BBH’s New York management trio–president Amani Duncan, chief creative officer Rafael Rizuto and chief strategy officer Tom Callard–has been promoted to oversee BBH USA, which includes its New York and Los Angeles offices, as well as BBH Entertainment.
“Amani, Rafa and Tom, also known as ‘ART,’ are proving to be an unstoppable combination,” said BBH global CEO Neil Munn. “As we look forward to the post-pandemic landscape, we believe now is the right moment to create a truly integrated U.S. presence, where we bring the best talent from both coasts together to work on our globally recognized clients. With their recent success in New York, we are excited to see where this dynamic trio takes BBH as they oversee the agency’s entire U.S. presence.”
The New York office of BBH USA has been on a growth surge this year, adding new clients to its portfolio including LinkedIn, Martell and Google Shopping. With this growth in the business, the agency has been able to accelerate the pace at which it is hiring a rich and diverse mix of talent, in line with a strong commitment to its DE&I agenda.
The agency has received 40+ trophies at Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD, ANDY’s, Clios and Webbys. Recent awards recognize breakthrough work for Google’s Black-Owned Friday campaign and the Glass Ceiling Breaker installation honoring Vice President Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile, 2021 saw BBH LA launch high-profile work for Barbie, including its “A Doll Can Help Change the World” and the “The Future of Pink is Green” campaigns, as well as Samsung’s highly innovative branded entertainment reality series, Exposure, for client Samsung, which debuted on Hulu.
“In addition to continuing New York’s momentum, the BBH USA leadership trio will be charged with leveraging BBH LA’s rapidly growing brand entertainment expertise,” said Munn.
“I’m excited to continue to partner with Rafa and Tom to lead this incredible team of black sheep in New York and Los Angeles as well as our entertainment team,” said Duncan. “At BBH, we’re dedicated to delivering powerful and culturally relevant creative that breaks ground for the most recognized brands in the world.”
Duncan added, “Through BBH Entertainment, we’re focused on building out first-of-its-kind branded entertainment formats for our streaming and network partners.”
“If there’s one thing you can’t manufacture in this industry, it is momentum,” said Rizuto. “John Hegarty famously said that ‘all roads lead to the work.’ We took that to heart. The work we’ve recently produced is the catalyst of this incredible momentum. I couldn’t be more excited to be adding the mighty BBH Entertainment capability to our toolbox.”
“By uniting strategy, creative and account services together, BBH has always been an agency defined by a singular and surprising approach to the way we work, and it continues to attract the best talent in the industry,” said Callard. “Rafa, Amani and I are so excited to embark on this new chapter as we unite our New York and Los Angeles teams.”
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More