Creative agency Johannes Leonardo has hired Dana May as integrated head of production. She will assume her new role on Monday, Oct. 3, and report to co-founders and chief creative officers Jan Jacobs and Leo Premutico, and president Bryan Yasko.
May will be tasked with growing the agency’s integrated production department, as well as taking on added responsibilities with existing and new clients to build out fresh capabilities.
She joins Johannes Leonardo from McCann NY where as executive producer she worked on the Verizon Wireless account. Prior to McCann, May served as head of production at CHI&Partners on clients including The Wall Street Journal, Diageo, Samsung, InterContinental Hotels Group. She also spent time at Droga5 as senior producer on PUMA, Activision, Unilever, NET10, Rhapsody and UNICEF. Her body of work over the years has been recognized with top industry accolades including Cannes Lions Grand Prix, Clio Awards, the ONE Show, AICP Show and D&AD honors.
“I have been following the epic ideas and executions coming out of Johannes Leonardo for years, and can’t wait to work with some of the industry’s leading talent, while helping contribute to its growth trajectory,” said May. “It feels like the perfect time to make the move to an agency that I know will keep me feeling inspired and challenged.”
Yasko said, “With the success of adidas and our entire roster of clients, we are fortunate to have our business evolving progressively in addition to, and beyond, advertising. We are producing work in-house, launching global event activations, designing and executing innovative retail environments and pushing the boundaries of VR experiences. Dana will be instrumental in pushing our capabilities even further.”
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More