Previously Adams served as VMLY&R Commerce’s CEO in Germany. Prior to that, he served as Geometry's CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Agency news you need to know this week

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