Above+Beyond has appointed former Wieden+Kennedy London creative director Joe Bruce as its new executive creative director.
Bruce’s hiring completes the agency management team and sees him working alongside Jonny Ray, managing director, Dena Walker, chief strategy officer, and Laura Graham, chief production officer. Bruce will also serve as part of the management team of independent group The Beyond Collective, which counts Above+Beyond, Yonder Media, Frontier Strategy & Collective Studios among its agencies.
During his time at Wieden+Kennedy London, Bruce has led some of Nike’s most standout work–from running multiple Women’s World Cup, Euros and Berlin marathon campaigns, to launching the brand’s first ever global dance platform and winning a Cannes Titanium and Grand Prix for his social and influencer work on “Nothing Beats a Londoner.”
Prior to leading Nike, he served as creative director on Wieden+Kennedy’s Camden Town Brewery and Formula One accounts and, during his seven-year tenure at the agency, created campaigns for clients including Sainsbury’s (Christmas 2020), Bud Light (“Box Heads”) and McDonald’s Canada.
For the last few years, Bruce has also been course director of The Kennedys, an annual fully-paid, five-month creative crash course, designed to give those a chance to get into advertising who may not have otherwise had the opportunity.
Bruce’s career started at BMB, where he worked on brands such as Ikea, Yorkshire Tea and Carling. He was also responsible for helping launch the suicide prevention charity, C.A.L.M , in London. He went on to become creative director at agencies including 101 and Crispin Porter + Bogusky London, leading creative for clients including Paddy Power, Britvic, National Art Fund, Turkish Airlines and Milka.
Beyond advertising, Bruce is the co-founder of Bubble Bros Ltd, an events and wine wholesale business.
Above+Beyond’s Ray said, “Joe is a world-class creative, creative leader and team player in equal measure, and we can’t wait to work with him to grow Above+Beyond and our client brands, via the power of his creativity and our wider collective capabilities.”
Bruce stated, “This is a fun one. Above+Beyond has proper creative ambition and it has the power of the collective behind it too. Whilst bigger agencies try to catch up and reshape to replicate this model, experienced groups like The Beyond Collective are already years ahead and primed for success. They’re also a lovely bunch of human beings, with huge brains and gentle souls. Which helps.”
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More