The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) elected seven new members to its board of directors at its annual conference held virtually from October 21–23.
The newly elected directors are:
- Dean Aragon, chief marketing officer at Shell International
- Esi Eggleston Bracey, COO and executive VP, Beauty & Personal Care at Unilever North America
- Julia Goldin, chief marketing officer at LEGO
- Ivan Pollard, global chief marketing officer at General Mills
- Manoj K. Raghunandanan, president, Global Self Care and Office of Marketing Value at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health
- Tony Wells, chief brand officer at USAA
- William White, chief marketing officer at Walmart
In an important new development, for the first time the ANA Board has been expanded to include members from around the globe; Julia Goldin is based in London and Dean Aragon is based in Switzerland.
Current ANA Board chairman Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at Procter & Gamble, continues as chairman until the end of 2021.
“The ANA Board always plays a key role in all our work, but that has been especially true during the past year when dealing with the coronavirus pandemic,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “Our entire organization is indebted to all board members for their invaluable contributions during an unusually challenging period. I extend my thanks and I look forward to working with them in the future.”
Here’s a list of the full 2020–2021 ANA Board of Directors:
- Paul Alexander, Eastern Bank
- Dean Aragon, Shell International
- Douwe Bergsma, Piedmont HealthCare
- Lynne Biggar, Visa
- Linda Boff, General Electric
- Esi Eggleston Bracey, Unilever
- Chris Brandt, Chipotle
- Amanda Brinkman, Deluxe
- Emily Callahan, St. Jude
- Fiona Carter, Goldman Sachs
- Suzy Deering, formerly eBay
- Norman de Greve, CVS Health
- John Dillon, Denny’s
- Alicia Enciso, Nestlè USA
- Jill Estorino, Disney
- J. Russell Findlay, Hiscox
- Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s
- Julia Goldin, LEGO
- Rick Gomez, Target
- Gerald E. Johnson II, American Heart Association
- Alison Lewis, Kimberly-Clark
- Bob Liodice, ANA
- Marcel Marcondes, Anheuser-Busch InBev
- Michelle Peluso, IBM
- Ivan Pollard, General Mills
- Marc Pritchard, Procter & Gamble
- Manoj Raghunandanan, Johnson & Johnson
- Raja Rajamannar, MasterCard
- Elizabeth Rutledge, American Express
- Jennifer Saenz, Frito-Lay
- Diego Scotti, Verizon
- Heather Stewart, General Motors
- Nuno Teles, Diageo
- Gail Tifford, WW
- Matt VanDyke, Ford
- Meredith Verdone, Bank of America
- Karen Walker, Intel
- Tony Wells, USAA
- William White, Walmart
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More