Richard Denney has joined London-based indie creative agency St. Luke’s as executive creative director. He will work closely with Alan Young and Julian Vizard across St. Luke’s portfolio of clients–which includes Heineken, Very.co.uk and Aunt Bessie’s–with the aim of Denney leading and running his own accounts as the agency grows. Young, the current ECD, will take on the role of chief creative officer/owner. Vizard is creative partner/owner.
In a career spanning 21 years, including stints at RKCR/Y&R, Saatchi and Saatchi, DDB London, Denney was most recently ECD at MullenLowe London, which was named most effective UK Agency of the Year at the inaugural UK Effies in 2016 and again in 2017. He has also won multiple awards including Golds at Cannes, British Arrows, Creative Circle, Campaign Big Awards, Clios and UK Effie Golds.
Toward the end of Netflix's "Joy," the muffled cry of a newborn baby prompts a man and woman in a hospital to embrace out of pure bliss. They aren't the parents, but they had as much to do with the birth as the mom and dad.
This charming and winning movie charts the decade-long true story of how the world's first IVF baby was born in England in 1978 — a 5-pound, 12-ounce girl who paved the way for millions more. It's an upbeat, very English affair, mixing sober discussion of endometriosis with chocolate biscuits.
The couple embracing that day were pioneering scientist Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist. Together with surgeon Patrick Steptoe, the trio succeeded with in vitro fertilization, a method of treating infertility. Edwards would go on to win the Nobel Prize.
"Joy" has been birthed at a time when science is under threat in America — even IVF — so it's downright inspiring to see plucky, smart scientists working hard to change the world. "What we're doing, it matters," says Steptoe, played with quiet economy by Bill Nighy.
"Joy" is the personal stories of the three scientists — mostly through the eyes of Purdy, a polite lab-coated warrior. "If I hear a commotion, I'm not very good at staying out of it," she says. Perfectly played by Thomasin McKenzie, Purdy is both vulnerable and strong, learning through the process to be a better human. James Norton plays Edwards with charm, self-doubt and calm spirit.
Jack Thorne's script nicely explains the massive pressure the trio faced. IVF may have become common and uncontroversial over the last decades, but back in the late '70s it was experimental and shunned. The Anglican church called it a sin, the newspapers labeled it Frankenstein-ish and other... Read More
