Clean Creatives unveils F-List Awards 2024

Environmental activist group Clean Creatives is back with the second edition of its F-List Awards, an initiative that trolls agencies for their work on behalf of fossil fuel clients. 

Ogilvy nabbed the facetious “Richard W. Edelman Lifetime Achievement Award for Achieving Shortened Lifetimes” for supporting clients such as Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. Havas CEO and Chairman Yannick Bolloré won the CEO award for “contaminated executive operations” for accepting the lucrative Shell media account in September.

Also: Yannick Bolloré on why Havas works with Shell

Meanwhile, EssenceMediacom was awarded the “How Do You Do Fellow Kids” award for “Excellence in Digital Cringe” after helping Shell create its own island in Fortnite.

Havas and Ogilvy declined to comment. EssenceMediacom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Edelman won in the “Biggest COP-Out” category for working with state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. “We strongly disagree with this characterization of our work. We are committed to helping our clients accelerate their climate journeys, including those in the energy sector,” an Edelman spokesperson said in a statement. 

“At this critical time, negative provocations about the important work that businesses and organizations that we work with are doing to tackle the climate crisis, are unconstructive,” the spokesperson added. 

Clean Creatives chose each winner based on the last year of research for its F-List report, “picking campaigns and agencies that our team believes exemplify the key trends in fossil fuel campaigns,” said Duncan Meisel, executive director, in a statement. “As with any award, it’s a judgment call, but we’re confident we captured the essence of fossil fuel advertising today,” added Meisel. 

Hogarth hires from Dentsu

Hogarth, a WPP creative production company, has hired Lani Carstens as global client managing director. Reporting to Global Chief Client Officer Monica Taylor, Carstens will oversee key client portfolios including Unilever, TJX and Deliveroo. It wasn’t clear at press time whether this is a new role at Hogarth.

Carstens was most recently global head of Content Symphony, Dentsu’s internal content production unit. She has worked with clients such as IHG Hotels & Resorts, BMW, Mini, Toyota, Nestlé and Amex during her career. 

“Bringing Lani into Hogarth’s client leadership team further strengthens our beauty, fashion and retail chops,” Taylor said in a statement. 

Slap Global gets the gang back together 

Casey Phillips and Russ Rizzo have reunited with Gerry Graf at Slap Global. Phillips and Rizzo, who formerly worked with Graf at Barton F. Graf, will serve as creative directors on agency of record assignments for SeatGeek, as well as projects for Petco.

Slap Global announced the appointments with a humorous video that claims, “Maybe it’s not a good idea to get the band back together.”

Rizzo and Phillips were previously associate creative directors at Austin, Texas-based agency Callen, where they were part of the team that gave Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson his own line of mustard called “Bijan Mustardson.”

Issa Rae’s company announces creator collab

Hoorae Media, founded by actress, writer and producer Issa Rae, has unveiled Ensemble, a branded entertainment company featuring more than 50 multicultural digital content creators in North America. It will be led by President Ian Schafer, Head of Revenue Matt Berger and Head of Revenue Operations Keith Lee.

Ensemble aims to bring more equity to the creator economy by helping creators forge deeper and more collaborative relationships with brands, and by providing them greater access to mentorship, production and development infrastructure. 

“We are fired up to be working alongside Issa to build a more representative future for branded entertainment with our partners,” Schafer said in a statement. “Collaborating with great creators to reinforce cultural relevance should be as easy, safe and efficient as working with media properties.”

Ensemble said it is partnering with Pepsi, Chili’s and Popeyes, as well as social media platforms such as Twitch and Snapchat and a growing roster of publishing partners. Its creator roster includes Leo Gonzalez, Mark Phillips and Drew Afualo. 

McCann New York makes executive strategy appointment 

McCann New York has hired Lucien Etori, former head of strategy at R/GA New York, as chief strategy officer. Etori will report to Amber Guild, CEO of McCann New York, and will be responsible for spearheading the growth of the strategy department and integrating creative, digital and marketing innovation. 

Etori replaces Emily Portnoy, who now serves as chief strategy officer at BBDO New York.

McCann’s announcement comes on the heels of the agency being named creative AOR for telecommunications company Frontier Communications.

Just briefly 

Nestlé Canada has named Citizen Relations as the PR AOR for its confectionary business. Citizen, which is supporting earned and influencer media relations for brands such as Aero and KitKat, won the account after a RFI process. It was not immediately clear which agency previously held the business. 

Lippincott named a new chief executive. Michael D’Esopo, formerly director of brand strategy, will become president of the creative agency (a new post) and its future CEO. Rick Wise, current CEO, will transition into a new role as chairman next year.

GE Lighting, a lighting technology division of home automation company Savant Systems, has hired creative agency Bakery as its social AOR following a competitive review. GE Lighting declined to name the incumbent agency. 

Digital creative agency Barbarian has promoted Jo Hayes to executive director, strategy, a vacant post. Hayes, previously director, data insights and analytics, will now spearhead the agency’s strategic approach for new business opportunities.

Crispin appointed Liz Levy to the new role of chief marketing officer. Levy returns to Crispin, which she left in 2011. Since then, Levy’s work included serving as VP and head of branded entertainment at Hulu.

Fitness company Virgin Active has brought on We are Pi after a competitive pitch. The Amsterdam-based creative agency is tasked with repositioning Virgin Active as a social wellness brand. There was no incumbent on the account.

David&Goliath has appointed Brendan Robertson as chief strategy officer. He replaces Laura Forman, who left the agency in 2022. Robertson was formerly a managing partner at VCCP, where he led strategy on brands including Activision Blizzard, Native, Amazon Prime Video, Apple and Salesforce.

We Are Social US has partnered with Valerie Moizel, co-founder and CEO of The Woo, to create Hello, a boutique agency that will operate nationally. Moizel will serve as president and chief creative officer at Hello, which will be a sibling agency to We Are Social but operate separately, and is bringing over staffers from The Woo to build the team.

Famous Footwear has hired independent agencies Yard NYC and The Mayor as AORs following a competitive review. Yard NYC will focus on brand-building efforts while The Mayor concentrates on video, experiential and cultural activations. It was not immediately clear who the retailer’s incumbent agencies were.