Production company YayBig has added directing team Coworkers, consisting of Nick Johansson and Robert Larson, to its roster. The duo’s credits include the behind-the-scenes film for Kahlua featuring Jeff Bridges, and the SuperSoaker piece “The Thin Wet Line.” Johansson and Larson were actual coworkers, sharing an office at production company Smuggler; they official started working together when they directed “The Thin Wet Line.” YayBig is led by director Sherwin Shilati and producer Ben Friedberg. YayBig’s clients include EA, Google, Disney, Kaiser and GMC….
ZERO VFX has opened a West-Coast operation. The new 5,000-square-foot office in Venice Beach, Calif., expands on ZERO’s Boston headquarters and marks a substantial bicoastal scaling of operations in both the feature film and commercial markets. The move and additional staffing in the Boston office effectively doubles the company size from 40 to 80+ employees. ZERO has been active in the feature film, television, and commercial markets, having recently executed three projects with Netflix Originals in less than a year and delivered work on high-profile film projects including The Equalizer, Southpaw and Black Mass. ZERO’s commercial credentials include work for leading brands including Toyota, Jack Daniel’s, and New Balance. The Venice Beach office was partly chosen due to its prime location for the support of further high-end commercial work. ZERO is led by its two co-founders, head of production Brian Drewes and creative director Sean Devereaux….
Publicis Seattle has brought on board James McKenna and Matthew Trego as creative directors. McKenna and Trego will work closely on T-Mobile, and will lead a team of creatives within the agency. They will report directly to Jason Lucas, executive creative director overseeing the T-Mobile business. Before joining Publicis Seattle, McKenna was a creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles, helming the creation of award-winning work for clients such as Disney, Grey Goose, Jimmy Dean, Reebok, and Google. He has also freelanced for 72andSunny and Saatchi & Saatchi. Prior, McKenna held several roles at Microsoft, most recently as creative director of global creative solutions where he conceptualized interactive advertising campaigns, and oversaw the production of global digital advertising and branded experiences. Trego joins Publicis Seattle from McKinney, where he served as an associate creative director, helping to launch the SEC Network for ESPN. At McKinney, Trego also produced work for Mizuno Golf, EAS Sports Nutrition, Big Boss Brewing Company, CenturyLink, and Sherwin-Williams. Prior, he served as a sr. art director at Eleven, Inc., and as an art director at both Goodby Silverstein & Partners and Ogilvy Brand Integration Group. Throughout his career, Trego has worked on a number of high profile tech and athletic brands such as Apple, Adobe, HP, Oakland A’s, and Callaway Golf….
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