Denise Esterkyn joins shop as head of talent
Marla Ulrich and Denise Esterkyn have joined DDB San Francisco as, respectively, head of production and head of talent. Both Ulrich and Esterkyn become members of the leadership team at DDB S.F., a shop that’s part of Omnicom Group Inc.
Ulrich will be responsible for transforming and accelerating DDB S.F.’s production model. As head of production, she will oversee DDB S.F.’s integrated production team and manage the agency’s in-house production studio. Most recently, Ulrich was a creative producer for Anomaly on campaigns for Google and Budweiser, among others. In connection with DAVID The Agency, she produced Coca-Cola’s global broadcast campaign for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as well as a holiday spot for the brand.
Ulrich taps into a worldwide network of talent and artistic inspiration to create truly integrated, cross-disciplinary content. Known for shunning silos and traditional divisions of labor, Ulrich views each project holistically, integrating platforms, departments, continents and media. “In my experience, creative is only ever as good as the production,” Ulrich said. “I think it’s notable that a traditional agency is giving me the chance to lead their production department with a modern approach.”
Esterkyn will lead recruitment and oversee talent development for DDB S.F. She has a 20-year career in human resources and recruiting. Esterkyn has worked in San Francisco’s ad industry for the past 15 years (five of which were spent as an HR consultant for Bay Area agencies), Esterkyn is well known in the local creative community. Prior to that, she was the San Francisco director of the Miami Ad School, where she managed and grew the school’s reputation on the West Coast.
The hiring of Ulrich and Esterkyn follows DDB’s recent business momentum on the West Coast and advances president and CEO Todd Grantham’s plan to expand DDB San Francisco’s capabilities and talent. In July 2016, Grantham named Kevin Drew Davis chief creative officer of DDB San Francisco. Ulrich and Davis will work closely to design a production process that capitalizes on efficiency and maximizes creativity. Most recently, Energy Upgrade California selected the agency to be its lead marketing partner.
Davis said of Ulrich, “She’s worked in a variety of environments, from large-scale global productions to lean digital projects. Marla brings knowledge and a skill set to DDB that will integrate our production and creative capabilities even further.”
Review: Director Jake Kasdan’s “Red One”
Ah, the Christmas movie. That old chestnut. That cozy perennial pastime where — let's just pick one scene from "Red One" — Dwayne Johnson, playing Santa's body guard, faces off with a witch-possessed mercenary (Nick Kroll) and ice-sword-wielding CGI snowmen on the sandy beaches of Aruba. Can't you just taste the eggnog?
Such are the ugly-sweater clashes of "Red One," a big-budget gambit to supersize the Christmas movie. Countless movies before have wrestled with who Santa is. Does he really exist? But "Red One" is the first one to answer doubters with a superhero-like St. Nick who runs his North Pole operation like the army, who bench presses and counts carbs and who, given that he's played by J.K. Simmons, looks like he could teach one heck of a jazz class.
There is ample time during "Red One," which opens in theaters Thursday, to ponder who, exactly, put a Marvel-ized Santa on their wish list. The movie, directed by the "Jumanji" reboot filmmaker Jake Kasdan and scripted by the veteran "Fast & Furious" screenwriter Chris Morgan, was conceived by producer Hiram Garcia as the start of a holiday franchise for Amazon MGM Studios — presumably to satisfy those who have pined for a Christmas movie but with, you, know, more military industrial complex.
"Red One," which is brightened by its other A-list star, Chris Evans, is a little self-aware about its own inherent silliness. But not nearly enough. There is a better, funnier movie underneath all the CGI gloss. But overwhelmed by effects and overelaborate world building (there are trolls, ogres and a headless horsemen here, all loosely connected as mythical creatures), "Red One" feels like an unwanted high-priced Christmas present.
"I love the kids. It's the grown-ups that are... Read More