We’ve received confirmation that Jill Applebaum, who’s spent nearly two years at Draftfcb New York, is heading to JWT’s Big Apple hub. From what we’ve been told, Applebaum is starting her new gig as a creative director at JWT on Jan 2 (tipsters add that she’ll be working on Skinny Cow and Smirnoff North America among other accounts). During her time at DFCB NY, Applebaum not only helped lead creative on the SeaWorld business, but was also a CD on the agency’s notable work for Oreo including the “Pride Cookie” and its Wicked Witch of the West-styled Halloween effort, which earned some props from Buzzfeed.

According to those in the know, Applebaum will work at Draft NY through year’s end. Prior to joining said agency, Applebaum spent over a decade at Y&R/BrandBuzz, moving up from ACD to creative director and working with clients such as Burt’s Bees, Jaguar, Dymo, Sharpie and LG. During her career, the creative vet also spent time at DMB&B and Ogilvy.

We gave it a shot, but it didn’t provoke the same kind of reaction from the folks above, which basically borders on orgasmic. Anyhow, here’s this clip promoting the new, apparently sensual site for JWT Amsterdam, which has worked with clients ranging from Nestle to Shell to Nokia. As the video notes at the end, there were no hash brownies or any other illicit substances involved…or so they have us believe.

In case you were wondering what the latest word is with Mauro Cavalletti, the former Mullen chief digital officer and current JWT Brazil chief integration officer, the exec has filled us in on some interesting work for Coca-Cola.  Specifically, Cavalletti and crew at Group JWT, which includes JWT’s Sao Paulo branch and local units Casa and iCherry, have launched a new print effort to hype Coke’s online radio platform Coca-Cola FM on their home turf. With the FM platform turning a year-old, Group JWT decided to turn the cover of Brazilian teen magazine Capricho into a loudspeaker for the iPhone.  We knew the numerous covers of the Twilight cast and other teeny-bop faves served a better purpose. Check out some of the print images after the jump, which may also explain things, along with Portuguese-infused credits you can pretty much figure out after the jump.

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Our summer intern series continues rolling along (and perhaps into fall considering the amount of feedback we’ve been getting). Here’s the latest entry, which comes to us from Avery Hairston, who’s currently interning in the planning department at JWT New York. Read on to find out how Hairston’s summer gig has informed his daily commute.

I’m on a downtown 4 train. It’s surprisingly not crowded for a Monday morning. I’m headed to the office to start another week of work at JWT. Before my summer-internship started, my train etiquette was pretty standard. Like the typical New Yorker, I kept to myself. I’d usually have my eyes closed, headphones in, and I’d probably be listening to the latest song by Michael Bublé Nas. Thanks to JWT, however, things have changed. I’m still listening to my music, but now I keep my eyes open.

Allow me to explain. In the two short months that I’ve been at JWT, I’ve already been exposed to countless aspects of the industry, from video production to brief writing, but my most important takeaway is something more intangible—call it a newfound hyper-awareness. And my time here has surprisingly transformed the way that I approach my life outside the office.
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Ahh, so this is the “good news” we’ve been hearing about. Nearly three months after joining JWT’s New York hub as co-CCO’s, Ryan Kutscher and Matt MacDonald have made their first notable hire in Ben James, who spent three years at CAA, previously worked with Kutscher and JWT North America CCO Jeff Benjamin at CP+B, and actually went to college with MacDonald. From what we’ve been told, he’s been freelancing for the WPP agency for the last few months.

In a statement regarding James, who has also worked at the likes of Goodby and Y&R Chicago, MacDonald says, “There are great creatives. And then there are great people. Very rarely do those two things come in one package. Ben is one of the best talents in the industry, and I’ve been trying to work with him ever since we met in a portfolio class at the University of Texas. We’re thrilled that he’s coming aboard to invent the future of JWT.”

