Integrated creative and media agency 360i has hired Devon Hong as executive creative director in New York. An award-winning creative talent, Hong will be responsible for driving innovation and creative excellence across all of 360i’s clients, which include OREO, 7-Eleven, and Boston Beer Company.
Hong comes to 360i from 72andSunny’s New York office, where he was group creative director and worked across several key clients including Etsy, Spotify, Smirnoff and Cheerios. Most notably, he is credited with helping Etsy to shift from traditional direct response communications to emotional storytelling with a brand-led holiday campaign, and for spearheading Cheerios’ “Right on Tracks” project, a series of children’s songs created to teach kids about empathy after the 2016 election. He also served as a mentor for the agency’s diverse group of creative talent, particularly at the junior level.
Prior to 72andSunny, Hong spent four years at Droga5, where he rose in the ranks from art director to creative director and was responsible for leading two major global brand campaigns for Uniqlo. He also created innovative brand experiences and perception-shifting campaigns for clients like Honey-Maid, BelVita, Dixie and Airwick. After graduating from Miami Ad School in 2010, Hong also held art director roles at both BBH and Young & Rubicam, working across marquee brands like Bacardi, Xerox, Google, Cole Haan and Johnnie Walker.
“Devon has impressed all of us at every turn–not only with his creative chops and distinguished agency experience, but also his emotional drive and incredible capacity for kindness and empathy,” said 360i chief creative officer Menno Kluin. “Devon and I worked together earlier in our careers, and we couldn’t be more excited to join forces again at 360i.”
Hong joins 360i at a time of creative momentum for the agency. In October, 360i released a poignant film for OREO about the importance of a loving home, and helped the cookie brand ensure future generations could enjoy the magic of OREO with the Doomsday Vault. For grocery retailer Kroger, 360i created Chefbot, a tool that uses visual AI to inspire home cooks and reduce food waste. This follows new business wins including leading a Dentsu team to an Integrated Media AOR win for Kroger, being named media AOR for McCormick, social AOR for Twisted Tea, and achieving significant organic growth on 7-Eleven and Boston Beer Company.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More