By KATHY DeSALVO
Director Craig McCord and executive producer Staci Strauss McCord have launched a Dallas-based commercial production company, Brand New Shoes.
Craig McCord, who signed with bicoastal Access Film this summer for national representation (SHOOT, 7/16, p.7), will continue to be repped by Access only in New York while Brand New Shoes will handle the director elsewhere in the U.S. Prior to joining Access, the director had been repped by Chicago-based Manarchy Films since ’97. Before that, he had a six-year stay at Dallas-based Concrete Productions, which he joined at that company’s inception in ’90.
McCord began directing around nine years ago, following a career as an agency art director. In ’81, he started out in the Kansas City, Mo. market, working at Valentine Radford and at Barkley & Evergreen. In ’87, he moved to Dallas to work for Tracy-Locke (now DDB Dallas) and then The Richards Group.
"Because the business has been changing so rapidly, I decided that one way to ensure longevity was to control things," said McCord of opening Brand New Shoes with his wife, Strauss McCord, who had served as his production designer for five years. The director related that it has not been the most successful year for him, which prompted him to take stock and assess his career options.
"The idea is to get back to a simpler way of working," said McCord, "[and] having things go through our office, where we can pick and choose projects. We can be in a position where [for instance] if we like a board and there’s not that money attached, we can figure out a way to do it."
This summer, McCord helmed a handful of self-financed spec pieces; among them was "Donut Man" for workplan.com, a fictitious dot.com company, in which a guy is unsuccessful in selling donuts until he markets them on the Internet. Other spec pieces on McCord’s current reel include those for Fuji digital cameras and an Amstel Light beer spot involving slam poetry. After completing those spots, produced by Strauss McCord, McCord said they looked at each other and said, "Why don’t we do this for a living?"
McCord said he is looking for idea-driven work with a sense of humor, or "at least a smile." His spot credits include Raptor Herbicide’s "Chasers" for Miller Meester Advertising, Minneapolis, produced by Manarchy; "Mom O’Neal" for Robitussin via Lowe & Partners/ SMS, New York, produced by Concrete; and "Tommy" for BellSouth via Merkley Newman Harty, Atlanta, also produced by Concrete.
Brand New Shoes is in discussions with several reps to cover the West Coast and the Southwest, related McCord, who has been making sales trips to such markets as Kansas City and San Francisco.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More