Saatchi & Saatchi LA has hired industry veteran Jason Schragger as chief creative officer, a newly formed role at the shop which for more than 30 years has been the agency of record for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. A native of Zimbabwe, Schragger, 40, comes to Saatchi LA after amassing nearly two decades of experience, including extensive work in the automotive space for Ford, Mercedes, BMW Mini, Mitsubishi and Nissan in several parts of the world. He also has amassed a broad range of experience not related to the automobile industry, with hands-on creative oversight for global brands as diverse as adidas, HSBC, and Johnnie Walker.
After landing his first executive creative director post at 27 years of age at Lowe and Partners in Singapore, for whom he captured a Cannes Gold Lion for work on the IKEA account, Schragger also held similar posts at StrawberryFrog, BSUR and Plantage before joining the TBWA family, where he remained until his appointment at Saatchi LA. He had most recently been a Berlin-based global creative director for TBWAChiatDay.
The creation of the Saatchi LA CCO position took shape in December 2013, when Toyota announced a more cohesive marketing approach to paid, earned and owned media–whereby previously separate agencies were placed into a total market model referred to as Total Toyota or T2.
Saatchi LA was selected to spearhead the new model, which also includes four other agencies with existing, well-established Toyota partnerships.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More