Crocs and Kohl's put accounts in review

Already in growth mode thanks to consumers clamoring for its clogs during the pandemic, Crocs appears to be planning more expansion. The footwear brand—one of Ad Age’s Hottest Brands of 2020—has put its media and creative business into review, a spokesman said this week. McKinney is Crocs’ media agency of record. The company currently handles its creative advertising in-house, though in the past it has worked with shops including Yard. Buy your ticket for the Ad Age A-List & Creativity Awards Gala at AdAge.com/ACGala. Earlier this month, Crocs released data that indicated its popularity is not slowing down. In 2021, Revenue rose a whopping 67%, a record for Crocs. The company said it expects to grow sales another 20% this year. New year, new media agency It’s been a busy new year for Kohl’s. As the department store chain entertains offers to go private, it’s also on the hunt for a new media agency. A Kohl’s spokeswoman confirmed this week that the Wisconsin-based retailer is “out for bid” for an agency to handle its media duties. Kohl’s has been with Publicis Group's Zenith for nearly a decade. The company has recently worked with Yard on creative duties. Limited access, increased ads In honor of the 49th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade, Oberland partnered with The American Civil Liberties Union to create a new campaign that reframes the debate over abortion restrictions as "forcing pregnancy." The campaign, which launched Jan. 22, is titled “Disclaimer” and modeled after a pharmaceutical ad. It shows a woman looking at her positive pregnancy test while the announcer says, “Are you seeking an abortion? Talk with your doctor.” Much like a run-of-the mill pharmaceutical ad, it goes on to explain the risks for a pregnant woman seeking an abortion. Read more: OkCupid doubles down on controversial campaign with pro-choice ad The announcer goes on to say that “unnecessary restrictions and politically-motivated bans may apply,” as the woman is seen leaving the state, heading to a clinic with a locked door, being told she has to come back the next day, and then dealing with anti-abortion protesters heckling her outside of the clinic. “There should be no shame in getting an abortion,” said Oberland Founder and Chief Creative Officer Bill Oberlander. “ACLU wants to show how people are frustrated by these laws that prevent them from getting an abortion and that they should never have to apologize for making that decision.” The spot ends with the message that “banning abortion is forcing pregnancy.” A second execution, titled “Forced,” is set to launch in mid-February. Oberland has created a larger campaign which includes digital ad units, many of which are geographically targeted to states where access to abortion is limited. What's better than free wings? Free Super Bowl tickets If you love chicken wings and football, this TikTok scavenger hunt campaign is perfect for you. LikeMeat, a Livekindly Collective brand, along with creative agency 72andSunny and Blue Hour Studios, the creative content agency and affiliate of Horizon Media, have put together the “WingIt2WinIt'' scavenger hunt inspired by LikeMeat’s Like Chick’n Wings product launch. The winner will receive two free tickets to the Big Game. The campaign is an extension of 72andSunny’s “Go Ahead and Wing It” creative platform, and the challenge and wings are meant to bring excitement around LikeMeat’s plant-based Like Chick’n Wings. Developed by Blue Hour Studios, the campaign was inspired by the culture of TikTok. @robgronkowski I winged it & I liked it. Collect all clues & you could win 2 tickets to the Big Game! @likemeat.us #wingit2winit ♬ original sound - gronk Blue House Studios recruited a group of TikTok creators including Rob Gronkowski, a tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to launch the scavenger hunt and hide clues in their videos for players to figure out. Each video reveals clues that send those playing down a TikTok journey that ends with the chance to win tickets to the Big Game and other LikeMeat prizes on the WingIt2WinIt website. R/GA throws out black-and-white theme R/GA, known for its red square logo, has rebranded its website to put the focus on its people. Before the pandemic, R/GA's site had a color theme of black and white, which was meant to show a sense of consistency and cohesiveness. Now, the website shows pictures in color, meant to reflect the agency's people and purpose, according to Ashish Prashar, global chief marketing officer. “The black-and-white photos took a bit of the individuality out of everything,” he said. “I think a more authentic representation of each individual's expression and how they use it, they can pose however they want, they can wear what they want, they can be them, they can be seen for who they are, right. And I think that is really important.” The new website is meant to show a “more human future,” Prashar