Advertising Hall of Fame member made an indelible impact on the industry
Minneapolis-based ad man Pat Fallon, whose upstart firm once led campaigns for luxury automakers BMW and Porsche, has died at age 70, his company said.
Fallon, a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, died Friday with his family at his side, according to the Fallon agency he co-founded. Fallon died at a hospital after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke, company spokeswoman Julie McBride said.
“We are devastated by the loss of our iconic leader. He was our inspiration, our fire in the belly, our eternal conscience and the head of our Fallon family,” Fallon’s CEO Mike Buchner said in a statement. “We will miss him dearly, but are fully committed to living up to the legacy of greatness that he established at the place that bears his name.”
Originally called Fallon McElligott Rice, the Minneapolis agency was founded during the 1981 recession by Fallon, Tom McElligott and Nancy Rice. In 1996 and 2001, Fallon was named SHOOT’s Agency of the Year. In 2001, the Fallon shop turned out breakthrough work on various fronts. The agency rolled out the seminal series of BMW short films online. Fallon also that year had two PBS spots nominated for the primetime commercial Emmy–”Photo Booth” and “Light,” both directed by documentary filmmaker Errol Morris who at the time was with @radical.media. (The director is now at Moxie Pictures.) “Photo Booth” went on to win the Emmy in 2001, which was also the year Fallon created moving work for United Airlines after the terrorist attacks of September 11th. SHOOT additionally cited Fallon that year for its continuing strong work for Lee Jeans, Holiday Inn and Citibank, among others.
The agency made a name for itself in the automotive industry, the Star Tribune reported. Current clients include Arby’s, H&R Block, Loctite, Old El Paso, Starz, Under Armour and VH1.
Fallon retired as CEO in 2008 but remained as the company’s chairman emeritus. On the agency’s website, Fallon speaks of his company’s commitment to “the responsibilities of thought leadership and social activism.”
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More