A circuitous route brought Laurie Malaga to Miami-based la comunidad some two-and-a-half years ago as staff producer. She is now the agency’s director of production. Malaga came over to la comunidad after having run a specialty boutique retail store, Ladybug & Chocolate, in New Orleans. She relocated to Miami, coming aboard what many have come to regard as one of the hottest creative ad shops in the Hispanic marketplace–despite her not speaking Spanish and never having worked before in Hispanic advertising.
But in a strange way, that lack of typical experience enabled Malaga to bring a fresh perspective to la comunidad in that she had a storied background in working with and nurturing talented young directors while running the music video division at the venerable, now defunct Propaganda Films for seven years. Indeed as exec producer of music videos there, Malaga collaborated with such directors as Michel Gondry, Dante Ariola, Stephane Sednaoui and Jonathan Glazer early in their careers on clips for artists including U2, Bjork, Janet Jackson and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
“When I first came to interview [for the job at la comunidad], I didn’t have any strong feelings about the agency,” recalls Malaga. “Then I saw the reel and the creative was awesome–it transcended language. I had been at a place [Propaganda] where you had to feel good about the work to do a truly good job. And that’s what I felt was here at la comunidad.
“It turned out to be kind of an advantage that I wasn’t coming at the work from a conventional perspective,” she continues. “I didn’t know the go-to Hispanic directors when I came here. I was a general market person. It came down to us trying to figure out who the best director was for a particular project and in some cases that meant us going outside the traditional community of Hispanic directors.”
For example, director Aaron Ruehl landed his third career spot assignment from la comunidad, a campaign for Mundoz, an MTV-like network designed for the Latin teen market. This was back when Ruehl was at Area 51 Films, Santa Monica. He shifted over to Über Content, Hollywood, where he later helmed some creatively inspired Virgin Mobile ads for la comunidad. (Ruehl has since joined Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles.)
Similarly, Malaga gravitated toward the then relatively unknown Perlorian Brothers to direct an offbeat Virgin Mobile project, based on some work she saw from them in Canada. At that juncture, the Perlorians had just joined Biscuit and have since gone on to gain critical acclaim in the directorial ranks. (Recently the Perlorian Brothers joined Santa Monica-based Furlined for stateside representation.)
“A big part of my job is based simply on finding new talent, getting them at the right time, while working often with challenged budgets,” says Malaga. “Sometimes you have to discover new talent in order to get the best director for a job that doesn’t have a whole lot of money but is strong creatively.”
This isn’t to say that Malaga hasn’t tapped into noted Hispanic directors for la comunidad fare. She just wrapped a campaign for the El Hood online music site, which connects users with the performing artists. Two of those virals were directed by Luciano Podcaminsky of Rebolucion, Buenos Aires, a well established Hispanic director who is handled stateside by @radical.media. Another two viral spots were directed by Nicolas Kasakoff of Nunchaku Cine, Buenos Aires.
The remaining El Hood viral was helmed by Nelson Cabrera via Colibri Films, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
La comunidad has turned out noted creative work for such clients as Best Buy, Miller, Citibank, VH-1 and MTV. For the latter, there’s the humorously offbeat “Surgeon” (with English and Spanish-language versions) in which a doctor takes a break from prepping a patient on the operating title to recite a list of the most popular cosmetic surgical procedures ranging from nose job to male enlargement. A super informs us that MTV Latin America reels off its 10 most requested videos every weeknight at 8 p.m. Viewers are asked to log in and vote on MTVLA.com. “Surgeon” was directed by Jorge Colon of Letca Films, with offices in Miami and Mexico City.
Furthermore, la comunidad has also diversified into mainstream advertising, counting Remy Martin among its general market clientele and recently getting a print campaign for the Katrina Foundation shortlisted at the One Show.
For Malaga, it all comes down to making the right creative match with the proper director. And that matchmaking is now expanding beyond the traditional broadcast spot to new forms as reflected in the aforementioned virals, as well as other projects under discussion, and in the recent hiring of Andrew Ivanoff as the agency’s director of interactive. Malaga and Ivanoff are starting to collaborate on varied new endeavors.
Pro-Age For Larry Byrne, director of broadcast/production for Ogilvy & Mather, Chicago, it’s been particularly gratifying to work on the lauded Unilever/Dove campaign in which different perceptions and appreciation of real people’s beauty–not fashion model magazine cover depictions–are embraced.
Also garnering Byrne a measure of satisfaction is uncovering directorial talent to dovetail with the right creative, a prime case in point being the Dove campaign for its Pro-Age line of products, including a spot which shows older women with thick, full hair–yes, even full, thick gray locks can be attractive–and a tastefully photographed commercial showing mature females’ naked bodies as beautiful. Accompanying each woman is a super which reads, “too old to be in an anti-aging ad.” Ultimately the spot relates to us that its message “isn’t anti-age” but rather “pro-age,” observing that “beauty has no age limit.”
Byrne secured director Lars Knorrn who’s now with Warm and Fuzzy, a startup working through Gang Films in Paris, to direct the Pro-Age fare. After working with renowned photographer Annie Liebowitz on the print side of the campaign, Byrne looked at a full range of filmmakers for the TV.
“We wanted to reach outside, to find someone special for this,” relates Byrne about the director search. “We have a crazy bunch of evangelists around here. You have to be true to Dove. These real women are exposing themselves physically and emotionally, laying out who they are to us. We respect who they are and finding the right director for that is really important.”