said, with a more “human-centric” feel. In addition to the color, the site now has more tailored global pages to personalize its offices to highlight each one's value including custom hero images to show off case studies the agency has done. Hill Holiday’s new chief strategy officer Hill Holliday is continuing its growth by rounding out its leadership team with the announcement of Avin Narasimhan as chief strategy officer. He is replacing Lesley Bielby, who left the agency to become chief strategy officer at DiGo. Before coming over to Hill Holliday, Narasimhan previously served in the same role at media and marketing communications agency PHD. While there he helped win big clients including Red Bell, Cole Haan, Varo and Chanel. Prior to that he worked at agencies such as R/GA, Arnold, Modernista and Fallon. His main goal at Holliday is to help the agency continue to drive performance for clients. “Avin is one of the brightest stars in our industry, capable of integrating different disciplines and making an impact with culture-shaping ideas,” said Hill Holliday President Chris Wallrapp. “He understands our core vision of merging creativity and analytical rigor. A galvanizing presence, Avin will help unify our talent around a common language, evolved ways of working, and approaches to ideas that break down the false binary between driving sales today and brand building over the long term.” Narasimhan joins the agency on the heels of significant wins, including Valvoline’s AOR and seven new brands to its healthcare practice. He will work alongside Icaro Doria, chief creative officer. Just briefly Ryan Fisher has been named managing director of Wieden+Kennedy London. He is replacing Helen Andrews, who held the position since 2017 and has decided to “take a break before moving on to something,” according to a statement by the agency. Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi has won global creative duties for German manufacturing group Siemens, the budget for which is undisclosed. The agency’s U.K. and Germany offices were appointed following a four-way pitch handled through Observatory; the incumbent was Ogilvy. Publicis declined to comment on the brief, but German trade publications have reported that it will involve a new global campaign for the umbrella brand. Anomaly New York has hired Jaclyn Rink Crowley as executive creative director, a newly formed role in addition to the agency’s current Executive Creative Director Seth Jacobs, and Dan Blaney as its new head of production. Blaney, who joins from Apple, replaces Chad Hoppenwasser, who joined Tombras last year. Digitas has announced four new promotions, including three new roles for the agency. Jen Faraci has been promoted to Chief Data Officer, a role that’s been vacant for five years; Caroline Winterton was named president, New York; Melissa Levy was named to president, Boston; and Morgan Carroll to president, Chicago. Faraci will lead the agency’s data and analysis team, while Winterton will continue to lead the New York region. Both Levy and Carroll will be leading their regional teams. Laughlin Constable announced that its Pesident and CEO Matt Lignel has departed the agency after eight years in leadership. The agency’s current chief operating officer, Rome Seifert, will serve as interim CEO according to a statement by the agency. Deutsch New York has brought on two new creative leaders. Miriam Franklin joins as executive VP, head of integrated production and Melatan Riden joins as executive VP, head of art and design. Franklin replaces Joe Calabrese, who departed from the agency in December, and Riden replaces Roger Bova, who departed in August. Buy your ticket for the Ad Age A-List & Creativity Awards Gala at AdAge.com/ACGala. Mediabrands has hired Dawn Reese as its first-ever U.S. president. She will be working alongside Alejandro Lopez on the U.S. leadership team. Before coming to Mediabrands, Reese served as senior VP and managing director at UM Studios U.S. She will be running all U.S. operations and since starting her new role has worked with clients such as American Express, BMW, Spotify and Levi’s. Walrus has named Jeff Hale as the agency’s first head of design. In his new role, Hale will oversee Walrus’s design output across the agency’s full-service and design-only clients, including Lowes Foods and Los Angeles Magazine. Before coming to Walrus, he was running his own design consultant company, working primarily on Tabasco, for which he redesigned all of its international packaging and brand identity. Mediaplus, the “largest independent and partner-managed media agency in Europe,” according to a statement by the agency, brought on Tamara Alesi for the newly created role of chief client officer and Jasmine Presson for the newly created role of chief strategy officer. Contributing: Alexandra Jardine and Adrianne Pasquarelli

Crocs and Kohl's put accounts in review

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