Fabio Costa has been named global chief creative officer for Commonwealth//McCann, the global advertising agency of record for Chevrolet, General Motors’ largest brand.
Costa joins Commonwealth//McCann, part of the McCann Worldgroup family, from Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles, where, since 2016, his work has won six Cannes Lions, 35 Clios and five One Show Pencils for Toyota and other blue-chip global clients.
“Fabio was our first choice to take on this role. He is an amazing creative talent and leader with a wealth of global cultural and business experience,” said Grant Theron, CEO and GM global business lead, Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). “And the timing is perfect. The Chevy brand is on a roll–it was the fastest-growing mass market auto brand in the country in 2022.”
Costa began his advertising career at Y&R in Brazil. He spent six years as a creative director at AlmapBBDO Brazil, moved to San Francisco as a CD at Ogilvy One and TBWAChiatDay SF and then shifted to Ogilvy’s Paris office in a similar role. He moved to The Martin Agency, where he sparked a digital renaissance and drove award-winning work for GEICO, BF Goodrich, Mentos and the JFK Library Museum. His next role was at TBWAChiatDay LA, where he served as global creative lead on Adidas and as the U.S. lead on Netflix, Disney and Miller Lite. During his four years at TBWA, his work was recognized by D&AD, Cannes Lions, The One Show and the Clios.
Costa noted “I am thrilled to join Commonwealth//McCann and to work on Chevrolet, one of the greatest brands in the world. The level of creativity in the Chevrolet brand across so many global markets, and the way in which Chevrolet drives culture, make this a dream opportunity for me.”
Theron added: “This is a transformative time for Chevrolet. And transformative times demand transformative leaders, which is why Fabio was the perfect choice for this job. The addition of Fabio completes a full transformation in the leadership of our agency. With Belinda Leworthy leading North America as president, Joanna Young leading our strategy team and Fabio as CCO, we are positioned to take Chevrolet into an exciting next 100 years.”
Theron also announced that Matt Canzano, global markets CCO for Commonwealth//McCann, will take on additional responsibilities, partnering with Theron on IPG creative initiatives across the General Motors account.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More