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.
Directing and Editing “Conclave”; Insights From Edward Berger and Nick Emerson
It’s been a bruising election year but this time we’re referring to a ballot box struggle that’s more adult than the one you’d typically first think of in 2024. Rather, on the industry awards front, the election being cited is that of the Pope which takes front and center stage in director Edward Berger’s Conclave (Focus Features), based on the 2016 novel of the same title by Robert Harris. Adapted by screenwriter Peter Straugham, Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal leading the conclave that has convened to select the next Pope. While part political thriller, full of backstabbing and behind-closed-door machinations, Conclave also registers as a thoughtful adult drama dealing with themes such as a crisis of faith, weighing the greater good, and engaging in a struggle that’s as much about spirituality as the attainment of power.
Conclave is Berger’s first feature after his heralded All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of four Oscars in 2023, including for Best International Feature Film. And while Conclave would on the surface seem to be quite a departure from that World War I drama, there’s a shared bond of humanity which courses through both films.
For Berger, the heightened awareness of humanity hit home for him by virtue of where he was--in Rome, primarily at the famed Cinecittà studio--to shoot Conclave, sans any involvement from the Vatican. He recalled waking up in Rome to “soak up” the city. While having his morning espresso, Berger recollected looking out a window and seeing a priest walking about with a cigarette in his mouth, a nun having a cup of coffee, an archbishop carrying a briefcase. It dawned on Berger that these were just people going to... Read More