Saturday Morning brings on new partner
Saturday Morning, the fantastic initiative launched in the summer of 2016 by black creative leaders Keith Cartwright, Geoff Edwards, Jayanta Jenkins and Jimmy Smith is expanding its team with the arrival of new partner lead Deja Cox.
“As we grow, we will continue to add talented and dedicated leaders like Deja, who are willing to support our non-profit cause,” Edwards, who is an Executive Creative Director at R/GA Los Angeles, said in a statement. “Deja’s background in entertainment marketing at CAA and cause related efforts for the Salvation Army makes her a perfect fit for our organization. Like all of us at Saturday Morning, she has desire to bring change and awareness through creativity.”
Cox currently works as a brand agent at Observatory (formerly CAA Marketing), where she has worked in the entertainment marketing division for around four and a half years. “Saturday Morning combines my passion and interests in social justice with my work in marketing. It gives me an opportunity to have an impact on people’s lives,” Cox added.
Cox’s arrival follows the launch of Saturday Morning and Spotify’s “Black History Is Happening Now” campaign last month featuring Janelle Monáe.
ALSO READ: Spotify & Janelle Monaé kick off Black History year-round
ModOp Films has evolved into MOR
MOR, developed by Rossi Cannon, former Chicagoan Steve Schofield and David Cullipher, focuses on producing brand-supported engagements, from advertising campaigns to immersive experiences. Understanding a brand’s audience and core value is central to MOR’s approach — one that blends creativity and analytics to deliver impact.
Among MOR’s new projects: an “Escape Room” created and designed by innovator Michael Counts with creative technologist David Cullipher; four short films for W20 helmed by Academy award-winning director Cynthia Wade, who concurrently directed Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats for Leo Burnett; a broadcast and digital campaign 23andMe created and directed by Hamish McCollester which was taken from concept to delivery through MOR’s in-house post; and the moving X-Finity campaign directed by Kai Sehr who brought Goodby’s amazing wishes concept to life.
“MOR is the natural next step, combining our individual strengths into a company engineered for our industry today,” says Rossi Cannon. “We back everything we do with years of industry knowledge so our clients can explore new ground and inspired ideas with confidence. From live action to new immersive concepts, our talent pool proven success and a passionate approach.”
MOR features a unique talent pool of creative, directors, interactive directors, designers, and producers who collaborate on imaginative projects with agencies and brands. New signings to MOR:
Bram Coppens resides in Los Angeles. He has directed cinematic, visually driven campaigns for clients such as Christian Dior (which earned him a nomination for a Young Director Award at Cannes), Lexus, Range Rover, Dockers, and the Worldwide Campaign for Adidas’ FIFA World Cup ball. The film was the first 360 interactive commercial on YouTube which earned him a bronze CLIO Award. Bram is a multi-dimensional storyteller. His work is infused with striking visuals, often incorporating a range of techniques to deliver powerful images.
Raphael Dias resides in Rio and London, and is the director of The Refugee Nation via Ogilvy New York, which was awarded 18 Cannes Lions in 2017. He’s also earned One Show Awards, D&AD pencils + President’s Pick 2017, and the New York FIP Festival Award. Continuously in pursuit to dig deep for thought provoking story, Raphael understands that astonishing visuals and technology is where great narrative collide. Today, his creativity leads him to a proactive way of approaching brands and developing appealing content that helps brands sell units in a special way.
Co-Founder and Managing Director Steve Schofield, told Reel360, “Our name MOR is about our collective drive to expand how people consider what really connects with audiences,” adding, “We see this as a time of incredible opportunity, and we harness that vitality and wide-open thinking in MOR.”
Crown Media chooses Noble People as new media agency
The creatively-led Noble People, known for its innovative and transparent practices around strategy, buying and planning, will oversee the full range duties for Crown linear networks, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, including national print, video, radio, digital, social and OOH. In addition, the agency will play a critical role in raising the profile of Crown Media’s recently-launched subscription video on demand service, Hallmark Movies Now, considered a distinct destination for Hallmark’s unique brand of entertainment.
Zenith held media duties for Crown Media Family Networks prior to Noble People’s appointment. The decision came following a thorough review for the business which kicked off in January 2018.
Crown Media Family Networks joins a roster of Noble People clients seeking alternatives to behemoth media agency practices; among them, PayPal, Zappos, Honest Tea, Bumble, Puma, Kodak and ASOS.
Phenomenon announces Gelardi as first ECD
L.A. agency Phenomenon announced this week that it had named Jay Gelardi as its first Executive Creative Director. Here’s an example of his work:
Gelardi joins the indie shop from Huge L.A., where he held the same title. (You may recall that this office recently rebranded to Elephant, the mysterious IPG network that is no longer a dedicated Apple shop.) He was formerly digital ECD at CP+B Boulder, which hired him away from The Monkeys in his native Australia.
“Jay has a deep history at the best digital and integrated agencies in the world and shares our love of doing work that is a first in every way,” said CCO Chris Adams in explaining the hire. “His collaborative nature and dedication to craft will help us live up to our goal of creating ideas that are next level, or nothing. We hired Jay for his creative capabilities, but we love him for his optimism, positive energy and collaborative spirit.”
President Erica Hoholick, who left TBWA late last year to join the agency founded by Krishnan Menon, added, “Phenomenon is one of the fastest growing business transformation agencies, and Jay’s strong track record of brand-transforming ideas is exactly what we look for in a candidate.”
“I was drawn to Phenomenon because it partners with such a wide range of clients looking to answer a diverse set of questions,without preconceived notions of how to answer them,” said Gelardi. “I’ve always been of the mindset that the most creatively effective solutions arise when you can solve problems with total freedom to innovate.”
MelodyGun moves to Hollywood Production Center
The talented folks at MelodyGun Sound + Music have moved from Sun Valley to the Hollywood Production Center. The company has done some spectacular sound work on projects such as Dunkirk: The VR Experience that takes the player on a dark and intense journey through a bloody WWII battle spanning land, sea and air. Three VR scenes in the experience tease the raw intensity of some of the films most emotionally-striking moments.
They also worked on Assassin’s Creed the Movie VR Experience which is a thrilling piece of virtual reality that excited aficionados of the game, fans of the movie and newcomers.
LA’s Adolescent signs midwest rep SG+Partners
LA’s Adolescent Content has announced it’s signing with Sarah Gitersonke, owner of representation firm SG+Partners, for exclusive Midwest representation. Adolescent Content represents young, diverse directors… combining their Gen Z / Y + Millennial perspective with the best crews in the industry to create high production value and authentic broadcast commercials, branded content, photographs, social media assets and films.
Adolescent Promo Video from Adolescent Content on Vimeo.
Helmed by Executive Creative Director Ramaa Mosley, Executive Producer Hope Farley and Executive Producer Brandon Piety, Adolescent operates as a think tank, research studio and production company across all platforms from TV broadcast, Instagram and Snapchat for brands such as Disney, Target, Beat’s Music App, Hasbro, American Girl, Bud Light, ESPN, Tom’s Shoes and Diesel.
Have LA news? Contact Colin Costello at colin@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @colincostello10.
