Up until recently, Rupert Samuel’s advertising career had pretty much been at one place–and what a place indeed, the lauded Crispin Porter+Bogusky (CP+B), Miami. He started there as an intern, went back to London to finish up his schooling in communications and film at Brunel University and then landed a staff position at CP+B in 1997.
Samuel grew with the agency during his decade-plus tenure there, eventually becoming CP+B’s director of integrated production. He oversaw a production department that grew from a handful of staffers to more than 70 people, bringing the broadcast and interactive disciplines together under one roof and integrating content production as a whole for the agency’s clients.
Furthermore Samuel helped to bring assorted notable projects to life such as Ikea’s “Lamp”–directed by Spike Jonze of bicoastal/international MJZ–which won numerous awards, including the coveted Grand Prix at the 2003 Cannes International Advertising Festival.
At the time “Lamp” shone so brightly, Samuel and David Rolfe were co-heads of broadcast production at CP+B. In ’05, Rolfe exited the agency to join DDB Chicago, with Samuel taking full control of CP+B’s production reins.
Now their career paths have criss-crossed yet again, with Samuel partnering in and cofounding a brand new agency, Goodness Manufacturing in Venice, Calif., and Rolfe returning to CP+B as VP/director of integrated production. Samuel is teaming with four former CP+B colleagues in Goodness: Tom Adams and Paul Keister, who were VPs/creative directors at CP+B; Bob Cianfrone who was VP/associate creative director; and Brian Rekasis who had served as director of CP+B’s Area 51 division handling nontraditional media.
At press time, Goodness was about to formally open its doors.
Samuel: You reach a ceiling, a period in your life when you feel the need to go out and to try to do something on your own. All of us at Goodness had been at Crispin for a fairly long time. We have all grown together and now coming together in our own venture felt like a natural fit. It had been something we were chatting about for a bit of time. We are not just compatriots. We are friends.
SHOOT: Tell us about your Goodness partners.
Samuel: It’s a great mix of talent. Bob, Tom and Paul were at Crispin anywhere from seven to 10 years. We worked together on so many great projects for such clients as Burger King, Ikea, the “Truth” campaign [which is ongoing for the antismoking organization the American Legacy Foundation]. Paul and I collaborated on the Ikea “Lamp” spot which went on to win the Grand Prix.
Adam was a creative director on “Truth,” Slim Jim and Geek Squad. He played a key role in launching the Truth brand in Florida [in ’98] and ultimately expanding it on a national level. His work helped to launch Ikea and Burker King for Crispin.
Paul was creative director on Miller Lite, guiding the agency’s “Man Law” campaign while also running Miller High Life, Gateway and Ikea.
Bob was creative director on Crispin’s radio work with campaigns for BK, Truth, Ikea, MINI, Molson, Miller High Life and Haggar. He also helped bring BK’s breakthrough “Subservient Chicken” to fruition and contributed to bringing back the Burger King character–the King himself–as a fun corporate icon.
And through Crispin’s Area 51 department, Brian managed nontraditional projects ranging from feature films to books and games [including BK’s Xbox video games]. Before that Brian was at Microsoft where he had a hand in launching Xbox and Xbox 360.
SHOOT: Among the first orders of business at a new agency is helping to develop the shop’s creative culture. Crispin is so well known for its progressive creative culture. Are you looking to emulate that culture at Goodness Manufacturing? Are you eying a different direction or directions? Or is it going to incorporate a little bit of both?
Samuel: We’re going to have to let Goodness evolve, let it breathe a bit. We don’t want to rush crazily into anything. But certainly there are aspects of Crispin that we want for Goodness–being able to establish great relationships within and outside the agency and perhaps most importantly the sense of all of us looking out for each other. That looking out for each other is definitely part of the Crispin culture and we want that to be a cornerstone of Goodness.
SHOOT: Define your role at Goodness. Besides looking at the big picture as a founder and part of company ownership and management, how hands-on will you be in production across different disciplines?
Samuel: Being a founder of the company means I will be involved in much more than day-to-day business. But I still see myself hugely involved in the prime aspects of integrated production.
And since we’re a small shop, I’ll be in the trenches producing as well. None of us has launched an agency before so we’ll be learning every day. Clearly, though, a key role for me will be making sure every piece of content we turn out kicks ass.
SHOOT: Has Goodness landed any clients as of yet?
Samuel: We have several exciting developments pending, which I’m not at liberty to publicly talk about yet. We’re in discussions with a bunch of different people and some interesting things are being lined up.
And that goes beyond getting clients. I see us entering into alliances with strategic partners along the lines of production, content and other areas. Rather than get fat internally–which we don’t have the luxury of doing–we will build alliances that enable us to build both ourselves and our strategic partners. Bob, Tom, Paul, Brian and I have developed a lot of great relationships over the years, some of which may translate into new alliances for Goodness and prove fruitful for our clients in the future.
SHOOT: Reflect on your experience at Crispin. What stands out for you most as you look back on the time you spent there?
Samuel: I learned so much there. When I started at Crispin, there were but 32 people there. As an intern back then you were asked to do a lot–you had to, it was a small shop–and that opened up tremendous opportunities for experiencing, learning and growing. I have nothing but positive things to say about that place.
I remember when I first interned there and then returned to London to complete my studies. Alex [Bogusky] called and asked me if I wanted to come back to Crispin. I was thrilled. You couldn’t get a better opportunity to learn and grow. I was able to develop personally and professionally there. We all grew with the company.
We want to give the people at Goodness the same chance to grow, learn and evolve. Creating a culture that nurtures people is one of the most exciting aspects of starting an agency. I’m looking forward to that. We also had a great work ethic at Crispin and that is something we want to carry over to Goodness. Anyone that becomes an intern at Goodness will be busy–just like I was as an intern at Crispin, which helped to shape my future for the better. I’m very grateful for my experience at Crispin.
