Doug Speidel, formerly executive creative director of TEQUILA, the digital and direct-marketing unit of TBWAChiatDay in Los Angeles, has moved to New York to join digital agency MRM Worldwide as senior VP/creative director.
In his new capacity, Speidel is set to work on the Diageo business as MRM continues to add to its roster of brands from that client. He will also contribute to business development at the agency.
At TEQUILA, Speidel helped build the North American offices of the worldwide network, providing TBWACD with an integrated creative offering that gained plaudits in both digital and direct creative competitions.
Most notably under Speidel’s watch was Sony PlayStation’s landmark viral “Giantology” campaign that launched the Shadow of the Colossus game and won awards in interactive categories at D&AD, the One Show and Art Directors Club, as well as Best in Show in the Advertising Club of Los Angeles’ Beldings competition.
Before joining TEQUILA, Speidel spent four years as chief creative officer in the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco offices of Direct Partners where the accounts included DirecTV, E*Trade, Disney and Kmart.
From ’97 to ’98, he was executive creative director at Lowe Direct in New York working on the Mercedes Benz account for North America. From ’90 to ’97, he was a group creative director at Wunderman in New York, a division of Young & Rubicam, a year of which he spent as exec creative director of Wunderman in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Speidel is the latest significant creative hire at MRM Worldwide in N.Y. this year. The shop recruited Farid Chaouki, VP, director of innovation and experience design, and Roy Eventov, design director, from Israel, a hot-bed of digital talent. Cheryl Van Ooyen, who worked at Deutsch and BBDO Worldwide, creating highly recognized and awarded campaigns for Ikea, Snapple and VISA, joined MRM in April.
MRM’s suite of offerings includes, original content creation, digital strategy, cross-media analytics, search, technology strategy and website design. The agency network has 62 offices in 40 countries and counts Microsoft, Intel, MasterCard, Verizon, and General Motors among its clients.
Review: Writer-Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood’s “Heretic”
"Heretic" opens with an unusual table setter: Two young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are discussing condoms and why some are labeled as large even though they're all pretty much a standard size. "What else do we believe because of marketing?" one asks the other.
That line will echo through the movie, a stimulating discussion of religion that emerges from a horror movie wrapper. Despite a second-half slide and feeling unbalanced, this is the rare movie that combines lots of squirting blood and elevated discussion of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.
Our two church members — played fiercely by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East — are wandering around trying to covert souls when they knock on the door of a sweet-looking cottage. Its owner, Mr. Reed, offers a hearty "Good afternoon!" He welcomes them in, brings them drinks and promises a blueberry pie. He's also interested in learning more about the church. So far, so good.
Mr. Reed is, of course, if you've seen the poster, the baddie and he's played by Hugh Grant, who doesn't go the snarling, dead-eyed Hannibal Lecter route in "Heretic." Grant is the slightly bumbling, bashful and self-mocking character we fell in love with in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but with a smear of menace. He gradually reveals that he actually knows quite a bit about the Mormon religion — and all religions.
"It's good to be religious," he says jauntily and promises his wife will join them soon, a requirement for the church. Homey touches in his home include a framed "Bless This Mess" needlepoint on a wall, but there are also oddities, like his lights are on a timer and there's metal in the walls and ceilings.
Writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood — who also... Read More