-Eight-year Havas vet Michael Schlechter has joining Omnicom-owned creative technology agency Code Worldwide as managing director of its New York office.

-DDB New York’s latest for New York Lottery includes a TV spot (above) and OOH ads to promote the client’s “Pay Me!” game.

-Here’s a slew of “Letters from Camp” sent from MRY summer interns to home. link

-Smoothie King has appointed Leo Burnett/WD Partners alum David Moore as VP/marketing and unveiled a new logo at the same time (below). Eh, we prefer the old one.

-Former BPN SVP Doug Johnson has joined The Marketing Store Worldwide in the newly created position of managing partner, North America. He will be based in Chicago. link

-Hollywood-based prodco Envision Media Arts has added director/cinematographer Scott Duncan to its roster.

As noted above, we’ve received confirmation that after spending 29 years at TBWA, global chief marketing officer Laurie Coots‘s last day at the Omnicom-owned agency is today. According to those in the know, who say she “will be greatly missed,” Coots will be leaving to work on a combination of business consulting, creative endeavors and boards.

From what we’ve been told, there are no immediate plans at TBWA to replace Coots, who over her three-decade career at said agency, has worked with clients including Absolut, Bayer, GSK, Kraft, Pfizer, Pepsi and VISA. During her long stay at TBWA, the New York-based Coots moved up the ladder from serving as new business director, then being appointed as North American CMO in 1997 before assuming her global CMO role in 2001.

And thus, the Matt Anthony era at Y&R begins. In what we’ve been told is his first major announcement since taking over for Carter Murray at said agency as North American president/CEO earlier this year, Anthony has announced that Y&R’s Austin-based SicolaMartin will now be known as Y&R Austin. As a result, Y&R’s North American network now spans five markets, which also includes likes of Y&R Midwest, West  sorry, California and New York.

In a statement, Anthony, who joined Y&R after spending nearly two decades at WPP sibling VML, which he was a founding partner of, says, “We are excited to make this formal integration of the Austin agency to our North America network. The truth is we have worked alongside SicolaMartin as partners within Y&R for many years.  While the transition will be seamless and easy, its impact will be powerful.  Y&R Austin has a great offering, fully integrated capabilities, and a strong culture. Their clients will benefit from access to our talent and resources.  But it is also clear that Y&R clients in other markets will benefit from their expertise and experience.”

We’ve been told that the 28-year-old shop formerly known as SicolaMartin, which has shared clients with its parent including Dell and SanDisk since joining as a subsidiary in 2001, will house a staff of approximately 50. Cherie Cox, who has been with SicolaMartin for 20 years and most currently serves as its CEO, will keep the same title at Y&R Austin.

And now, for something, er, lighter. These back-to-school posts almost make me wistful for the days when a new pencil case was the joy of my September. But as I have grown, so has the sophistication of academic shopping. To keep with the times, Best Buy is branding themselves America’s go-to “Techfitter” of the season.

To show that they’ll equip students with not only the best technology, but the right technology for their pursuits, CP+B and Best Buy found real students and surprised them with personalized Best Buys, “tech-fitted” to their academic interests in a pair of new Paul Hunter-directed spots. Greg, Aerospace Engineering Major, gets a semi truck parked in front of his house. It opens, and he’s presented with the planetary system, plus a launchable rocket (sadly not available at a Best Buy near you). Lidia, a Marine Biology major, gets an underwater tech experience complete with dolphins and jellyfish. Both personalized surprise scenarios are scattered with Windows 8 laptops and tablets.

Additional spots will air later this month, and my guess is the lucky students will not include an English or PoliSci major, because those experiences would involve sheafs of paper and alcohol. Let’s expect an aspiring architect and an ambitious pre-med; they provide ideal landscapes for Best Buy’s eager urban tech-fitter to make a difference. Credits after the jump.

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The new Charles Saatchi devil sculpture, currently on display at London’s Jealous Gallery in Crouch End, could choke some people the wrong way. The sculpture alludes to a domestic assault incident between Saatchi and his soon-to-be ex-wife, British cooking personality Nigella Lawson, when Saatchi was photographed with his hands around Lawson’s neck. Saatchi later described the act as a “playful tiff,” and an anonymous British artist (now is the time to be skeptical, considering artists never want to be anonymous) created the sculpture/interactive art for anyone interested in being playfully choked by the likeness of an ad man with horns and red skin.

