Mark Elwood has been appointed chief creative officer for Leo Burnett UK, effective immediately.
Elwood is a proven creative leader, who has rebooted the agency’s creative department, brought in new talent and led Leo Burnett UK to win multiple creative awards since joining the agency in June 2020.
For the past three and a half years, Elwood has been running Burnett’s creative department, overseeing all creative work across all of the agency’s clients including McDonald’s, Morrisons, Kellogg’s, AXA, Premier Inn and TUI. In 2023, the agency has been recognized at all the major shows including picking up four Cannes Lions and the Marketing Society Grand Prix.
Elwood said, “It’s a privilege to be asked to lead the creative department at Leo Burnett. There is no better creative agency in the U.K. in my opinion and no better team across the board.”
Carly Avener, CEO at Leo Burnett UK, said: “Mark is an incredible talent and a progressive leader. He’s been central to Leo’s success over the past three years as we’ve grown the size, shape and flavor of the department. You can see that coming through in the quality of the work across all our clients and the strength of the talent he has attracted and nurtured.”
Before joining Burnett, Elwood was executive creative director of MullenLowe London, crafting award-winning campaigns for the NHS, BUPA, Bahlsen, British Heart Foundation, Dunelm, Subaru and Wagamama as well as the “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives” campaign at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Elwood joined MullenLowe in October 2017 after the independent creative agency he co-founded in 2011, 101, was acquired by IPG and merged into MullenLowe. At 101, Elwood was creative partner to Richard Flintham. The agency successfully pitched and won clients including Wagamama, French Connection, Dunelm, Avios, Art Fund and Kettle Chips.
For the previous six years, Elwood was head of art and creative director at Fallon London, now part of Leo Burnett. Prior to that, he held head of design positions at JWT, Euro RSCG and AMV BBDO, where he was promoted to Board director, having moved agency side in 1996 when he first joined Leo Burnett. Elwood started his career as an apprentice typesetter, learning the craft of typography and design from day one.
The promotion follows the announcement that CCO Chaka Sobhani will be leaving the agency to join DBB Worldwide as president and chief creative officer international.
Elwood being upped to CCO follows other recent promotions at Leo Burnett including Carly Avener to CEO and Sam Houlston to managing director, and the agency being appointed by Confused.com last month.
Japan Celebrates Record 18 Emmy Wins For “Shogun”
Japan erupted with joy Monday as the samurai series "Shogun" won a record 18 Emmys for its first season.
It took home prizes including Outstanding Drama Series, as star and co-producer Hiroyuki Sanada became the first Japanese actor to win the Emmy for best lead actor in a dramatic series. Co-star Anna Sawai won best actress in a dramatic series, also a first for Japan.
"You did it. You did it. Congratulations," Takashi Yamazaki, director of " Godzilla Minus One," wrote on social media.
People followed the awards live as the wins made national headlines. Entertainment media Oricon proudly reported that a work whose spoken lines were mostly in the Japanese language "made Emmy history."
"The grand scale of Hollywood combined with the high quality of the production, including costuming, props and mannerisms; the collaboration between the Japanese professional team, headed by producer Sanada, and the local production team; as well as the acting that delivered a strong sense of reality, all came together," the report said.
Actor Kento Kaku, who starred in the 2024 series "Like a Dragon: Yakuza," said he was feeling inspired to pursue Hollywood dreams.
"After seeing how cool that was, who's not going to want to take up the challenge," he wrote on X.
Actress Tomoko Mariya said she broke into tears the moment Sanada's win was announced.
"What hardships you must have endured, choosing to leave your entire career behind in Japan and going to America alone. But it has borne fruit," she wrote, referring to Sanada's move to Los Angeles 20 years ago.
The accolades for "Shogun" reflect not only the growing diversity in American entertainment, but also the legacy of Japan's "jidaigeki" samurai films, which have... Read More