Matt Collier and Wayne Robinson, formerly of CHI & Partners in London, have come aboard DDB Chicago as creative directors. The move reunites the creative team with Ewan Paterson, chief creative officer of DDB Chicago; the three had worked together at CHI & Partners.
At DDB Chicago, Collier and Robinson will be tasked with collaborating on ideas across the agency’s account roster. Over the years, they have done notable work for such clients as Shell, Nestle, 888.com, Toyota, Mazda, Kellogg’s, News International, Britvic, Tiger Beer, and Friends of the Earth. This year, Collier and Robinson were widely lauded for their Sunday Times “Rich List” print campaign which earned a coveted D&AD Yellow Pencil. Collier and Robinson have also been featured in D&AD each of the five years they worked at CHI & Partners, for five different clients.
Collier and Robinson join DDB Chicago on the heels of the agency winning Pepsi’s Sierra Mist account and following its recent win of several new Mars Chocolate and Wrigley brands, including Starburst®, Skittles®, Milky Way®, Combos® and Balisto® to be led out of Chicago.
The creative team is also the latest in a spate of new hires in the Chicago office as Paterson has reshaped the creative department over the past year. Among the talent that has recently joined the agency are Alex Braxton and Alistair Robertson as creative directors, Eric Johnson as executive producer of music and integration, Jonathan Sackett as chief digital officer and Azher Ahmed as director of digital operations.
Blaise Cepis Signs With Institute For Commercial and Artist Representation
Production company Institute has added director and photographer Blaise Cepis to its roster. Cepis marks Institute’s fourth dual signing to both its commercial directing and photography rosters, alongside Lauren Greenfield, Ray Neutron, and Thandiwe Muriu, cementing Institute’s multi-platform production expertise in delivering creative collaboration for clients.
Cepis is known for creating bright, absurd, subtly opulent, and surreal visuals in his work, which celebrates the exaggerated human condition and the unique traits that make people unforgettable. A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, he built his career as an art director at ad agencies including JWT, Mother, Sid Lee, and Orchard Creative, working on campaigns for brands such as Cadillac, Red Bull, PepsiCo, Absolut, and Smirnoff. He then spent nearly a decade making a name for himself as a freelance director and photographer, blending his advertising experience and background in fine art and design to create wholly original work. As a director/photographer, he has worked with brand clients including Calvin Klein, Adidas, Puma, Velveeta, Bombas, Chevrolet, Remy Martin, Impossible Foods, The New Yorker, NBC, and Vice. Prior to joining Institute, Cepis had been repped by artist management firm agency/production company DMB.
“Institute’s roster is brimming with exceptional, heavy-hitting talent, and I’m honored to join the ranks,” said Cepis. “As a director, being able to rally the team around an idea while earning the trust of our collaborators is my ultimate goal. Having the support of such an amazing team, with all of their experience and presence, feels great. I’m excited to get started.”
“Blaise is deeply, naturally talented,” said Tori Palmatier, managing... Read More