David&Goliath (D&G) has hired Josh Miller as executive creative director and promoted Michele Tebbe to chief marketing officer. Both will report to David Angelo, D&G founder and chairman.
Miller’s primary responsibilities include helping to manage the creative department, mentoring new talent, and looking for opportunities to continually optimize in-house production capabilities. He will oversee creative for clients including the California Lottery and Auto–Owners Insurance.
Miller joins D&G from HUMONGOUS Productions where he served as creative director producing ads for brands including Klondike Ice Cream, General Mills, The Jewish Federation, and the Bronx Zoo, as well as directing music videos and a branded series on Comedy Central called Handy. Prior to that he worked at B-Reel Films as commercial and content film director on brands such as Dell Computers and Red Bull. His career in advertising includes posts at Team One as co-creative director, Cliff Freeman & Partners in New York as VP and group creative director, and stints at Hampel Stefanides, and Kirshenbaum, Bond & Partners (now KBS). Over his expansive ad career he worked with brands such as Lexus, Sauza, Hornitos Tequila, Staples, XBOX, UPS and Apple, and received industry awards including One Show, British D&AD, and Art Directors Club recognition.
Miller shared, “I feel like my career has come full circle, working with David again after all these years since our early days at Cliff Freeman & Partners. As a writer and creative director who has spent many years directing commercials and branded entertainment, I don’t have the most conventional resumé. Lucky for me, David and his agency David&Goliath don’t put a lot of stock in convention. I love the environment and culture he’s created, and I genuinely enjoy going to work each day, and being surrounded by people who are so much smarter, more talented and interesting than I am!”
Michele Tebbe
Tebbe has been with D&G since September 2014 when she led the new business pitch and eventual win for Jack in the Box. She then went on to lead the Jack in the Box account for two years as group account director before taking on a role as managing director of strategic partnerships responsible for new business development. She served in that capacity immediately prior to her new promotion to CMO. Tebbe will lead the growth and nurturing of the D&G brand including development of new business, amplifying agency culture and fostering new client relationships.
Tebbe’s previous agency experience includes group account director and management supervisor at TBWA/Chiat/Day, account director at 180LA and account supervisor at FCB Global. She has worked across a number of brand categories with accounts including Nissan, CVS, Singapore Airlines, Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, Bare Essentials, and Sony.
Angelo said, “Michele brings an unbridled commitment to our agency culture and brand. Not because it’s a job but because she is a challenger herself. And she doesn’t stop at the doors of our agency, she is always thinking of new and different ways to help challenger brands step into their greatness. That is why we felt there is no better person to represent the authenticity and might of the D&G brand.”
Angelo said of ECD Miller, “Prior to D&G, Josh and I worked together and traveled the world creating a number of campaigns including a global campaign for Fanta. His big thinking, overall production expertise as a director and challenger mindset makes him the ideal creative leader for our brand as we move into the next decade.”
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