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.”
FireAid Concert Features Major Music Stars, Shares Stories Of Loss To Raise Money For L.A. Wildfire Relief
Pop stars, first responders, rock stars and those who've lost everything in the devastating LA-area wildfires came together for FireAid, a massive benefit concert Thursday that combined spectacular performances with moving storytelling from survivors and reminders of the destruction.
In a night full of surprises, a reunion of Nirvana — fronted by St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Joan Jett in the place of the late Kurt Cobain — tops the list. They launched into "Breed," "School" and "Territorial Pissings" respectively, inspired and unexpected choices.
Drummer Dave Grohl's daughter, Violet, then emerged on stage for "All Apologies."
Closer Lady Gaga, after powering through the Oscar-award winning "Shallow" and "Always Remember Us This Way" from "A Star Is Born," played a new song on the piano. "It's just for tonight, it's just for you," she said of the song she wrote with fiancé businessman Michael Polansky. "Time is a healer."
"All I need is time," she sang in the folk-y pop chorus. "To heal my broken wings and then I'll soar."
Green Day kicked off the massive show by launching into "Last Night on Earth" at the Kia Forum and were soon joined by Billie Eilish for the first surprise of the night. The lyrics are surprisingly astute: "If I lose everything in the fire / I'm sending all my love to you."
After their set, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong hugged actor Billy Crystal, who was there to welcome to the crowd at the Kia Forum.
"Our goal is simple tonight, to spend more money than the Dodgers spent on free agents," he joked. He told the audience U2 offered the first big donation of the night: $1 million dollars.
Crystal said he was wearing the clothes he had on when he evacuated. He lost his home in... Read More