McCann London has hired Will Cottam and James Crosby, the creative team behind lauded work for Freedom Brewery and The Prince’s Trust. Cottam and Crosby come over from CHI & Partners where they spent the past four-and-a-half years.
Freedom Brewery garnered such honors as a Cannes Bronze Lion in Art Direction this year, along with Press and Craft for Design Pencils at D&AD 2017.
Cottam and Crosby’s work for Prince’s Trust, a U.K. charity dedicated to positively impacting the lives and perceptions of disadvantage young people, also scored impressively on the 2015 awards show circuit with the film “Learn The Hard Way”–directed by Seb Edwards of Academy Films–gaining recognition at Cannes (Silver and Bronze Lions), D&AD, Clios and New York Festivals. The Prince’s Trust helps to land opportunities for marginalized youth through job training, education and employment.
Laurence Thomson, co-chief creative officer at McCann London, said: “We’re super stoked to have James and Will join our growing talent here at McCann. They have created some really bold and interesting work, which is why we’re looking forward to supercharging them into achieving more creative greatness. We have high hopes. Watch this space.”
McCann London creates work for such brands as Microsoft, L’Oreal, MasterCard, Premier FoodsSubway® brand and Wimbledon.
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