Droga5 has appointed Lucia Grillo to serve as production development director. The newly created role comes as the headcount of the combined production departments has grown to approximately 180 people, and within this, the diversity of Droga5’s offerings has grown tremendously.
Grillo will report to and work with Droga5 chief creation officer Sally-Ann Dale to create a smart, future-facing production business unit for Droga5. Grillo will also be part of the production department’s leadership team, which includes the head of interactive production, head of art production, head of print services and director of integrated production business affairs and the soon-to-be-hired head of film.
Grillo joins Droga5 from 360i, where she held the title of head of integrated production, VP. Prior to 360i, she enjoyed a stint at VICE Media as a group account director. Her earlier experience comes from the production side of the business, as head of production and then managing director for Psyop in New York, where she spent about 10 years. She began her production career in the production departments of J. Walter Thompson and McCann Erickson.
Chief creation officer Dale said, “We see a great value in Lucia’s experience of being on both the production and agency side. She has the ability to run a business, be an astute producer and be client-facing. We want to constantly explore new production solutions and opportunities to better serve us and our clients’ ever-growing content needs.”
Grillo commented, “This is a really exciting time to be joining Droga5, as it celebrates its tenth anniversary and continues to create work with impact and ambition, as well as world-class craft.”
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