Deutsch

The Deutsch network continues to attract CP+B alums as the former’s New York office has now welcomed Qian Qian to the fold as VP, creative director. Qian has spent the last two years as interactive design director in Boulder, working on past and present CP+B accounts including Domino’s (remember the Cheesy Font?), Bolthouse Farms’ Baby Carrots and Coke Zero.

Prior to CP+B, Qian not only had a stint teaching web design at Missouri State University, but spent a  year-and-a-half as VP/ACD at McCann Erickson and has worked as senior art director and/or designer at AKQA and OgilvyOne’s Beijing branch during his career. Now at Deutsch New York , the VP/CD will work across agency accounts including Unilever, Microsoft and PNC Bank.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

The snark well hath runneth dry for a moment so let’s just say Brett Craig has now joined the Dr. Pepper group at Deutsch L.A. as GCD following a similar stint at TBWA\Chiat\Day, where he played a senior creative role on the then-existing Call of Duty biz (remember this?) as well as Tostitos and Pepsi. Craig, in fact, spent most of his career at Chiat, initially joining in 2000 and moving up the ladder from copywriter to ACD to group creative director, spearheading creative work for other accounts including Sirius XM, Energizer, Ballpark Franks and Nissan in the process.

You might remember Craig from his contributions to Pepsi’s “Refresh Everything” campaign as well as this peculiar Will.I.Am./Bob Dylan Super Bowl ad mashup for the soft drink giant.

After spending nearly two years at JWT New York, Suzanne Molinaro is moving over to Deutsch. Molinaro (pictured) most recently served as director of digital production at JWT, a post she assumed last fall once Pam Scheideler left for Google Creative Lab. Anyhow, Molinaro will assume the same title at Deutsch NY effective May 7 and oversee production on digital projects across the agency’s accounts including Microsoft, Unilever and PNC Bank. During her career, Molinaro has also worked on the production side at the likes of CP+B, BBH and Big Spaceship.

Along with Molinaro’s hiring, Deutsch NY has also changed eight-year vet Stephanie Lee-Pang‘s title from SVP, director of interactive production to SVP, director of digital operations.

 

 

Unilever’s Sure and Deutsch NY view the women’s deodorant industry as something in need of repair. What’s the problem, you ask? In a statement, they say, “For years, women have been portrayed by the deodorant industry as weak. From embarrassed bridesmaids to sheepish business women in silk blouses who hide their armpits, women have been made to feel that without a deodorant we are inadequate and unattractive.” Well, I don’t know if I’d take it that far, but considering that one of Sure’s biggest competitors is named “Secret,” I can definitely jump on board with the overall sentiment of that statement.

With the above spot titled “We Are Strong” (which will run on TV in 24 countries), Sure seeks to depict a different side of women, one that isn’t all about skipping merrily through fields of lilac while dressed head to toe in pastels. In fact, the models in “Unapologetically Strong” opt for decrepit abandoned buildings instead of the great outdoors, which is a great place to cross your arms and look intimidating, but probably isn’t the best environment for a newborn baby. The spot is part of Sure’s Maximum Strength global product launch, and the statement from Sure and Deutsch goes on to say that, “Sweat is a sign that we’re engaged, we’re doing, we’re achieving. Women are strong. And now there’s a product as strong as we are.” Click here for credits.

From Deutsch NY comes a new campaign for Microsoft focusing on the software company’s cloud computing solutions.

The spots star “Tad,” a phony Ron Burgundy-esque salesperson for fictional IT company VMlimited (who Deutsch and Microsoft introduced in a series of spots last year). Giving a room of IT professionals bad advice about Virt-based innovation, Tad turns his mustache up at the notion of cloud computing. Apparently (as I don’t speak IT), Tad’s business networking solutions are as old-fashioned as his verbiage and manner of dress.

Is this funny? To be perfectly honest, I generally have no idea what Tad’s talking about, other than, according to Microsoft’s dose of reverse psychology, “virt” = lame and “cloud” = good. So, to truly judge the effectiveness of this three-minute video, I’d suggest you send it to an nearby IT guy or gal and see what they think of it. Also, feel free to ask him or her what’s so special about supporting “multiple hypervisors” while you’re at it. Visit the campaign’s microsite here and view credits here.

