Digital agency Kettle, headquartered in NY, has hired Amanda Hughes-Watkins as creative director and Crystal Ginn as sr. producer.
Hughes-Watkins, based in San Francisco, advances Kettle’s bicoastal offerings. She spent the last two years as a creative director at Digitas San Francisco, where she led the creative work for eBay, Paypal and Kraft/Taco Bell Sauces. While there, her digital advertising was recognized with a Clio, Webby, MIXX, OMMA, and Communication Arts award. Prior to Digitas, she worked at R/GA San Francisco on Microsoft. Throughout her career, she has worked with brands like Old Navy, Conde Nast, Lexus, Macy’s and Yahoo!
Ginn will lead cross-functional teams as they design the breakthrough experiences that clients have come to expect from the agency. Long-time accounts like American Express as well as more recent wins like Penguin will fall under her direction. Ginn comes to Kettle with experience as director of production at AREA 17, where she led work with brands like Google Chrome, Billboard, SPIN and Dering Hall. Prior to that, she worked at agencies including Razorfish, Syrup (LBi), Coty Prestige and createthe group with Axe, Marc Jacobs, Gwen Stefani Fragrances, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein X Underwear, Polo Ralph Lauren, David Yurman and Juicy Couture. She started her career at JWT and then Siegel+Gale.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More