Red Car Chicago has named Carrie Holecek, formerly executive producer at The Whitehouse, as managing director. She joins executive producer Jon Desir at the editorial boutique, which has been a Chicago mainstay for almost 20 years. At Red Car she will work closely with Desir and Chicago-based producer Nikki Piazza.
Holecek got her start in the industry as an associate producer at Fallon Worldwide in the mid-1990s. The Iowa native then moved to Los Angeles as a producer and marketing executive at EFILM, Technicolor and Company 3, working in each company’s feature departments. The Whitehouse position brought her home, both to advertising and the Midwest, in 2007.
Offering a client perspective on Holecek, Lisa Burke Snyder, director of production at mcgarrybowen in Chicago, said, “Carrie is the consummate professional. I appreciate her ability to offer smart and creative solutions to any roadblocks along the way. She is a calming presence in challenging situations.”
According to Red Car founder/editor Larry Bridges, bringing Holecek aboard is a key move in a management restructuring that began just over one year ago when Desir, who started at Red Car as an intern, was promoted to executive producer. “Carrie’s ability to not only supervise the rapidly evolving workflow of what postproduction is today, but also to help us grow the Red Car brand in the Midwest, were really appealing qualities,” said Bridges.
Recent work out of Red Car Chicago includes two new Coors Light spots featuring Ice Cube for agency Commonground, edited by Tim LoDolce, as well as a new R Kelley video, “Share My Love,” marking LoDolce’s seventh collaboration with the R&B star. Other notable projects include a Chrysler spot out of agency Global Hue starring Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am that was edited by Greg Sunmark and a spot for Joe’s Crab Shack, edited by Mike Coletta for agency Slingshot out of Red Car’s Dallas office.
The Red Car Chicago roster includes editor Bob Carr in addition to Coletta, LoDolce and Sunmark, along with graphic designer Kevin O’Rourke and finishing director Christopher Elliott. It is represented by Matt Bucher of Obsidian. All Red Car Chicago editors are available nationally through the Red Car offices in Dallas, New York and Los Angeles.
Lineup Of Jury Presidents Set For 2025 D&AD Awards; Creator Category Launched
The D&AD Awards competition for 2025 has set its lineup of jury presidents and launched a Creator Content category.
The 2025 Jury presidents are a global mix of leading creative experts from international brands and agencies including TikTok, Saatchi & Saatchi, The New York Times Magazine, VML, Framestore, Common People Films, Ogilvy Health, and Publicis Groupe Germany.
Here’s a category-by-category rundown of jury presidents for D&AD Awards 2025:
Animation: Melody Sylvester, global managing director & EP commercials, Common People Films
Art Direction: Saulo Rocha, chief creative officer, DAVID Madrid
Book Design: Johanna Neurath, chair, Thames & Hudson Publishing Ltd.
New Brand Identity: Johanna Roca, creative venture partner, Accept & Proceed
Brand Identity Refresh: Frederico Gelli, founder & CEO, Tátil Design
Casting: Selma Nicholls, casting director, Looks Like Me Casting
Cinematography: Sally Campbell, co-founder & CEO, Somesuch
Commerce: Ben Coulson, chief creative officer ANZ, Dentsu Creative
Creator Content: Karl Haddad, head of Global Creative Lab, TikTok
Digital Marketing: Marco Giannelli (Pernil), chief creative officer, AlmapBBDO
Digital Design: Akae Wang, head of creative, Banana Balloon
Direct: Stéphane Xiberras, president & chief creative officer, BETC, head of Havas Global Creative Council
Direction: Justyna Obasi, director, Lovesong/Anorak
Editing: Fouad Gaber, editor; Cabin Edit
Entertainment: Debbi Vandeven, global chief creative officer, VML
Experiential: Activation & Experience: Dennis May, chief creative officer, Publicis Groupe Germany
Film: Pelle Sjoenell,... Read More