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Yeah, we’ll never let this go, but like we pointed out last year when he joined 180 LA and as you’ll see below, Derek Richmond was destined for some sort of stardom. Though his awe-inspiring moment on Full House never led to a career in Hollywood, Richmond has persevered in the ad/production biz for nearly two decades. Now, he’s landed a gig as director of digital production at Deutsch LA, which tells us that 14 of its last 16 creative hires have come from the digital side.

Richmond, as mentioned, joins from 180 LA, where he spent less than a year as director of integrated production. Prior to 180, Richmond spent four years at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, where he served in the same role of director of digital production and picked up a Cannes Cyber Lion for the Sprint “Now Network” rebranding campaign. Along the way, he’s worked with other clients including Sony, Mitsubishi, Adobe and the NBA.

Just sixteen months after moving across the Atlantic to join up with Deutsch New York as partner/chief strategy officer, Bert Moore‘s time at the agency has come to an end. Moore joined up with Deutsch in the fall of 2010 from Lowe & Partners. The two agencies, if you remember, were aligned by parent IPG a year prior. As a result of Moore’s departure, there will be a little restructuring happening according to a statement from Deutsch NY CEO Val DiFebo. Read below:

“Bert joined Deutsch NY approximately one year ago. We have mutually agreed that the role we need in NY is in conflict with the one Bert aspires to play and have agreed to part ways, effective today. We will be restructuring the department and have elevated Brent Vartan to recognize the role he has been playing as Director of Account Planning and partnering him with a new Director of Data Strategy to be announced. Bert will be exploring other opportunities within IPG as well as externally.”

From the “Curse of the Billy Goat” in 1945 to the Steve Bartman incident in 2003, the Chicago Cubs are bar none the most “cursed” team in professional sports history. Even Boston’s “Curse of the Bambino” only battered around the Red Sox for a paltry 86 years. The Northsiders haven’t won a World Series in 103.

Each spring, you hear the Cubs loyal say, usually jokingly, “What if this is the year? Can you imagine what would happen to this city?” Well, Deutsch LA and director Matt Aselton are making the impossible come to life in this new spot for PlayStation and “MLB12: The Show,” which was filmed with permission from the Cubs and the help of 155 extras in Chicago last month. The city erupts from Wrigley Field to the Loop, and, wow, the Wiener’s Circle is even more insane than usual. But, almost cruelly, the fantasy abruptly ends when we’re taken inside one emotional fan’s living room.

Sorry, Cubs fans. The curse is still on. But, with new president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and manager Dale Sveum, maybe, just maybe…NAW, who are we kidding? Credits after the jump.

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After spending a good portion of 2011 freelancing at Deutsch LA, Jerome Austria has officially been appointed as EVP, group digital creative director on the Volkswagen account. Most recently, Austria served as the creative force behind the teaser for the automaker’s Super Bowl follow-up to last year’s “The Force” called “The Bark Side,” which continued with the Star Wars theme and featured pooches barking “The Imperial March.”

You might remember Austria from his days at W+K New York, where he spent nearly three years and last served as ECD on accounts including Brand Jordan (such as the “Dominate Another Day” campaign starring Dwyane Wade) and ESPN before parting ways with the agency a year ago. Austria and co-ECD Kevin Proudfoot were subsequently replaced by Scott Vitrone and Ian Reichenthal, who returned to W+K after several years.

Anyhow, back to Austria. Though he initially planned on a temporary stay at Deutsch LA while testing out other local agencies, the success of campaigns like “The Bark Side” convinced him to stay put according to the agency, which currently houses  450+ staffers.

Deutsch LA is promoting the new Twisted Metal game for client Playstation by providing 100,000 bullets (yes, for real) in a military-sized machine gun for those laptop jocks and jockettes who want to let out some aggression and fire away and blow shit up. The agency went so far as to send us a promo poster, which you can see above, which we suppose a new kind of Valentine’s Day massacre. We’re not sure why we feel giddy/weird about something like this, but we’re on the list. If you care to join in on the fun, time is limited, but go here.