The leaders from the RingSide Creative/Cutters Studios creative collective announced that the postproduction activities of RingSide will operate as Cutters Studios Detroit. This development is aimed at serving its clients more efficiently and increasing synergy across its creative services. In conjunction with the debut of Cutters Studios Detroit, its CEO Steve Wild and partner, Chicago based Cutters, Inc. CEO Tim McGuire, also welcomed Kurt Kulas to serve as managing director.
Kulas was most recently the managing partner for international production consultancy Admaniax. His experience includes five years as director of content development for Campbell Ewald, more than 20 years with Doner culminating in the role of director of integrated production, and another four years in a similar leadership capacity with Young & Rubicam. Leading production departments often consisting of more than 60 staff members across multiple agencies, Kulas has produced creative content spanning the full range of brand experiences, on locations from Borneo to Costa Rica, London, New Zealand and beyond. His client credits include 7-Eleven, British Petroleum, Cadillac, Chiquita Bananas, Chrysler, Del Taco, Detroit Zoo, Lowes, Lincoln, Mazda, Pennzoil, PNC Bank, Ralph Lauren and most recently, Experian, OnStar, USAA, and the U.S. Navy.
“Kurt has very often been our client, so naturally, he knows what makes our clients tick, what they need from us, what works and what doesn’t,” McGuire began. “His background as a producer, executive producer and head of production will bring greater insight about our clients’ needs than we have ever had here in the past.”
“Across its studios, Cutters offers the ability to encompass a campaign with all the marketing components under one roof,” Kulas said. “That’s something I and many others find very attractive. The fewer production partners clients need to manage their work, the more synergy that work often has.” Asked about the main draw at Cutters Studios, he quickly confirmed, “It’s the talent.”
Changes Afoot For Cannes Lions 2025, Including Increasing Festival Access For Underserved Communities
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is putting plans in motion for its 72nd edition, set to take place from June 16-20, 2025 in Cannes, France. The Festival has announced that it will double funding to provide €2m (some $2,150,000) worth of complimentary passes to underrepresented talent and underserved communities through its Equity, Representation and Accessibility (ERA) Pass, returning for a second year.
Frank Starling, chief DEI officer, Lions, said the increased investment was “crucial to continue to drive progress for both Cannes Lions and the industry.” Starling added, “The ERA pass plays an important role in fostering a global representation of talent within the creative communications industry at Cannes Lions, and to date our funded opportunities have reached creatives in 46 countries globally. With the Festival being the destination for everyone in the business of creativity, we recognize the importance of creating equitable access to it, and this is why we’re prioritizing increased representation from the Global South to support a greater range of voices and perspectives from the region at the Festival.” Applications for the ERA pass are open now and close on December 5, 2025. More details can be found here.
With submissions into the Cannes Lions Awards opening on January 16, 2025, innovations to the Awards have also been announced today. Glass: The Lion for Change celebrates 10 years since its introduction. The Glass Lion was launched to champion work that used creativity to drive a shift towards more positive, progressive and gender-aware communication, and Marian Brannelly, global... Read More