TBWAChiatDay LA has promoted Courtney Nelson to president. She will collaborate closely with TBWAChiatDay U.S. CEO Erin Riley and work in tandem with leadership in New York and Nashville.
This elevation coincides with a period of remarkable momentum for the L.A. agency with multiple new business wins including Sephora, Jack in the Box and a soon-to-be-announced fashion brand. In addition to adding consumer facing brands, the agency also welcomed two new complex business brands into its portfolio by leaning into its strong B2B credentials.
In her new role as president, Nelson will oversee the agency’s overall performance, growth and strategic direction while ensuring the shop continues to push creative boundaries. She will act as key liaison for client partners and continue to drive the expansion of key products and offerings such as Design x Disruption (DXD), PLEX, and more.
“As a leader, one of the greatest joys is seeing good, smart people thrive, and that is certainly the case with Courtney,” said Riley. “Her journey has equipped her with a deep respect for illuminating strategy and the highest standard for creative excellence. It is that keen perspective that has made her an important contributor to our current success and the perfect leader to continually up our game. I am so grateful that the two of us have an opportunity to grow into new roles, but stay working together at an agency we love.”
Nelson joined TBWAChiatDay in 2021 as managing director, bringing with her two decades of experience working for agencies such as Wieden+Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, and Deutsch. She has helped build many brands including Nike, Instagram, Levi’s, P&G and General Motors. Originally trained on Disruption while at TBWAChiatDay from 2005-2008, she embodies a career-long commitment to the potent combination of strategy and creativity.
“I have always been deeply passionate about creativity and the idea of Disruption, so in many ways, coming back to Chiat felt like coming home,” said Nelson. “To be given the honor to lead this agency alongside the many talented people here fills me with immense pride. I’m excited to take our agency and creativity to the next level.”
The promotion of Nelson, in conjunction with Riley’s appointment as U.S. CEO, underscores TBWA’s collective commitment to nurturing and recognizing the most senior women within its ranks.
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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