No official word from the Deutsch LA camp as of yet, but a phone call to the agency tells us that Victoria Guenier is no longer at the IPG-owned operation where she’s spent nearly a decade. For the last four years, Guenier served as SVP/director of broadcast/content production at Deutsch LA, which last December helped fund her feature film effort, Between Us, via the agency’s Side Project Project initiative. As for her day job, Guenier worked on several campaigns for the likes of Volkswagen (including this), Playstation, Dr. Pepper and Taco Bell (including this). No word yet on reasons for her departure, but those on the Spy line allege that VW budget issues may have had something to do with it.

Prior to her lengthy stint at Deutsch LA, Guenier spent a few years on the production side at Ogilvy.

Discovery’s annual Shark Week extravaganza not only confirms that viewers go crazy for underwater creatures that can rip them into a thousand pieces, but that brands will use just about any tangential connection to a popular theme to try and wring out that extra dollar. Take the fat, colorful Tide billboard above the Lincoln Tunnel that I came across yesterday: “We get the blood out, too.” That’s one way to do it.

Volkswagen and Deutsch are going all in as well, bringing cars and sharks a lot closer than they’ve ever been before, a true sharknado of brand association if there ever was one. The VW campaign is loaded on social media, mainly focusing on sharable videos through Instagram and Vine. VW created a Beetle convertible that will be used as an underwater cage hooked up to cameras for the remainder of the week, hoping to conquer a chunk of the digital space floating around with these exclusive videos. Credits after the jump.

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There’s no acrimony with this split it appears as we’ve been told by Deutsch itself that ad vet Cheryl Greene, who’s spent the last three-plus years as partner/director of business initiatives at the IPG-owned agency’s New York office, is preparing to retire from the agency world altogether. A Deutsch NY spokesperson adds and clarifies, “We have been working together to take the steps needed for a smooth transition – for example by reducing hours and client interface.  We are happy that we are able to help her ease her way into retirement. We will not be looking to replace her.”

In early 2010, Greene rejoined Deutsch , where she initially spent sixteen years and worked in positions including brand strategy advisor, after a stint as managing partner, director of integrated brand strategies at KBS+.

To showcase their back-to-school dorm room wares, Target and Deutsch LA have built Bullseye University, a 4-day interactive installation housing social media stars such as actor/musician Chester See and Jenn Im of Clothes Encounters. Online visitors can see live-streams of the University’s inhabitants and then click to purchase the items in each of their rooms. The Bullseye U site also hosts back to school-centric giveaways and events like a Ben and Jerry’s milkshake dunk tank, which starts at 10am PST today by the way.

As a preteen who once waited with bated breath for the newest Pbteen catalogue, I can imagine getting into this scheme as a college freshman. Especially if I was already a follower of the social media celebs involved, Target’s campaign would play to my college fantasies. Alas, we all know the truth is less colorful and more drinking-oriented, but Bullseye University’s version lets us run wild with creative, Internet-savvy roommates and purple throw pillows.

In case you haven’t heard the news today, 15-year Deutsch LA vet Jason Elm, who last served as EVP/group creative director on Diamond Foods and Playstation (he was joined by 180LA alum Gavin Lester on the latter account late last year) has assumed the chief creative officer post at DDB California. Elm assumes a position that’s been left vacant at the Omnicom-owned agency’s Cali operations (L.A., San Francisco) since January when Lisa Bennett stepped down from her CCO role. Bennett has since been appointed as EVP/creative for DDB North America.

As for Elm, during his lengthy stay at Deutsch LA, where he started as a copywriter, the senior creative subsequently played a major role in PlayStation efforts, creating the Twitter feed for @TheKevinButler and leading creative on the award-winning “Michael” work for the console. His new boss, DDB California (formerly DDB West) CEO Mike Harris, speaks his name and sings his praises in a statement, saying, “Jason was recently, and rightly so, named to Business Insider’s ‘people most-sought after by rival agencies’ list. He is a creative genius and a superstar in the industry and I have no doubt that his creative vision will elevate the level of our work, across departments.”

About a year ago, GoDaddy hired Deutsch New York as their creative agency, and the world wondered whether we’d see the end of the “GoDaddy Girls” gimmick, or even the beginning of a more nuanced campaign. Instead, during this year’s Super Bowl, GoDaddy offered us Bar Rafaeli (“sexy”) making out with a red-faced man named Walter (“smart”). Danica Patrick narrated and did her best not to look embarrassed. Our op-ed contributor at the time, WWD&S co-head Harry Woods, may have captured the most accurate reaction: “The whole ugly thing once again sent us reaching for a wing bone, nacho or beer bottle cap to dig our eyes out.”

