Laughlin Constable (LC) has hired John “Max” Maxham as its chief creative officer. Maxham joins LC from DDB Chicago, where he spent the past six years as CCO. Prior to joining DDB, he was ECD for Seattle-based agency Cole & Weber.
Maxham joins LC at a time when brands are increasingly looking at independent agencies for partnership. “In today’s hyper competitive marketing world, you need the best talent to succeed. It says a lot about the agency we’ve built that someone of John’s caliber has decided to join our team,” said Mat Lignel, CEO and president of Laughlin Constable. “He has a unique talent and I know he will make a difference both for LC and for our client partners.”
Maxham secured multiple AOR client relationships for DDB Chicago since joining in 2014, including Jeep, US Army, Kohler, Symantec, Jiffy Lube, and Miller Lite.
Over the course of his career, Maxham’s work has been recognized at top international award shows including Cannes Lions, One Show, Clio Awards and Effies. Maxham has led the creative teams behind some of the most talked-about campaigns in recent years, including Skittles’ “Broadway the Rainbow,” “Jurassic Jeep,” Capital One NCAA, McDonald’s “Lovin’ The Super Bowl” and State Farm’s “She Shed.” He has experience in a broad range of industries including consumer products, auto, retail and technology.
“Laughlin Constable is part of a rising group of Midwest independents that are making serious waves in the industry. I was drawn to them because of their people, pedigree and a distinct culture, which I loved,” said Maxham. “I wanted to shift to a place where I could not only shape the creative work, but help guide the destiny of an agency. That’s the kind of freedom that holding companies don’t often permit, and that is what’s so compelling about this opportunity with LC.”
Maxham will continue to be based in Chicago while spending time between both Laughlin’s Chicago and Milwaukee offices.
“We’re in the business of not only doing great work, but also building a great agency. John will be a great mentor for the creative team and beyond,” Lignel said.
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