Denise Esterkyn joins shop as head of talent
Marla Ulrich and Denise Esterkyn have joined DDB San Francisco as, respectively, head of production and head of talent. Both Ulrich and Esterkyn become members of the leadership team at DDB S.F., a shop that’s part of Omnicom Group Inc.
Ulrich will be responsible for transforming and accelerating DDB S.F.’s production model. As head of production, she will oversee DDB S.F.’s integrated production team and manage the agency’s in-house production studio. Most recently, Ulrich was a creative producer for Anomaly on campaigns for Google and Budweiser, among others. In connection with DAVID The Agency, she produced Coca-Cola’s global broadcast campaign for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as well as a holiday spot for the brand.
Ulrich taps into a worldwide network of talent and artistic inspiration to create truly integrated, cross-disciplinary content. Known for shunning silos and traditional divisions of labor, Ulrich views each project holistically, integrating platforms, departments, continents and media. “In my experience, creative is only ever as good as the production,” Ulrich said. “I think it’s notable that a traditional agency is giving me the chance to lead their production department with a modern approach.”
Esterkyn will lead recruitment and oversee talent development for DDB S.F. She has a 20-year career in human resources and recruiting. Esterkyn has worked in San Francisco’s ad industry for the past 15 years (five of which were spent as an HR consultant for Bay Area agencies), Esterkyn is well known in the local creative community. Prior to that, she was the San Francisco director of the Miami Ad School, where she managed and grew the school’s reputation on the West Coast.
The hiring of Ulrich and Esterkyn follows DDB’s recent business momentum on the West Coast and advances president and CEO Todd Grantham’s plan to expand DDB San Francisco’s capabilities and talent. In July 2016, Grantham named Kevin Drew Davis chief creative officer of DDB San Francisco. Ulrich and Davis will work closely to design a production process that capitalizes on efficiency and maximizes creativity. Most recently, Energy Upgrade California selected the agency to be its lead marketing partner.
Davis said of Ulrich, “She’s worked in a variety of environments, from large-scale global productions to lean digital projects. Marla brings knowledge and a skill set to DDB that will integrate our production and creative capabilities even further.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More