Ian Wharton has been appointed executive creative director of Publicis Sapient, the digital transformation hub of Publicis Groupe. Wharton joins the Publicis Groupe UK creative lineup in London led by Ben Mooge, chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe UK and forms part of Publicis Sapient’s Global Experience team, where he will drive design excellence and experience, with a focus on quality in craft.
The recently established Experience team at Publicis Sapient is led by chief experience officer and renowned Silicon Valley alum John Maeda, who was appointed by Publicis Groupe in June 2019. The team blends data, machine learning, and creativity to devise customer-centric experiences that deliver exceptional value to both clients and their customers. Wharton will play an integral role to help shape and integrate Publicis Sapient’s capabilities to best assist clients in their digital transformation efforts. Wharton will also work closely with Mooge, who took the role of CCO Publicis Groupe UK in June 2019.
Wharton joins Publicis Sapient following six years at AKQA where he served as part of the global creative leadership team. As a visionary digital native, he brings a wealth of experience in design, having worked for global clients such as Formula 1 and Volvo Cars, helping them to craft new products and brands for the digital age. His credentials also include being one of four founding partners of technology start-up Zolmo; leading the creative for Apple Design Award-winning apps developed in joint venture with Jamie Oliver–some of the top-grossing, highest-rated apps for iPhone and iPad with over 20-million downloads. During that time, Zolmo was honored by D&AD and The Webbys.
Wharton graduated best-in-class from university with short animated film Solar (2007) earning a Royal Television Society Award. He later joined visual effects company The Mill as an art director, designing commercials for Audi, EA and game trailers for Sony.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More