Byrne says Knorrn was indeed the right director. In fact Byrne in a tongue-in-cheek manner says he was a bit hesitant to identify Knorrn for SHOOT, hoping to keep the director to himself. “I think he’s headed for stardom as a director,” Byrne assesses of Knorrn, who presently doesn’t have stateside representation.
Byrne said that during his many years in the business–on both the agency and production house sides of the industry–he has come to know “a great many people at production houses all over the place. You ask people you trust who do you have that’s special, that no one’s heard of yet, and you can come up with some interesting possibilities. That’s how we found Lars. Part of my confidence in going with him was my professional relationship over the years with his producer Edward Grann [who along with Knorrn was at Chased By Cowboys, Paris, at the time]. I had a comfort level with Edward and once I saw Lars’ work, I knew he was well suited for what we were trying to do.” (Grann and Knorrn are now together at Warm and Fuzzy.)
Byrne’s alluded to production house career experience was as executive producer at Ebel Productions, Chicago, from 1997 to ’01, During his tenure there, Byrne served as president of the AICP’s Midwest chapter. Prior to Ebel, Byrne was a line producer and assistant director, having come up through the ranks in the locations and art departments during his 10 years of freelance work on feature film work, TV series and commercials. He actually began his career on the agency side, as an assistant production manager at Leo Burnett, Chicago. Byrne first came to know Burnett as a high school student when he was fortunate enough to land an internship there from its legendary, now late head of production Al Lira.
After exiting Ebel, Byrne came aboard Ogilvy in ’01. Since then, he has produced commercials for such clients at the shop as BP, Sears, and Miller Brewing over the years. At Ogilvy, Chicago, Byrne oversees all broadcast and interactive production–the latter working in concert with director of interactive production Jeff Brecker who reports to him. The current modus operandi, says Byrne, is for broadcast and interactive producers at the agency to team on assignments, a recent example being the build a better gas station site for BP, which features such content as broadcast department-produced webisodes.
“Through these collaborations,” relates Byrne, “broadcast producers are building their interactive skill sets and interactive producers are gaining in broadcast quality production.”
“Is it in you?” Continuing in the theme of discovering new directors, consider a couple of recent promotions at Element 79, Chicago, in which Tom Cronin has been elevated to VP and lead executive producer for the Gatorade brand at Element 79 and Rob Jaeger now serves as the agency’s lead exec producer on the Propel account.
In this week’s SHOOT “Chat Room” feature, Cronin touches upon the importance of opening up new directorial options for Gatorade, including exploring select European filmmakers whose work reflects an understanding not only of great sports photography but capturing the spirit of sport and the competitive athlete. (See “Chat Room” for Cronin’s reflections on the business and specifically the Gatorade account on which he’s worked for the past dozen years, including previously at Bayer Bess Vanderwarker and FCB Chicago.)
Jaeger too is attuned to securing the right directorial talent for a project, whether it be a broadcast :30 or some new media form. Jaeger has produced some of Element 79’s most high profile work over the years, from the Gatorade “Origins” campaign to the globe-trotting “One World” and the “23/39” visual tour de force pitting NBA player Michael Jordan against college star Michael Jordan (which was directed by Joe Pytka of Venice, Calif.-based PYTKA, with visual effects by Digital Domain, Venice). Prior to Element 79, Jaeger was with Fusion Idea Lab, Chicago, where he had a hand in four Super Bowl spots for Bud Light over his four years there.
Now in his new Element 79 role with stewardship over production for Propel, Jaeger notes that content is still king.
“If you have the content, they will come. I don’t care so much about the platform because if you provide content consumers want, they will find it. But as new forms evolve, everyone is part of the learning curve. We’ll be looking to more and different kinds of companies with savvy in particular new areas. Yet by no means does that preclude so-called traditional production companies whose talent can encompass much more than commercials.”
Brad Emmett and Rob Legato Join Doner As EVPs, Exec Creative Directors
Doner, part of Stagwell, has hired Brad Emmett and Rob Legato as EVPs, executive creative directors. Their remit includes leading and strengthening Doner’s creative work, as well as fostering new client relationships. In their newly created roles, the duo will work across Doner’s full client roster, which includes a diverse portfolio of brands from Zyrtec to Hackensack Meridian Health to Stellantis.
“As an agency founded and headquartered in Detroit, we are committed to investing in top local talent. Welcoming Brad and Rob back to Doner reflects that mission,” said Doner CEO David DeMuth, who also serves as chair and CEO of the Doner Partners Network (DPN).
Emmett and Legato rejoin Doner from McCann Detroit where they led creative efforts for General Motors, including the Will Ferrell “No Way Norway” and Mike Myers “Dr. EVil” Super Bowl campaigns. Emmett and Legato also led creative efforts for brands including Alfa Romeo, JBL and U.S. Bank. Together, their work has been recognized by Cannes Lions, Webbys, One Show and the Clio Award Hall of Fame.
“I’ve grown so much from partnering with CEOs, top creative leaders, and, of course, my teams. I look forward to continuing that same spirit of collaboration back at Doner,” said Emmett. “The agency’s diverse portfolio of brands has always impressed me, and I look forward to working with the team to create new work that moves the needle for clients.”
Legato added, “Something exciting is happening around every corner at Doner, and I’ve missed that. I’m thrilled to rejoin the team as it turns the page on a new chapter in its legacy of creating groundbreaking work for brands at the intersection of Modern and Main Street.”
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