Well, as those in know are telling us, a few tipsters may have received some mixed signals. Jon Flannery is NOT replacing Draftfcb Chicago CCO Todd Tilford but instead has been promoted from EVP/group creative director to EVP/executive creative director and will still report to the latter exec. Tilford in fact offers a statement with a little reveal, saying, “Jon is an exceptional strategic thinker and creative talent, and he knows how to engineer a collaborative environment where great work happens. We are in the process of turning the Chicago office into an open source creation studio, and Jon will play a critical role in making it happen. The path we are taking is going to be a an exciting one.”

Flannery has been with DFCB Chicago for over four years and was promoted, according to the agency, as a result of his work with clients including Kmart (he led creative on the recent viral hit for the brand, “Ship Your Pants”), Dow Chemical and The Shelter Pet Project. Prior to Draftfcb, the Chicago agency vet spent seven years as a senior creative at Element 79 (which was folded into Omnicom sibling DDB Chicago last fall), where he worked on Gatorade among other clients. Prior to E79, Flannery spent nearly a decade at Leo Burnett.