Following the usual “competitive review,” BBDO NY and its sibling Atmosphere Proximity have been appointed as AORs for Emirates in North America. As a result of the airline’s move, which goes into effect August 1, Emirates not only extends a digital/social relationship with Atmosphere that’s lasted nearly a decade, but now adds BBDO to the fold as both agencies will collaborate on an integrated marketing campaign that’s expected to break late summer.

In a statement, BBDO NY president John Osborn says, “This is a great opportunity. An opportunity to build on the quality, leadership and footprint of the biggest international carrier in the world.  We are thrilled to be partnering with Atmosphere Proximity to help Emirates achieve its aggressive sales goals.”

Prior to BBDO, Emirates (which is also kicking off a global media review) worked with Boston-based ISM on its North American ad duties. This marks the second win for the agency this week following its appointment as creative agency for the ING New York City Marathon.

In case you didn’t scan yesterday’s Sports Business Daily, the trade reports that BBDO New York has been named creative agency for the ING New York City Marathon, which is returning after being cancelled last year of course due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. Speaking with SBD, Ronnie Tucker, VP of marketing for NYC Marathon organizers the New York Road Runners, says, “We were looking for some new thinking because of our feeling this is a unique opportunity; we have to get it right. From the beginning, BBDO showed a lot of passion for the marathon.”

We’ve also obtained a memo from sources sent from BBDO NY president/CEO John Osborn, who says among other things, “We will be responsible for developing a multi-platform communications campaign to drive awareness, tune-in, and engagement of the 2013 Marathon. We were selected for a number of reasons, not the least of which was our knowledge and success handling other key New York activities, ranging from the New York Miracle to our current efforts on behalf of New York State.  Thanks to everyone involved who helped bring home this business.”

As mentioned in the Sports Business Daily item, BBDO NY’s multimedia campaign for the NYC Marathon will launch in late September.

We’ve received confirmation from the BBDO camp that Cabot Norton, who’s spent the last three years at said agency’s Atlanta office and most recently served as its SVP/executive creative director, is leaving as of tomorrow. No other word on what’s next for Norton or BBDO ATL, but sources are telling us that the creative exec wants to return to New York.  After all, Norton spent well over a decade at BBDO’s Big Apple hub, working his way up from copywriter to creative director on accounts ranging from FedEx to AT&T.

If you recall, Norton was part of a trio of creative leaders at BBDO Atlanta–the other two being Heather Gorman and Jeff Spillane– who succeeded outgoing CCO Bobby Pearce a year ago. BBDO and Spillane/Gorman parted ways late last year and the pair is now based in NYC.  We’ll fill in the blanks when we hear more.

Another year, another round of PETA’s “Great Ape Pledge” PSA campaign which aims to bring awareness of the plight of primates that suffer physical/psychological abuse at the hands of the entertainment industry. BBDO New York, which has taken the “Pledge” before with its nifty auto-correct effort from two years ago, joins forces with PETA once again for the spot above, which also features VO services from Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and VFX/production work from The Mill. If you stick around for the end, you’ll see that no real ape was used in the above PSA, which reemphasizes PETA’s whole purpose for launching “The Great Ape Pledge” in the first place.

Instead, the parties involved hammer home the message that primates shouldn’t be used as actors by creating  a photo-real CG chimp that’s seemingly at its wit’s end. If the stark message touched a nerve or inspired you to pledge (it’s perhaps a bit more effective than auto-correct messaging), you can go here. Credits after the jump.

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The Spy line was spot-on once again as we’ve received confirmation that BBDO New York is indeed making some cuts this week that “are significant and across departments.” No numbers have been revealed (trust us, we inquired), but as your probably know, the agency’s longtime relationship with Gillette recently ended when parent company P&G passed over its shaving brand’s account to Grey a few weeks ago. No word if the “significant” reductions were directly related, but we’ll let you do the math. We’ve been told that the reductions are still happening, so we’ll let you know if we hear more.

Let’s kill two birds, shall we? AT&T must really like little kids. First, we had the Beck Bennett commercials that ran incessantly during March Madness (and still run; check out the newest Mother’s Day-themed “It’s Not Complicated” clip from BBDO after the jump). Now, the telecom giant seems to think we want more, more, more. The latest work from Dallas-based multicultural agency Sanders\Wingo shows young’ns on their mobile devices, saying things like, “In my day…our connection was so slow, we had to take turns online.”

