Translation has elevated art director/CD Matthew McFerrin and copywriter/CD Armando Samuels to group creative directors, in the first of a series of internal promotions across the agency’s creative and strategy departments. McFerrin will partner with recent hire, group creative director Achilles Li, to oversee the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Champs Sports accounts. Samuels will take the lead on Translation’s State Farm account, handling all creative aspects of the business, including the company’s NBA marketing campaign, and the ongoing State Farm Neighborhood Sessions music series. Plans call for Samuels to partner with a new member of the Translation team, to be announced in early 2016.
McFerrin originally signed on with the Translation team as a sr. creative in early 2014, following nearly three years as an art director and then sr. art director at Sid Lee. McFerrin has lent his artist’s eye to national and global campaigns for the likes of Absolute Vodka, adidas, Sprite and Major League Soccer.
Samuels first joined Translation as a sr. copywriter, quickly rising to the rank of creative director. Prior to joining Translation, he held sr. copywriter and copywriter positions at Deutsch and TBWAChiatDay LA—where he served as the lead writer for the agency’s award-winning Pepsi Max “Test Drive” campaign. Samuels has helped to deliver creative executions for global brands like adidas, PepsiCo, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, and the Coca-Cola Company.
John Norman continues as Translation’s chief creative officer.
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