TBWALondon has hired multi-award-winning producer Melody Sylvester as chief production officer. Sylvester will work in partnership with chief creative officer Andy Jex and form part of the senior leadership team.
By embedding production into the start of the creative process, Sylvester and Jex will elevate the process and the output. Tasked with creating integrated creative production teams that can work across any area of the creative process, she will utilize her established relationships to build creative partnerships in London and across the global network.
With more than 25 years in the creative industry, Sylvester has worked at a wide range of creative agencies and production companies including Mother, Nexus and Ridley Scott Associates. Over that time she has produced for award-winning directors Smith & Foulkes and Shynola.
She joins the TBWA team from House 337 (formerly Engine) where as head of film, she managed Sky, Warburtons, Money Supermarket, Churchill and Green Flag. Engine had a long-established relationship with charities Born Free, Women’s Aid and Alzheimer’s Society.
Sylvester while at Engine led the production team behind landmark work for The Kiyan Prince Foundation, which raised huge amounts of donations and awareness for the youth work of Dr Mark Prince OBE. The anti-knife crime campaign garnered a Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix for Engine in June 2022.
Sylvester strives for inclusivity within ad land and champions emerging talent in front of and behind the camera. She has recently chaired the inaugural jury for The Young Arrows Awards for Emerging Talent that took place at the BFI this month. She is committed to supporting young people in the workplace and providing them with real opportunities within the industry.
Sylvester said, “I have long held the belief that production requires a seat at the leadership table. It makes for better creative output and a more rewarding experience for all of those involved from the client to the on-set runner. Larissa [Vance, TBWA London CEO], Andy and I share a love of making great work and I am super excited to be working with them and the entire leadership team at Bankside. Their ethos of ‘disruption’ resonates with me completely. Can’t wait to get started.
Jex noted, “The partnership between creative and production is fundamental to making great work. Clients spend so much money on production but don’t ever get to talk to a producer. Melody will allow us to create properly integrated production teams that are as comfortable doing agency production as they are line production. Her track record on campaigns such as the Kiyan Prince shows that if you take a different approach to production you can create something totally new and exceptional.”
CEO Vance added, “If there was anyone who personifies our reclaimed version of Disruption, it is Melody–an absolute force in the industry who constantly strives to do things differently and do things better.”
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More