According to our magic 8-ball (and sources), signs point to yes that Greg Gerstner, currently a creative director/copywriter at Ogilvy NY, will be joining up with BBDO “sometime this month.” Details are somewhat hazy at the moment, but from what we’re hearing, the senior creative will most likely be assuming a CD post and work across various accounts at the Omnicom-owned agency.

Gerstner has spent the last six-and-a-half years at O&M, initially joining the agency as a senior copywriter and subsequently moving up the ranks. During his time at the agency, Gerstner worked primarily on the IBM account, helping lead creative on projects including last year’s U.S. Open data wall (see below). During his career, Gerstner has also spent some time as a copywriter at the likes of T.A.G. (now twofifteenmccann), TBWA\Chiat\Day and the now-defunct Cliff Freeman & Partners. Update: Yes, we’ve received concrete word that Gerstner is indeed joining BBDO later this month as a CD on various accounts.

Let’s kill two birds this morning with some news from up north, especially considering they’re both Omnicom agencies. First off, we’ve received confirmation that Gerald Kugler, who’s spent the last few years as an ACD at what was formerly known as CP+B Toronto and what is now Union, has left the agency and joined up with BBDO Toronto. Kugler, who can be seen talking shop here, officially joined BBDO last week and is working across various agency accounts.

Next up to bat is Tribal DDB Canada, which has now welcomed Dino Demopoulos as VP, strategy and innovation. While Demopoulos’s agency credits include the head of strategy title at MacLaren/MRM as well as planning/strategy stints at TBWA\MAL and BBDO/Proximity, perhaps more interesting to note is that the exec is a DJ/producer who also owns an indie label called Crash Records. How that plays into the Tribal mix, though, we have no idea, but Demopolous has worked with brands including Ford, General Motors, HP, Pepsi, Quaker, Sears and Tropicana during his career.

If General Electric’s “Brilliant Machines” campaign was a movie, the brand’s “Robots on the Move” commercial would only be a teaser trailer. Although it’s full of intrigue and suspense, the ad fails to actually promote anything other than pop-culture nostalgia.

BBDO New York and GE teamed up for the sixty-second spot, which premiered on Thanksgiving and was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the husband/wife duo who helmed feature films such as Little Miss Sunshine as well as several music videos including Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight.” The pitch itself is clever: famous machines looking for new, powerful machines that will make the world better. If we were to grade the effort, we’d have to say incomplete. What are these revolutionary machines? Do they look any different? How will they make the world a better place? Will they cost less than the retail price of an iPhone?

Regardless, sci-fi geeks across the country won’t be able to hide their vinegar strokes. Star Trek fanatics will appreciate a Data sighting. Props on including K.I.T.T. as well, but GE needs to follow up this style-over-substance spot with something concrete—a fridge, a washer, anything that isn’t swiped from an 80’s TV show. The knockoff Avicii soundtrack is pretty fresh, though. All that’s missing is some Hasselhoff. Credits after the jump.

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If you believe in the wisdom of Love Actually, that lovely 2003 Christmas rom-com that Americans have been failing to re-create for a number of years now, you know that the holiday season is the perfect time to tell people how you really feel about them.

Luckily, with the gift of HBO series box-sets, BBDO NY is saying that you can finally express your feelings for casual work acquaintances. Think of the possibilities! You can give that self-absorbed whiny crybaby Girls. You can give that booze-hound who likes playing dress-up Boardwalk Empire. You can give that fist-pumping loudmouth douchebag with terrible taste Entourage. You can give that guy who keeps quoting Borat like it’s still funny Da Ali G Show. You can give that failed musician Flight of the Conchords. You can even give your office crush The Wire to let he or she know that you have immaculate taste in classic TV. Credits after the jump.

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After spending nearly six fruitful years at Venables Bell & Partners, ACD/copywriter Crockett Jeffers is moving on–but not very far, as he’s joining up with BBDO San Francisco as a creative director. At his new venue, Jeffers will oversee creative on BBDO SF’s Gallo, Barefoot Wine, Vail Resorts and Cesar Dog Food accounts while also lending a helping hand with new business efforts.

During his time at VB&P, Jeffers (in yearbook photo to your left) penned some notable campaigns for the agency, including “The Chase” Super Bowl spot for Audi from 2009 (along with subsequent Super Bowl efforts for the automaker) and more recently, served as ACD on the “talking car” ad for Conoco and campaigns for Healthy Choice among others.

Once he officially joins BBDO SF on Nov. 19, Jeffers will partner with fellow creative director Amber Justis, who herself just joined the agency from Draftfcb in August. Prior to his time at VB&P, Jeffers spent six years as a copywriter at TBWA\Chiat\Day and also logged in time at BSSP early on in his career.

