Brand Innovators has appointed Gavin O’Hara as chief creative officer. He had spent almost 14 years with Lenovo as global social creative lead, pioneering the tech giant’s editorial identity and launching its Brand Newsroom.
“Gavin’s unique voice and approach to creativity made him the failsafe choice for CCO, as we look to transform our website into an attractive destination for stories about brand marketing and the people who love, live and breathe it,” said Marc Sternberg, co-founder and CEO of Brand Innovators.
While at Lenovo, O’Hara told brand stories from a unique perspective–stories about geriatric gamers, Ugandan skaters and more–that stressed the importance of community and fan voices, not to mention putting people before products. Prior to Lenovo, Gavin served as a marketing communications writer for IBM as well as a freelance music and sports journalist from his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
In addition to his editorial work, O’Hara will help sharpen Brand Innovators’ social media voice and host select summit events.
“I’m excited to bring a journalist’s eye to Brand Innovators’ channels and to help develop and grow an already incredible platform so we can keep pace with an ever-growing and ever-changing industry,” said O’Hara. “I hope to bring our community of actual brand innovators closer together through the storytelling we do.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More