After the jump, you can check out Kutscher and MacDonald’s memo to staff.  Read more

From what we’ve been told by those in the know, JWT has had to let go of staff in both its Atlanta and New York offices. Nope, it wasn’t related to client loss, but client needs according to sources familiar with the matter. As far as numbers go, 10-15 have been let go including a handful of production staffers in Atlanta while the cuts in NYC ran across departments. And now, here’s a statement from the JWT camp:

“As we continue to reshape the agency, we are going to be investing in some roles and skill sets and reducing the number of roles in others. Sometimes, this means making tough decisions about retention and deployment of our people. We eliminated a small number of positions across the agency today, which is always difficult. Whenever possible, we are working closely with WPP to help find placements at our sister agencies in the network.”

 

Sources familiar with the matter confirm that JWT Atlanta and senior partner/creative director Dana Markee have parted ways after just four months. Markee made the move from L.A. to the ATL to serve as CD on the U.S. Marines account.

Prior to joining JWT, Markee spent a few months on the freelance circuit, but worked for the majority of her career at TBWA\Chiat\Day, where she spent over nine years and moved up from senior art director to ACD/AD. During her time at Chiat, Markee worked on past and present clients including Visa, Playstation, MARS Petcare, Nissan and Infiniti. We have yet to hear about why Markee’s stay at JWT Atlanta was all too brief, but we’re looking into it.

Once again, our tipsters were on the money. Sources familiar with the matter confirm that James Cooper is leaving his post as JWT Chief Creative Innovation Officer to focus on projects outside of advertising. Cooper joined JWT’s NY office in October 2010 after stints at Saatchi and Saatchi and Dare, London.

In a post on his personal Tumblr, Cooper says, “It’s no secret that to anyone that follows me that I have been wanting to do something more entrepreneurial for a while. So this summer I am taking some time out from advertising to do just that.”

Meanwhile, in a statement, JWT says, “JWT New York and James Cooper are parting ways at the end of the month. He’ll be focusing on some of his entrepreneurial projects, primarily Thompson Punke, a ping pong clothing brand which he has recently launched with Red Antler. He’s also planning to write the third book to be published by Creative Social.”

Well, JWT North America CCO Jeff Benjamin is getting down to business in New York, as we now have two new co-chief creative officers in the agency’s flagship office, namely fellow CP+B alum Ryan Kutscher and JWT ECD Matt MacDonald. The pair replaces Peter Nich0lson, our former Cubes host who was shown the door once Benjamin and Mike Geiger joined the JWT fold and took the reins in January.

Kutscher has actually been freelancing for various clients at JWT NY for the last several months while MacDonald has been an eight-year vet at the agency, spending the last two as ECD. The former spent five years at Crispin, working on Burger King’s award-winning “Whopper Freakout” and other clients including Method and VW. MacDonald, meanwhile, started as a copywriter as JWT before moving up the ladder to CD then ECD . During his time at the agency, he’s been involved with various Macy’s efforts including “Yes, Virginia” (which he co-wrote) well as past and present campaigns for clients such as JetBlue, Pfizer, De Beers and L.L. Bean.

Just because we’re tired of them, instead of providing the usual promo shot, we thankfully have this amusing video from the agency (above) that pays homage to one of our favorite TV shows growing up. Now, we’ll let you figure out who’s Balki and who’s cousin Larry.

In addition to welcoming the new creative leadership, JWT New York also promoted Sergio Lopez to head of production for the agency. Lopez, a Cramer-Krasselt and Leo Burnett alum, has been with JWT since 2009 and most recently served as director brand production on campaigns including this Justin Bieber spot for Macy’s.

While we’re on the CP+B topic, might as well tell you that Paul Sutton, who rejoined the Boulder operation after two years at 180LA, has once again left, this time for a director of digital production gig at JWT. Mike Geiger, JWT’s president/chief integration officer, seems excited about the latest hire, saying in a statement, “I am thrilled to have Paul join us here at JWT. He is not only one of the most talented producers I know but also someone who will help us bring our creative vision to life in the digital space. His knowledge and passion will definitely be a huge asset for us.”

During his four-year stint at CP+B, Sutton worked on accounts including Baby Carrots, Best Buy, Burger King, Coke Zero, Jell-O, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Microsoft and Old Navy.