Sam Renbarger, formerly of Pereira & O’Dell in San Francisco, has joined DDB San Francisco, part of Omnicom Group Inc., as group strategy director working on Symantec and Energy Upgrade California, both of which recently expanded their respective relationships with the agency.
Eric Zuncic, chief strategy officer, DDB North America, said, “Sam was a young star at DDB when he first started out and has gone on to do jealousy-inducing work since then, so we’re thrilled to have him back. His ability to manage the interconnected ecosystems of brands without losing sight of the big picture is impressive and we’re thrilled to have him overseeing these fast-growing partners.”
At Pereira & O’Dell, Renbarger led strategy for eBay, Netflix and Concordia University. Most recently, he was part of the agency team that pitched and won the MINI Cooper account. Before that, he led strategy on Heat San Francisco’s marquee Electronic Arts account and helped develop award-winning work for Madden. Before moving to the Bay area, Renbarger worked at Mullen across two offices, where he led Google, JetBlue and Acura. Renbarger started his career at DDB Los Angeles in 2007 and spent three years working on Activision, Wells Fargo, and Southern California Edison.
“I have built my career on joining agencies right before major upswings. I’m arriving at DDB at a time where there is significant momentum across the network, and I’m eager to bring this same strategic firepower to San Francisco,” Renbarger said about his new role. “Returning to the place I started my career is icing on the cake. I can’t wait to apply techniques I’ve learned at other shops to supercharge our San Francisco creative product and continue to build on the current momentum.”
Renbarger is the latest in a string of hires DDB San Francisco has made recently. In January the agency announced the arrival of Ben Wolan as executive creative director and in March the appointment of Whitney Ball to SVP, head of talent.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More