Team One, Publicis Groupe’s fully integrated media, digital and communications agency for premium brands, has hired Kathy Hepinstall Parks as executive creative director. In a role specifically designed to focus on elevating the writing across all brands, Hepinstall Parks will apply her skills across all agency clients including Lexus, The Ritz-Carlton and Ste. Michelle Wines. She will report to Team One’s chief creative officer, Chris Graves, and work in partnership with the rest of the creative leadership team.
“Given our unique focus on premium and luxury brands, we recognize the emotional power of language,” said Graves. “Beyond just advertising to people, we’re looking to connect with them, and we think great writing is one of our most powerful tools. We’ve been looking to find someone who could help upgrade our writing overall, as well as influence and grow our younger talent. That person was Kathy.”
Based in Austin, Texas, Hepinstall Parks is a Los Angeles Times bestselling novelist (for “The Absence of Nectar”) and has spent the last few years freelancing for various agencies including Team One. Over the course of her career, she’s also worked at shops including Wieden + Kennedy (Portland, New York and London), 72andSunny, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Saatchi and Saatchi, BBDO, Giant Spoon, TBWAChiatDay, The Martin Agency and Indeed.com. She’s been active across major brand accounts including H&M, Target, Nike, Lexus, Starbucks, American Express, and Uber. Hepinstall Parks has also published eight novels and is co-founder of The Clyde Program, a writing program she started with fellow advertising creative Abigail Hogue.
“Team One’s approach to creative hires is going to be the new model in the next few years. I never received an offer quite like this one–literally created around the way I work most effectively and most happily. And the chance to work for Chris Graves–one of my best friends–was icing on the cake, even though I try to follow a keto diet,” said Hepinstall Parks.
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