R/GA, headquartered in N.Y., has extended its European reach, opening an office in Stockholm under the aegis of managing director Anders Erlandsson and executive creative director Kay Höök. The Swedish foothold complements R/GA’s operation in London.
Erlandsson and Höök join R/GA from Digitas Sweden. Erlandsson managed a number of Digitas’ key accounts, developed and implemented corporate vision and strategy, and served as a member of the executive management group. Prior to Digitas Sweden, Erlandsson was a partner and the CEO for Svensson Advertising Agency and was CEO and founding partner of Ondatje Advertising Agency. Throughout his career, Erlandsson has been the strategic lead on a number of high-profile brands such as Canon, Nike, and Absolut. During his time working on Absolut, he led the retail strategy for the “In an Absolut World” campaign, which gained widespread recognition within the industry and internally at Absolut.
Höök was instrumental in growing Digitas Sweden’s profile and portfolio in the region. With over 15 years of experience in both the online and offline advertising industry, Höök has such accomplishments as between 2004 and 2010 taking the little-known Scholz & Friends Stockholm from a small start-up to a top-10 creative agency in Sweden. Along the way, Höök won many international and domestic creative awards for numerous Nike campaigns, including the Nike “RUN” interactive campaign, Nike Pro’s “It’s All about Breathing,” and the Nike Golf “Redefine Range” campaign.
At R/GA, Höök will be responsible for shaping the agency’s creative vision and Erlandsson will oversee the overall management. Both report to Bob Greenberg, chairman, CEO, and global chief creative officer.
“What makes the opening of R/GA Stockholm particularly exciting is that this is not a move driven by a specific client requirement, but a decision born solely out of our own agency’s global growth strategy,” said Bob Greenberg, chairman, CEO, and global chief creative officer. “We now have extensive experience opening successful offices, this being our ninth one. With Stockholm’s proximity to London, and R/GA London’s recent growth, I expect the Swedish office to flourish. Since Sweden has long been a hotbed of innovation and creativity in the digital space, our move here gives R/GA an unrivalled opportunity to work with some of the most talented people in the industry, clearly demonstrated by the hires of Anders and Kay.”
Plans call for the staff of R/GA Stockholm to grow to 25 by 2012.
“Overnight Success” Has Been More Than A Decade In The Making For Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson
Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit "The Perfect Couple," have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of "Gossip Girl." Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's "This Must Be the Place." They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles — "The White Lotus" for Fahy and "Bad Sisters" for Hewson — that have led to new frontiers of opportunity.
Susanne Bier, who directed "The Perfect Couple," says both Fahy and Hewson are "going to be big stars."
"They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways," Bier says. "Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do."
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of "Bad Sisters, " out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called "Sirens," written by Molly Smith Metzler ("Maid") for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor ("The Crown," "Challengers") and Brandon Sklenar ("It Ends With Us").
The two actors spoke candidly about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and... Read More