David Christopher, chief marketing officer of AT&T Mobility, has been named chair of the board of directors of the Ad Council. He succeeds Laura Desmond, global CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group. Christopher will be board chair through June 2016 when he will be succeeded by David Kenny, chairman and CEO of The Weather Company.
“David Christopher is a thought leader in the communications industry, particularly in marketing and the ever-changing digital world,” said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council.
Christopher joined the Ad Council board in 2010 and became a member of the executive committee in July 2011. Among his many contributions to the Ad Council, Christopher helped spearhead the 2012 New York anti-truancy PSA campaign, created in partnership with the Bloomberg administration. Targeting chronic absenteeism, the campaign was the largest ever city-wide effort to inform parents that students who routinely miss school are more likely to drop out and offered a wide range of resources to help parents keep their kids on track. The campaign received donated media through New York City and more than 40 percent of parents reported seeing the PSAs.
“Serving the Ad Council means a great deal to me because of the power it has to affect change on our most pressing social issues,” said Christopher. “With such a strong board and management team, I am confident we will continue the Ad Council’s tradition of outstanding work.”
Christopher has served as CMO for AT&T Mobility since 2004, and leads all marketing for AT&T’s 120M-plus customer wireless business. He is responsible for the company’s extensive portfolio of wireless products and services, including voice and data plans, smartphones, tablets, wearables and cloud products, as well as marketing and advertising for AT&T’s connected home platform, AT&T Digital Life, and the company’s prepaid brands, Cricket Wireless and GoPhone. Christopher also oversees the AT&T Developer Program and its more than 55,000 members, leading the team that determines and delivers the APIs, tools and training developers need to build new and innovative platforms. He is on the Facebook and Twitter client councils and is a member of the Marketing 50. In 2014, he was named to Forbes’ 50 Most Influential CMOs list.
With Christopher’s election, the Ad Council will continue its ongoing tradition of rotating board chairs every year between the organization’s founding sectors: media companies, advertising agencies and corporate advertisers.
Oscar and Emmy-Winning Composer Kris Bowers Joins Barking Owl For Advertising, Branded Content
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowers’ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, “His artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, “Kris first caught my attention when he released his record ‘Heroes + Misfits’ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More