Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B) has made six hires in its Miami creative department: creative directors Tim Wettstein and Kostas Karanikolas, associate creative directors Rick Abbott and Matt Orser, art director Eli Perez de Gracia, and copywriter Elena Romeu.
Wettstein comes over from JWT where he was group creative director overseeing clients such as Jiffy Lube, Pennzoil, FEMA, Scana Energy and US Virgin Islands. Prior to that, he was as an associate creative director at BBDO, where he produced integrated campaigns for clients like AT&T, Gillette, PETA and Autism Speaks. His work has been awarded at the AICP Next Awards, Cannes, The Clio Awards, D&AD, LIAA, One Show and Effie Awards.
Karanikolas joins CP+B from a freelancing gig at BBDO, where for more than a year he served as a digital creative director on the P&G/Gillette global account, and led the K.I.S.S. and The City Is Your Gym campaigns.
Abbott had been at RP& (a division of RPA) in LA where he was a sr. writer. Prior to that, he spent time at Sapient Nitro, JWT and BBDO, working on clients like M&M’s, Jet Blue, Smirnoff, AT&T, Pepsi, Visa, Macy’s, Fiat, Dodge, Chrysler, vitaminwater and Acura.
Orser joins CP+B from RPA where he was associate creative director on Farmers and Acura. Prior to that, he freelanced for more than three years at various shops including BBDO and 180LA. He also held long stints at La Comunidad, working on MTV, VH1 and Volkswagen; Carmichael Lynch, working on Harley Davidson, Porsche and Rapala; and Leo Burnett, where his work on the Tampax account resulted in a Gold Lion at Cannes.
Perez de Gracia is a former creative intern at CP+B, returning to the agency after a two and a half year stint at Mullen where she worked on Google, Zappos, Jetblue, Panera Bread, Planet Fitness and Nook Color.
Romeu also comes to CP+B from Mullen, where she spent three years working on JetBlue, Zappos.com, Google Play, Google Apps for Small Business, Grain Foods Foundation and Benjamin Moore.
Executive creative director Bob Winter heads CP+B’s creative department in Miami.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More