Upon seeing the above BBDO NY-created spot for HP and Windows 8, it seemed like yet another attempt by the PC world to make their products appeal to the hippest masses a la Apple. In fact, it reminded me of the “I’m a PC” campaign that Windows ran a few years back, with popular indie DJ Girl Talk yelling the phrase before he jumped in a mosh pit of sweaty teenagers. However, I would encourage you to watch the entire 30-second spot, as the reveal at the end is what makes this great.

Sure, DJ Robbie Wilde has an exceptionally unique situation for which the touch capabilities of Windows 8 are helpful to him. But, this spot both demonstrates the product, tells a touching story and displays the “cool factor” all in 30 seconds, which is just about as much as you can ask for.

Credits and a second, less-compelling spot follow after the jump.

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You have a lot of choices for speedy package delivery this holiday season. And, if you’re the kind of person people describe as “manic,” “spazzy,” or “downright insane,” FedEx desperately wants you to consider their service for all your gifting needs.

A trio of new 15-second spots from BBDO NY depicts the worst holiday shoppers among us. We have the guy who realized at the last-minute that he should send a gift, ANY gift. We have the poor woman in a sleeping bag, camped outside a storefront with the hopes of scoring a sweet deal. We also have the neglectful dad, who allows his daughter to sit on the lap of a complete stranger at his local FedEx location. Depressing? Sure, but isn’t that feeling of overwhelming hopelessness as much a part of Christmas tradition as warm eggnog and predictable disappointment?

Credits, and the final spot, follow after the jump.

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We’ve received confirmation that after spending nearly six months co-leading creative at BBDO Atlanta, Jeff Spillane and Heather Gorman‘s time at the agency came to an end as of last Friday. No word yet on the circumstances of their departure or is they’re headed a new gig. The pair (pictured l-r) was appointed to SVP/creative heads alongside Cabot Norton at BBDO Atlanta after the agency and CCO Bobby Pearce parted ways at the end of May (Norton remains with BBDO ATL). Spillane and Gorman, an art director/copywriter team, respectively, joined BBDO Atlanta over three years ago from CP+B. In the ensuing years, the duo worked on campaigns for clients including AT&T and the Florida Department of Citrus. We’ve been told their responsibilities will be handled internally for the time being.

Over the past week, the above YouTube video has found itself with nearly 1 million plays and embedded in a host of places, including venerated online outlets Deadspin, and Buzzfeed and, uh, NBC Sports. The first time I saw it on Deadspin, I watched it at least five times. Sure, there were commenter conversations about the validity of the video, but they were mainly about whether or not the opposing defense allowed this budding young Internet star perform a backflip over them. However, no one expected that the underlying truth behind this gridiron feat would be as sinister as this.

Yes, it was created by BBDO New York Atlanta, and you fell for it, America. You fell for AT&T’s malarkey, yes, MALARKEY. How do you feel, being fooled by a phone service provider? Will you sign up for AT&T out of shame? Better yet, how does it feel, young high school athletes of America? The viral videos of you making amazing plays will be ignored by Bob Stoops and his fellow collegiate head coaches for fear that it’s all a marketing stunt! Too bad!

In any case, BBDO is laughing all the way to the bank. They’ve succeeded where countless other agencies have failed: Make a compelling viral video on the cheap, distribute it to plethora of legitimate publications who have no idea what it actually is, and then connect it back to the brand in a touching TV spot. Even if this doesn’t make football fans drop their cell provider for AT&T, it’s a sure bet that a ton of other brands will be knocking on BBDO’s door for similar executions for the foreseeable future. Credits after the jump.

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Nearly 11 months after his time as chief creative officer at Draftfcb New York came to an end, Darren Moran has resurfaced at his old stomping grounds of BBDO New York. Moran joins the agency as executive creative director. Moran’s first tour of duty at the agency was in the early aughts, starting as an account manager before moving to the creative side. Following his seven-year stint at BBDO, Moran moved over to Y&R, where he spent 13 years and eventually served as global creative director before joining up with Draftfcb NY in the fall of 2010.

His new boss, BBDO chairman/CCO David Lubars, says in a statement, ““Darren is a great storyteller and having him rejoin BBDO is a great story in itself. He began his career at BBDO more than 20 years ago and contributed work that helped BBDO earn agency of the year honors.  Since then, he’s gone on to create award-winning, integrated campaigns for clients like LG and Chevron.   We are thrilled for our clients that Darren has agreed to bring these skills back to BBDO.  After all, who doesn’t love a story with a happy ending?”

In new role as ECD at BBDO New York, Moran will be working across accounts.