Matt Eastwood has been named global chief creative officer of McCann Health. Eastwood, most recently worldwide chief creative officer at J. Walter Thompson Co., brings a track record of all-around creative leadership to a growing health and wellness industry sector where both consumer and professional communications are increasingly embracing the global and digital expertise shared by all marketers.
Eastwood joins a McCann Health network that has been recognized as a global creative leader. In 2017, it won an unprecedented total of three Network of the Year titles from three top creative award shows–at the Clio Health awards, at the London International Awards, and for the second year in a row at the Cannes Lions Health Awards.
Eastwood’s career has spanned numerous agencies, specialties and countries, including Australia, the U.K. and U.S. He has been executive creative director at M&C Saatchi both in Melbourne and London before moving to the U.S. as chief creative officer at Y&R New York. He then moved to Sydney as DDB’s vice chairman and national creative director in Australia and then joined DDB New York as chief creative officer before leaving for JWT in 2014. In 2016, he led JWT to an historic year at Cannes, winning a total of 80 Lions, more than the agency had ever won in its 150-year history.
Rob Reilly, global creative chairman of McCann Worldgroup, said of Eastwood, “He is exactly the kind of global creative leader we need at this moment to continue McCann Health’s growth and commitment to do meaningful work for our brand partners.”
John Cahill, global CEO of McCann Health, observed, “Our health, wellness, and pharma clients across the board are increasingly looking at a changing landscape in which Matt’s broad background and sterling creative reputation will be of great relevance and value. The challenges and opportunities they are facing are consistent with those running across all of marketing, including the more empowered health consumer, the evolving health delivery system, and the growing influence of data-led marketing.”
Eastwood stated, “I’ve been impressed for some time with the creative renaissance that Rob Reilly and his teams have brought to all of McCann Worldgroup. And like many in the business, I’ve been especially aware of some of the outstanding and meaningful creative work that McCann Health in particular has been doing around the world befitting their reputation as one of the world’s most awarded global healthcare communications companies.”
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More