The original choking incident took place about a month ago, which means the wheels were turning pretty quickly on this sculpture/publicity stunt. But now I’m writing about it, as will others, which also means that someone – possibly Saatchi himself, will successfully capitalize on the divorce. Some might say that’s frugal, tasteless, dumb, or a combination of the three.

Check out larger image after the jump.

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Another day, another IPG memo obtained. One thing we can confirm according the note sent to staff this morning from Jacki Kelley, North American CEO/president, global clients for IPG Mediabrands, is that the agency has welcomed Teddy Lynn and Mark Himmelsbach to the fold.

As our ever-reliable tipsters hinted at a couple of weeks ago, the pair, who recently left BBDO NY, will be working together once again as they’re now serving as CCO and COO, respectively, of a new Mediabrands unit called Mediabrands Publishing. This actually marks Lynn’s second stint within the IPG umbrella as he last served as ECD/content & experiences at UM for nearly three before joining BBDO. During their time at the latter agency, Lynn and Himmelsbach held the titles of EVP/director of content and EVP/director of digital strategy, North America, respectively.

Anyhow, you can read Kelley’s memo after the jump to explain what Mediabrands Publishing entails.

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-The New York staff within the recently formed WPP-owned network known as Geometry Global, which includes the agencies formerly known as G2 Worldwide, JWTAction and OgilvyAction, have officially moved to their new HQ at The Chocolate Factory on 11th Ave in Manhattan.

-VFX company Framestore has appointed Russell Dodgson as the new head of its advertising division, Nuke, Worldwide.

-Facebook shares have topped its IPO price for the first time since the social network went public in May 2012. link

-Horizon Media and The Martin Agency have teamed up with Sundance Channel and GEICO as part of a promotion for the cable network’s non-fiction series, The Writers’ Room (Martin/GEICO vignette above).

-Union LA owner Chris Gibbs has been appointed as creative director for Heineken USA’s 2013 “Heineken 100″ program. link

It’s been some time since we’ve heard word from Dallas-based MEplusYOU–formerly known as imc2–but we’ve now received confirmation that the digital agency has had to make cuts this week. A spokesperson tells us, “The agency had to make the difficult decision to reduce staff. They are talented and passionate people and will be greatly missed.” The MEPlusYou camp wouldn’t comment/clarify any further in terms of approximate numbers and/or departments affected, but multiple tipsters are telling that 30-40 were let go including top creatives. We’ll keep you posted if and when we hear more on MEplusYOU, which last we recall underwent some restructuring last fall.

Update: Seeing as MEplusYOU isn’t commenting any further at the moment, we’ll go to the folks on the Spy line, who are now telling us that mostly tech was affected by the reductions along with a couple of creatives. The numbers we’re hearing now are slightly under 30.

Here’s a 3-minute long music video for Smirnoff Ice from director Jon Jon Augustavo. From what we can tell, it encourages young women to pre-game their nights out with a substance commonly instilled on others as punishment.

Sure, the “Bros Icing Bros” phenomenon of 2010 may have jumped the shark when Coolio got “Iced” in someone’s back yard. But for anyone between the ages of 21 and 30 who either likes playing stupid jokes or regularly finds themselves as a spectator of others’ stupid jokes, Smirnoff Ice is known as something bros make their bros chug. In fact, in 2010, Smirnoff Ice even admitted that the stupid meme helped kickstart sluggish sales of the milky white beverage. The next step? Get the ladies involved with the aid of canine Tumblr superstar Tommy Pom.

Could young women nationwide start sizzurpin’ the SmirnIce as part of their “Straight Primpin’” ritual? If you encourage widespread use of celebrity Pomeranians to get the pre-party started, anything’s possible. Download “Straight Primpin’” here and view credits after the jump.

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-Denver-based “health & happiness”-focused LRXD has been named lead digital agency for burger chain, Red Robin. Last we checked, Vitro still serves as AOR for the brand.

With the help of NFL all-pro Patrick Peterson and actor/comedian Rob Riggle, L.A.-based agency Zambezi has launched the first-ever TV campaign for 30-year-old sports retailer Eastbay (above).

-Director Benzo Theodore has joined L.A.-based prodco Bandito Brothers for commercial representation in the US.

-The 4A’s have appointed bazaarvoice Media VP Donnovan Andrews as chief advisor of digital media and innovation.

-The NY Supreme Court Appellate Division has ruled that Mayor Bloomberg’s ban soda ban is unconstitutional. link

-According to reports, JWT has been hit with a copyright lawsuit over a Cannes Lion-winning campaign for Banco Popular. link