Corey Bartha, director of integrated production at Publicis Seattle, will be assuming the same role effective January 22 at Wonderful Agency, The Wonderful Company’s in-house, full-service advertising and marketing agency. Bartha follows recent hire Amber Justis, who stepped into the new position of executive creative director at Wonderful Agency last month. Both will report to agency chief creative officer Darren Moran. Bartha will oversee all content production, including video, print, social, activation, and experiential, while Justis will help manage and direct the creative work across all Wonderful products, including Wonderful Pistachios and Wonderful Halos. An award-winning producer who has worked at shops like Ground Zero, Ogilvy and CP+B, Bartha has also held various top production positions at Wieden + Kennedy, including the head of integrated production roles in both the U.S. and Amsterdam. He moved in-house in 2014 to head up all production at Quiksilver before joining Publicis in his current role in 2015. Bartha’s noted commercials and activations range from big Super Bowl Spots like Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” and T-Mobile’s “Drake,” to hilarious culture-driving work like the Old Spice Isaiah Mustafa spots and the Dodge Durango Ron Burgundy films, to category-shattering brand launches like Dodge Dart’s “How to Change Cars Forever” and Virgin Cola’s arrival in the U.S. Justis meanwhile is an Emmy nominated creative director with over 19 years of experience on famous global campaigns. She created the “Evolution of Barbie” work while at BBDO San Francisco, which introduced a new line of dolls of varying body types and skin tones to the world. The campaign garnered numerous industry accolades and snagged a Time Magazine cover story declaring “Barbie was back.” Prior to joining BBDO, Justis held creative roles with Facebook, AKQA, Mekanism, Eleven, FCB, Ogilvy, Huge and Cliff Freeman, earning numerous awards including Cannes Lions, Clios, One Show and D&AD for clients like American Express, Cotton, Motorola, MTV, Trojan, Bravo, and Kodak.
Since opening its third office, in Chicago in 2016, Carbon–which also has operations in NY and L.A.–continues to elevate its standing in the Midwest market by acquiring the brands Filmworkers Chicago and Vitamin. Among those joining Carbon are industry mainstays Rob Churchill and Danny DelPurgatorio, both bringing with them a depth of talent and knowledge of the market that comes with the many years of experience they have heading up Filmworkers and Vitamin, respectively. Carbon is a full-service creative studio specializing in design, color, visual effects and motion graphics. Carbon is part of the Whitehouse Post community of companies. Whitehouse maintains production and finishing partnerships with sister companies Cap Gun Collective and Carbon VFX, as well as with design-driven production company Gentleman Scholar….
Oscar and Emmy-Winning Composer Kris Bowers Joins Barking Owl For Advertising, Branded Content
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowers’ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, “His artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, “Kris first caught my attention when he released his record ‘Heroes + Misfits’ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More