Prior to Deutsch LA, Austria spent nearly three years at W+K New York, where he along with Kevin Proudfoot once led the creative department. We’ll update once we hear from the Deutsch camp.

Update: The Deutsch camp confirms that Austria has indeed departed (amicably) and is currently embarking on a “4-month surfing vacation,” which has him currently landing in Bali. Regarding reasons for his departure, we’ve been told that Austria “had not really wanted a full-time gig, but liked what he was doing so much here that he joined Deutsch LA. After he came aboard, he realized that he really preferred the flexibility of freelance life.”

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You might remember Austria from his days at W+K New York, where he spent nearly three years and last served as ECD on accounts including Brand Jordan (such as the “Dominate Another Day” campaign starring Dwyane Wade) and ESPN before parting ways with the agency a year ago. Austria and co-ECD Kevin Proudfoot were subsequently replaced by Scott Vitrone and Ian Reichenthal, who returned to W+K after several years.

Anyhow, back to Austria. Though he initially planned on a temporary stay at Deutsch LA while testing out other local agencies, the success of campaigns like “The Bark Side” convinced him to stay put according to the agency, which currently houses  450+ staffers.

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In just 13 days, Major League Baseball and the boys of summer will kick off their 2011 season. With the NFL heading for a lockout, it just might be baseball’s big year to reclaim the title as “America’s Game,” and really, when was the last time you saw this much patriotism crammed into a 30-second television spot? What about Obama and Bush throwing out pitches back-to-back? Everyone’s happy.

The guys at W+K got Mr. Field of Dreams himself, actor Kevin Costner, to give the ad a little celebrity push. Aside from making a movie about the sport every two years, Costner co-owns a northern Illinois independent league team and regularly visits University of Texas games and practices. Generic-sounding voice notwithstanding, he is the Hollywood personification of baseball, and the right man to give the league his endorsement.

Not into the MLB? Look at it this way: once March Madness subsides, the Bulls win the NBA championship and the NFL lockout is official, baseball is all we have. And, until we fix the BCS and take away Cam Newton‘s Heisman Trophy, NCAA football will always disappoint. If you’re looking for a bandwagon to jump on this year, word has it that the Milwaukee Brewers finally got themselves some pitching. Credits after the jump.

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The 007 winks continue in this latest Dwyane Wade-starring spot from W+K’s “Dominate Another Day” campaign for Jordan Brand. This time, Flash learns from his sidekick H (guess Q was already taken) about the techy upgrades that have been made to his game shoes and testing them in H’s state-of-the-art obstacle course.

What is the objective behind this whole mission/campaign, besides obviously selling the sneaker? It’s about D-Wade bringing the championship rings back to Miami–though that’s as far-fetched an idea as a hoverboard if the Heat keep losing to Boston like they have been. Noam Murro once again gets behind the camera for this clip–which marks one of  W+K New York’s last creative efforts during the Austria/Proudfoot era–and Trent Reznor‘s cohort, Atticus Ross, returns to compose the score.

Full credits after the jump.

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It didn’t take long for former Y&R New York creative leads Scott Vitrone and Ian Reichenthal to regain their footing. Just days after it was announced that they were out at the aforementioned agency, the pair has now moved over to W+K New York to take over as co-executive creative directors.

Vitrone and Reichenthal, who have been a tandem since 1999, actually began their partnership at Wieden, where they worked on Nike. The duo replaces Jerome Austria and Kevin Proudfoot, who left W+K last month, and will work alongside New York MD Neal Arthur. Arthur if you recall took over as managing director for Buz Sawyer in April of last year. Regarding their return, Vitrone says in a statement, “When we accepted the job, Dan [Wieden] said, ‘Welcome home.’ And that’s exactly how we feel, too. To come back to W+K, 11 years after meeting there and first working together, is really special for us.”

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These days, appearing in a “This is SportsCenter” spot is an essential part of a bona fide U.S. sports star’s budding career. At only 25 years old, Moscow-born Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin already has two league MVP titles as well as five NHL All-Star Team appearances in five years with the league. To say that Alex Ovechkin is the single biggest player in professional hockey is an understatement, and though he may not yet have a Stanley Cup title to add to his career statistics, he can bet that this spot will be broadcast during nearly every commercial break whenever the NHL is so much as mentioned in passing on ESPN.

This spot is also ESPN’s way of saying, “Though it seems that we know nothing outside of the realm of sports, we do actually pay attention to the news and know something about sexy Russian spies being a ‘thing’ this past year. This is our tribute to current events.” Add to that a suited SC anchor, and you have the formula for every “This is SportsCenter” spot that W+K has been producing for years. We’ll ask them to stop making these once they stop being funny, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Credits after the jump.

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W+K New York tries to top its already over-the-top “Dominate Another Day” campaign starring one of the Miami Heat’s “Big Three,” Dwyane Wade, with this latest spot called “The Escape.” Here, D-Wade is trapped in the diabolical clutches of the Zen Master (perhaps a jab at Phil Jackson?) and is being chastised by his buddy Specialist H for being late to his holiday party. Wade of course escapes and battles through snakes and ninjas before eventually blowing up the joint on his way out. Someone page Michael Bay or the Wachowskis.

LeBron can keep asking his rhetorical questions while his buddy plays superhero in this latest Jordan Brand advert, which was directed by the always less-than-modest Noam Murro and features music from Nine Inch Nails cohort Atticus Ross (who’s nominated along with Trent Reznor for a Golden Globe for The Social Network soundtrack).

Full credits after the jump.

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Though last year’s BCS champs, the Alabama Crimson Tide, are out of contention this year, that hasn’t stopped the passion of its hometown fans, who show their team pride by constantly uttering “Roll Tide.” Apparently this two-word phrase, which we’ve been told is equivalent to “Aloha” in Alabama, can apply in virtually any situation and supplant actual conversation down south according to this ESPN spot from W+K New York. Guess it’s right on par with “Go Blue” and “J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets” up here in NYC.

Anyhow, this latest spot is part of the agency’s “It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports” brand campaign for the self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” Credits after the jump.

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