Thankfully no eyeball gouging is necessary with GoDaddy’s latest spot. In it, a Ron Weasley-esque man is introduced to the GoDaddy team. His name and its closest iterations are already taken by his colleagues, so the team tosses around other possibilities. Anyone who’s thought about buying a domain name is familiar with this brainstorming process, and Deutsch did well personifying it. The whole thing is off-kilter and amusing, and finally we see Danica Patrick in racing gear, not heels. She’s still hot.

Here’s hoping GoDaddy continues the curve away from their signature blunt, sensationalist spots.

Credits after the jump. [Ed: Welcome back, Ella]

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We all remember our awkward first kiss stories, full of nervousness and rapid heartbeats. Based on “First Kiss,” the new 30-second ad in the Taco Bell Live Mas campaign that came through the tips line, we can now add sticky fingers and spicy breath to the list of uncomfortable descriptors.

Mixing Doritos Locos Tacos and kisses may not seem like the best idea, but this spot might strike the right cord for those who value some teenage sentimentality and John Hughes movies. Associating Taco Bell with cuteness is a tough trick to pull off, you know, with the greasy smells and penchant for attracting drunk college guys as a significant customer base, but Deutsch LA and director Zach Math found a way to pull it off. Taco Bell seems to have tapped the right nerve with Doritos Locos Tacos: the product helped create 15,000 new jobs. Maybe the company can use the profits to provide complimentary mouthwash with any purchase, so young lovers who want to make out in Taco Bell parking lots can have pleasant memories.

Credits after the jump.

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Multiple reliable sources have been telling us over the last few hours that Mark Hunter, who assumed the chief creative officer post at Deutsch LA at the end of 2010, has been let go from the agency. We’ve inquired a couple of times for official word, have yet to hear back, but sources say this move happened as of this morning, is “100% legit” and was made at Deutsch’s request.

Hunter, who essentially replaced Eric Hirshberg after the latter quit Deutsch L.A. to join Activision, headed to the former after spending time as ECD at TBWA/London. During his career, the senior creative also worked at the likes W+K Amsterdam on Nike as well as Euro RSCG. While at Deutsch, as one would imagine, Hunter has overseen all notable creative for past and present clients including VW and PlayStation (we believe you know quite a few, lest we run it down). We’ll update, of course, if and when we hear more.

Yes, we have received confirmation that after 13 years at Deutsch, serving as partner, chief media officer most recently, Peter Gardiner has resigned from the agency this week. Here are the statements from all parties involved:

“Today Deutsch NY CEO Val DiFebo announced that Peter Gardiner, Partner, Chief Media Officer, would be leaving the agency to pursue entrepreneurial interests and investments in the media and tech space.  Gardiner joined Deutsch in 2000 and during his tenure helped grow Deutsch’s media offering at a time when many agencies were unbundling their media operations.  He was an important part of the agency’s success and we wish him well.  Gardiner’s last day will be February 28^th.

An announcement will be made early next week regarding the plans we have in place, it’s a 1 + 1 = 3 approach that will continue to keep us ahead of the curve.

And from Gardiner himself:

“Having been a Partner of one of the best agencies in history has been incredibly rewarding and fun. But leaving Deutsch now gives me the opportunity to find, grow, and nurture startups in the media and tech space. I’m excited about what’s ahead and I thank everyone at Deutsch for the best years of my professional life, so far…”

During his time at Deutsch, Gardiner  helped launch Media Bridge Entertainment, a product placement company that introduced pay-for-performance as its core offering, nearly a decade ago as well as research unit, Consumer Prime.

Well, that didn’t take long (though we’re assuming it probably did, technically speaking). Less than a week after we reported that Deutsch L.A. parted ways with director of digital production, Derek Richmond, the agency has quickly found his replacement in Pam Scheideler, who has spent the last 18 months as head of production and operations at Google Creative Lab.

Prior to joining up with GCL, Scheideler, as some of you may recall, served in a similar role for approximately the same amount of time as a director of digital production at JWT New York (she was eventually replaced by Suzanne Molinaro, who subsequently split for Deutsch NY after spending less than a year in the role). During her career, Scheideler also spent three years at CP+B, where she last served as VP/executive integrated producer, working with clients including Coke Zero, Microsoft, Burger King and was part of the team that picked up Titanium Lion in 2010 for the Best Buy “Twelpforce” effort.