Ronald Ng, the chief creative officer of BBDO/Proximity Malaysia, will be relocating to BBDO New York to serve as executive VP/executive creative director. In his new role, which he will start in December, Ng will work closely with Bill Bruce, chairman/chief creative officer, BBDO New York, and David Lubars, chairman/chief creative officer, BBDO North America.
Since joining BBDO/Proximity Malaysia in 2004, Ng has helped steadily improve that agency’s creative reputation. For example, this year, The Won Report ranked BBDO/Proximity Malaysia the 13th most awarded agency globally and its HELP “Wheelchair” campaign the sixth most awarded “Innovative and Alternative Media” campaign in the world. More recently, the agency’s print and poster efforts for Jeep won the Grand Prix at the CLIO Awards as well as Gold Lions at Cannes and Pencils at the One Show and D&AD Awards. BBDO/Proximity Malaysia was also the top-performing agency across all disciplines at last year’s Asian Kancil Awards and the number one shop at the Direct Marketing Awards of Malaysia. BBDO/Proximity also walked off with Gold at the Asian Marketing and Effectiveness Awards.
“This is a great example of leveraging the outstanding talent we have across our network to ensure we are delivering the most compelling commercial content for our clients in every corner of the world,” said David Lubars, adding, “Ronald’s digital background did not escape us and was especially attractive.”
Ng joins Greg Hahn, Jack Neary, Don Schneider and Mike Smith as BBDO New York’s executive creative directors.
At BBDO/Proximity Malaysia, Ng will be succeeded by Mun Tuck Wai, currently executive creative director at the agency.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More