Translation has hired Chris Cereda, formerly executive creative director at Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners (KBS+P), to serve as chief creative officer, rounding out a management team put in place by Translation founder/CEO Steve Stoute which includes president Leann Leahy and chief strategy officer John Greene who both came aboard in 2011.
Cereda, who will start at Translation in mid-February, has spent the last three-and-a-half years at KBS+P where as exec creative director he worked on BMW, Diageo, Wendy’s, and Steak’n Shake, among other brands.
Prior to that, he spent seven years at McCann Erickson, rising from art director to associate creative director. During his McCann tenure, he worked on the MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign as well as such accounts as MLB, Coke and Burger King. He also spent time at Tag Ideation, a unit of McCann dedicated to youth-based marketing, where he worked on the launch of Xbox in the U.S.
Translation has built momentum in recent months. At the end of last year, the agency won the highly coveted Bud Light business.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More