Backyard Productions, headquartered in Venice, has extended its reach internationally, launching a full-service office in Cape Town, South Africa. Dubbed Backyard SA, the new venture is a partnership with veteran executive producer Janette De Villiers who will act as the company’s managing director and will continue to separately maintain Groundglass, her South African production service company.
Groundglass has produced hundreds of international jobs over the years, including many for Backyard. Backyard SA will offer Backyard’s director roster to the South African advertising community and will serve as a resource for American advertisers wanting to shoot overseas.
“We’re partnering with a like- minded person in Janette,” said Blair Stribley, Backyard’s president/partner. “She has the personality and energy that fits right in with the Backyard brand, and Janette is known internationally for her exceptional production track record. This move gives our clients a great alternative location to consider shooting.”
De Villiers said of introducing Backyard’s roster to South Africa, “Creatively, they’re a very good fit for this market. More and more American advertisers want to shoot here and now they can with a trusted brand.”
In recent years, Backyard has gotten a lot of interest from clients considering production in South Africa which offers diverse locations, top-level crews, a deep acting pool and a very production-friendly environment. Plus, U.S. advertising dollars stretch further with the value of the dollar against the Rand.
FCB Stays Atop The One Club’s Year-End Global Creative Rankings
FCB ended the year repeating its top positions in The One Club for Creativity’s Global Creative Rankings, with FCB New York again crowned Global Agency of the Year and FCB Global finishing as Agency Network of the Year for 2024.
The annual worldwide benchmark report is a comprehensive ranking of agencies, brands, countries, and individuals based on points earned from winning entries in The One Club’s eight global, regional, and local awards shows: The One Show 2024, ADC 103rd Annual Awards, Type Directors Club TDC70 competition, Art Directors Club of Europe ADCE Awards 2024, ONE Asia Creative Awards 2024, and The One Club Denver, San Diego, and Miami chapter 2024 awards programs.
“The Global Creative Rankings is the industry’s most comprehensive and transparent ranking,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “There are no secret weightings in calculating the rankings, and unlike others, it’s not hidden behind a paywall. As the industry’s foremost nonprofit organization for the global creative community, The One Club is in a unique position to provide this free, definitive measure for global creative excellence to everyone in the industry.”
Highlights of the Global Creative Rankings 2024 are below.
Global Agency Rankings
FCB New York
Rethink Toronto
McCann New York
TBWAMedia Arts Lab Los Angeles
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Dentsu Inc. Tokyo
FCB Chicago
Marcel Paris
VML New York
Ogilvy PR New York, Publicis Conseil Paris (tie)
Independent Agency Rankings
Rethink Toronto
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Wieden+Kennedy Portland
Brand-Side Agency... Read More