This was news to us, but thanks to our diligent tipsters, we were made aware that Digital Kitchen shuttered its NY operation recently. A check of the website, which only lists Seattle, LA and Chicago locations, was the first tip-off, and after our phone call to the NYC number was rerouted to the Windy City office, we did indeed receive confirmation that D-K NY shut down on April 1 (of all days).

We’ve been told by sources familiar with the matter that the closing was due to “operational consideration” as the four office structure no longer made sense under Digital Kitchen’s new digital creative agency model. Our source adds that every employee (under 10 total) was offered a new position in one of the other DK locations and some bit, some didn’t. As of beginning of March, D-K’s headcount was at 103 and the shop plans to grow staff by 20 percent by end of 2011.

Now that the “Rocket Project” is in the books ,180 LA and Sony are coming down from the heavens and heading underwater in a new effort called “Project Shiphunt.” The venue now shifts from the Nevada desert to Michigan, where a group of students will once again use Vaio laptops (with Intel tech included) in the hopes of finding, yes, a sunken ship. After starting their deep-sea exploration schooling at the NOAA’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, MI, the kids along with expedition lead Dr. James P. Delgado will eventually get down to work.

To coincide with the actual ship hunt, which will run from late spring through the summer, 180LA with the help of digital production shop Unit9 have launched a game (which they claim is one of the first ever created in Google Earth) called “Oceans of Treasure” (trailer above), which lets you the user collect clues and data then virtually search for a sunken ship via provided Sony/Intel technology. Why do we have a sudden urge to watch The Goonies?

Though his name, bio and headshot are still tacked up on the leadership section of DNA Seattle’s website, we’ve been told that creative director Tom Gilmartin is “no longer with the agency.” Gilmartin, who tipsters allege was “fired,”  joined DNA in 2009 and led the creative department on accounts including Simple Mobile (a campaign for the brand recently helped win the agency Best in Show at the Seattle ADDYs).

Before joining DNA, Gilmartin spent nearly three years as a GCD at Ignited. Prior to that, he held ACD  posts at Ground Zero and McKinney and served as an art director at Chiat\Day and Team One early on.

After we reported on Intel adding DDB to its agency roster last week, things still seemed a little vague in terms of what the relationship between the two exactly entailed (due in part to lack of initial feedback). Well, the veil’s been lifted a bit this week and we just spoke directly to Intel, which indeed confirms that Tribal DDB (particularly its San Francisco office) will take the lead on Intel’s master brand account that includes the “Sponsors of Tomorrow” work (good on ya, tipsters). A spokesperson for the brand tells us that Tribal “won out because their breakthrough ideas for the next iteration of the campaign,” which Intel says will break in the second-half of this year.

As for Venables Bell & Partners, the SF shop is still on Intel’s agency list, is working on “several sweet areas” for the brand and has a “sizable portion of the pie.”  The Intel spokesperson refers back to the company’s “open-source” agency model, saying, “It allows us to be flexible and engage with a number of partners. It would not be unusual to have [Venables], Tribal, Razorfish and MRM in the same conference room discussing a campaign or project and whoever shines brightest might get the nod.”

While most of the media attention has turned to the royal wedding (which baffles us) and whatever Donald Trump spews out (even more so) this week, there’s of course still a crisis happening in Japan. To do its part to help the disaster-hit nation, Grey is following the lead of other agencies like BBH by launching a charity effort of its own in the form of an online auction. Titled SOS, the auction, which kicks off today and runs through May 5, features everything from concert/theater tickets and an iPad 2 to framed photographer prints and accessories from Armani.  You can commence bidding here before you go back to your regularly scheduled William/Kate media saturation.

After 15 years of providing advertising education in Sweden, excuse Hyper Island for being a little cocky in the above video for their institution. They even got Hayden Christensen aka Anakin Skywalker to be their “typical student” and called him Robin. Well, not really, but they did have TWBA/Chiat/Day CCO Rob Schwartz refer to the school as “digital Harvard.” Hey, ad school hopefuls, have you considered a trip overseas to round out your portfolios?

While chalk might not be the most “digital” educational tool we’ve run across, there’s something to be said for simple blackboard and, as one of my old professors referred to it, “God’s Chalk.” A model-esque student body that boasts a whopping 98% job placement success rate within the first six months of graduating? High praise from some of advertising’s biggest names? If you’re the type that sees ad schools as a necessary tool for furthering your career, Hyper Island seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? Maybe, I’m completely off. Any alums out there want to chime in? Apparently, enrollment is free if you’re a legal resident of a Nordic country.

-Sir Martin’s “cautiously optimistic” about WPP’s 2011, 2012 prospects. link

-The Vibrant Awards, which honors contextual display ads, announced its 2011 global call for entries. link

-As we’ve already reported, things are pretty shaky at Publicis Modem. link

-The mother of the girl featured in a controversial anti-abortion billboard in NYC is suing. link

-Google survey: Smartphones = advertising gold. link

-Heineken once again does something nifty for soccer fans with the help of AKQA (above). link

Well, it only took about five months, but Burrell Communications has finally confirmed that Robert Clifton has rejoined the agency as EVP, executive creative director. If you remember, back in January, we reported that Clifton and EVP/chief growth officer Don Kvam both left Campbell Mithun for their own reasons.

In his new post at Burrell’s Chicago office, Clifton will serve as ECD primarily on the McDonald’s and Toyota accounts. He originally worked at the agency as a group creative director back in the early aughts before spending the majority of his agency career (15 years) at Leo Burnett, where he was SVP, senior creative director.

In addition to making Clifton official, Burrell added Karen McDowell as VP, group account director on P&G’s Pantene, Clairol and Crest brands and Maria Moffitt as VP, group account director on Olay and CoverGirl.

Are you hungry for a new gig? FoodMatch, a New York-based specialty food importer, is looking for a new art director to join its marketing department.

Here’s the deal: aside from staring at delicious antipasti and fine olive oils all day, you’ll be responsible for meeting all in-house graphic design needs for the company. This includes sales campaign development; trade marketing; product labeling and packaging; in-store display; advertising and more.

Ideally, you’ll have at least five years of experience as an art director, including some experience at an agency. You should have a deep understanding of branding and strategy, as well as a proven track record of creating sales-driven campaigns. If you’re a master of typography, and are comfortable with photography and videography art direction, apply here.

For more openings and employment news, follow The Job Post on Twitter @MBJobPost.

-Draftfcb Chicago introduces us to the Miller Liteguards. link

-Interactive agency Blitz was tapped as digital AOR for PepsiCo brand Naked Juice.

-Copywriter-turned-pitchman Lynn Hauldren, aka the “Empire Carpet guy,” has died at 89. link

-Cole & Weber United developed a Facebook app for MS Outlook called “Creature Creator.” link

-The Microsoft/Yahoo ad deal: What went wrong? link

-Meanwhile, YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen have launched a new internet company and bought Delicious from Yahoo in the process. link

-VivaKi created a chief social media officer post and filled it with an Edelman exec. link

-Angelina Jolie‘s $10 million payday to appear in a single Louis Vuitton ad campaign is said to be a record. link

-West Coast agency Davis Elen Advertising promoted David Moranville to CCO.