HiFi Project–headed by three partners, creative director Paul Robb and EPs Birgit Roberts and Jack Bradley–has expanded its boutique Santa Monica shop into a bicoastal operation, opening a studio in NYC staffed by newly hired exec producer Andrea Minze and composer Robert Di Pietro.
Robb noted that while HiFi planted its roots in L.A., "We've always had our eyes on other large markets. It is important to us, however, that we grow in a way that fully supports the long-term health of the company. More importantly, in a way that lends itself to garnering the highest quality talent available. We had a plan. We wanted to grow smartly, not just quickly. By adding East Coast partner Jack Bradley, and then pausing to set up a second shop in Minneapolis, we feel we now have the momentum necessary to take on the advertising mecca of Manhattan."
HiFi's first item of business in New York was putting the right team in place. Enter Minze, previously the head of creative/music supervisor at Tonic Music in London, following a seven-year stint as agency creative at GSD&M. Minze has worked on projects with notable recording artists like Alabama Shakes, Johnny Jewel, SBTRKT, and The Rolling Stones as well as such notable brands as BMW, AT&T, Nike, Dior, Axe, Dell, Kohler, Bacardi, and VW.
"Jack and I were both agency producers before jumping into the music world," noted Roberts. "Our similar backgrounds, our common understanding of how commercial production works, was the first thing that drew us to Andrea. When you look at what she has accomplished as a music supervisor and producer, and you speak to her about her belief in music, building relationships and how it all has the power to push us beyond the status quo, there is no question she is the perfect fit to help lead this team."
Minze recalled, "I met Birgit on my very last production as a copywriter in advertising. We hit it off immediately. Fast-forward a few years and I was lucky enough to meet the rest of the team, and I knew it would be a great fit."
The other half of the Big Apple team is composer and multi-instrumentalist Robert Di Pietro. DP, as he is probably better known, has shared the stage and recorded with big name artists like Norah Jones, Josh Rouse, Jesse Harris, Elysian Fields, Ursa Minor, and Vanessa Carlton. Di Pietro has performed on Letterman, Leno, Conan, The Today Show and Live From Abbey Road. He made an appearance in Seth MacFarlane's TED and helped score Matthew Barney's cult film Cremaster 4. He has composed music on national campaigns for Best Buy, Mazda, Chevy, Tropicana, Wendy's, Macy's, and many others. Di Pietro has freelanced at such shops as Amber and The Lodge.
Hitting the ground running, HiFi New York's music can already be heard on campaigns for Saatchi, JWT, Digitas, Havas, mcgarrybowen, and McCann.
Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens
"Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — happen.
The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.
And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).
This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.
"'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."
As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More