Alas, there are no “T-shirt uniforms” to hammer home the message of individuality in this latest Dr. Pepper campaign from Deutsch LA, which is now eschewing grandiose productions and blockbuster cross-promotions to instead focus on real people, real stories. The above spot, dubbed “One in a Billion” (title track courtesy of the Vinyl Hearts), should give you the basic gist of how the agency’s ongoing “Always One of a Kind” campaign for the soda brand is evolving.

The heartwarming, human interest angle is one that’s been tread on aplenty, but it’s a somewhat interesting detour considering that at the end of the day, all agency and client are doing are selling soda. Will it take this year? Who knows, but in the meantime, check out out two specific stories, one focusing on a model-turned-boxer and the other a mother of five/roller derby queen along with credits after the jump.

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Anyhow, the creative duo will join Deutsch effective May 31 as integrated CDs, work across all business and report directly to Mark Hunter, CCO of the LA office, who says of the new hires, “I’ve had my eye on Davi and Xavier for some time now. They have a true love for the fine arts, and by combining their passion for design and art with technology, they have produced some truly innovative and engaging marketing efforts.”

While at the late Modernista, Teo (pictured) worked on Cadillac, Nickelodeon, (Red) and led development on last summer’s Dexter ARG. Liu meanwhile also worked on Nick and (Red) as well as Showtime. Both creatives spent several years in Asia prior to joining Modernista, with Teo working in Singapore for 12 years while Liu spent most of his time at W+K, developing campaigns for Nike Japan and China as well as projects for Google Japan and W+K Tokyo Lab.

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After losing Hummer, then Cadillac and finally Palm as well as two-thirds of “old” revenue along the way, Modernista! has decided it’s time for a change starting from the top. According to BostonHerald.com, the shop is seeking a return to its glory days beginning with the announcement of a new management team, which includes creative director Davi Liu, managing director Alex Hesz, presidentMatt Howell, director of social media Sebastian Gard and creative director Xavier Teo.

New prez Howell was formerly chief interactive officer at R/GA and served as group director on Nike+, MD Hesz, who joined Modernista! in June, spent time on the digital side at DDB London and oversaw the British Airways and Johnnie Walker business at BBH.  Creative director Teo (the one kneeling) meanwhile has been with Modernista! for nearly two years and spent three years before that as a senior AD at OgilvyOne.

Modernista co-CEO/co-founder Gary Koepke tells BH that the agency has transformed into a “media-agnostic” entity over the past 18 months and says of his new executive staff, “There’s nothing better than an infusion of youth and smart young people being energetic and ready to go. It gets [co-CEO/co-founder] Lance [Jensen] and I back into making sure that the creative work is of the best caliber. We’re looking to focus on this management change right now, and let people know we’re on our way back. Not that we ever left, but people thought that we did.”

During the management shift, Modernista! happened to create an ARG effort to promote season five of Showtime’s Dexter. Check out one of the sites involved here.

More: “Catherine Heath Out at Modernista“

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