Some viewers may find this cute, others may find it scary, but as kids become more and more comfortable with the latest technology, these types of spots should become the norm. We already have videos of babies who can swipe a page on an iPad, but can’t turn the page in a book or magazine. Regardless, kids will always have to eat the trope-filled Brussels sprout before they get to use any of these devices, and that’s how we get the thirty-second “Veggies.”

Check out the second spot, “Haircut,” the aforementioned “It’s Not Complicated” Mother’s Day effort and credits for all after the jump.

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Nearly three years after joining up with BBDO New York as EVP/group planning director on the AT&T account, Jeff Kenyon has moved up the charts as he’s now been appointed head of planning for the agency. It seems like a natural transition for Kenyon considering that he’s already been shouldering some of the planning responsibilities handled by his predecessor, Paul Matheson, who if you recall returned to Asia last year (the head of planning post has been vacant since then). As mentioned in the past, Kenyon joined BBDO after serving as group planning director at Ogilvy on campaigns including IBM’s “Smarter Planet” and “My Life, My Card” for American Express.

We’ve received confirmation that Carl Jannerfeldt, who has spent nearly the last three years at BBDO serving as a digital creative/copywriter on, perhaps most notably, AT&T’s now-ubiquitous “It’s Not Complicated” campaign, has joined Wieden+Kennedy New York as a senior creative. Sources familiar with the matter add that Stockholm native Jannerfeldt officially assumed his post yesterday and will work across a variety of accounts at the agency, which counts clients including ESPN, Heineken, Delta and Jordan Brand.

Jannerfeldt’s most recent AT&T work, run out of both BBDO New York and Atlanta, featured some NBA legends, though the videos appear to have now been taken private. Ah well, we always our charming efforts featuring the roundtable moderator and the kids, which the new W+K staffer was involved with (one example below).

During his career, Jannerfeldt has also worked as a copywriter for a couple of years the now-defunct, Stockholm-based Farfar.

Update: Got some clarification from the man himself. Jannerfeldt tells us that he was mainly involved in the AT&T “Brackets by Six-Year-Olds” digital campaign that launched during March Madness, the concept of which inspired the spots above, hence why his name was included in the credits. Thanks for the clarification, sir.

From Chicago’s Energy BBDO comes two new spots for Orbit that illustrate the mantra “Eat, Drink, Chew,” a saying that became popular in North Carolina and surrounding regions in the late 18th century.

With the famed Tobacco Road turning to alternative industries due to America’s feeble attempt to kick its dirty, smelly habit, Wrigley brand Orbit is jumping at the opportunity to turn the saying into something positive for its strain of refreshing after-meal gum. To illustrate that Orbit fights bad breath, they’ve turned to living, breathing food mutant actors. Traditionally maligned by society due to their unsightly presence and caustic personalities, it’s inspiring to see these social outcasts given a role, whether they’re a pile of buttery mashed potatoes or a hunk of unidentifiable fried meat.

A second spot depicts working-class Americans’ number one reason for avoiding polo matches. No, it’s not the overabundance of pastel Ralph Lauren sweaters; it’s the fear of breathing partially digested nacho particles onto a horse that someone probably paid a lot of money and accidentally killing it. Remember, only Orbit can prevent a life of indentured servitude under the employ of an oil baron whose polo horse you mistakenly murdered. Credits after the jump.
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We’ve seen James Harden tear away a warm-up beard and trade an entourage member to Kris Humphries in past Foot Locker commercials, but in the latest effort from BBDO New York, for Kids Foot Locker this time around, Miami Heat All-Star Chris Bosh rounds up some youngsters and takes them to his team’s training facility.

Seriously, where are the parents? Tick Tock, Pork Chop, Sizzle, and Rick Springfield just roam the streets without supervision? Also, when Bosh says he “rounded up” other kids because of “fresh gear” at a Kids Foot Locker, nobody recognized how high this ranks on the Unintentional Comedy Scale?

This ad isn’t as clever as the Harden spots, but Ray Allen is involved, so that makes it okay in my book. And I mean the real Ray Allen, not Tick Tock. Credits after the jump.

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