Alex Dobson has been named creative strategy lead, U.S., for The&Partnership. Dobson, who joined the agency in 2019, previously served as strategy director and has played a pivotal role in the global success of the firm’s Mars account, overseeing high-profile campaigns for brands including Skittles, Snickers and Extra Gum. Since joining The&Partnership, Dobson has helped lead the way on Mars’ addressable strategy, social content and purpose-led campaigns, enabling the company’s brands to forge stronger connections with their consumers. This includes developing the strategy behind the 2023 Gold Effie-winning “Everyone’s Original” campaign for Ben’s Original – the brand’s first campaign following its rebrand from Uncle Ben’s. Most recently, Dobson oversaw strategy on global Halloween TV campaigns for Twix and M&Ms. Other campaign highlights include the launch of Skittles’ “Squishy Cloudz,” the brand’s first-ever gummy confection, and the Snickers’ “Go Full Fan” campaign in support of England’s Lionesses, the country’s national women’s soccer team during the team’s run to the Euro 2022 championship. Dobson also played a key role in driving sales for Extra White gum up by more than 30 percent through the “Every Smile Should Shine” campaign. In his new role, Dobson will lead the U.S. creative strategy Team, working with the firm’s media agency, mSix&Partners, to bring more data-informed content strategies to clients. Along with client work, he will guide the agency’s implementation of AI tools throughout the agency’s work. Prior to joining The&Partnership, Dobson was a sr. strategist at Grey London, working with client Nomad Foods. Earlier at Bow&Arrow (now part of Accenture Song), he developed strategy for clients including Dow Jones and Google….
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More