In its role as global creative agency for Ford, BBDO has brought in industry veterans Alex Booker and Philip Sicklinger to serve as executive creative directors on the business in North America. They will be based in New York, but split time between New York and Detroit. They were most recently group creative directors at MullenLowe U.S.
Said David Lubars, chief creative officer, BBDO Worldwide, “This is a pivotal and exciting moment for Ford and, indeed, the automotive industry. Things have to be looked at differently and done differently. Which means everyone we invite in to the agency to work on Ford has to have a wide open mind, a wide open aperture, where new platforms and new solutions rule the day. Alex and Phil have proven to be these type of thinkers.”
Booker and Sicklinger have been creative partners for more than a decade, going back to their days at M&C Saatchi in Australia. Over the years, they’ve also worked together at BMF, BBH in New York and, most recently, at MullenLowe, on businesses ranging from the retailer Aldi in Australia to PlayStation, E*Trade, Tap King and more in the U.S. Their portfolio of award-winning work includes Clios, D&AD Pencils, Lions, One Show Pencils, Effies and prominent regional festivals such as Spikes Asia, AdFest and AWARD.
They start at BBDO this month and join a creative team led by Lauren Connolly, EVP and global executive creative director, to whom they will report.
“Alex and Philip are an immensely talented team that will bring innovative storytelling and meaningful experiences to build the iconic Ford oval,” said Connolly. “And while their work speaks for itself, the people who have worked with them speak to the type of leaders they are —passionate, smart, inspiring and charismatic — which really does make them the perfectly balanced team. And a perfect fit for ours.”
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