The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) elected Tony Pace, global chief marketing officer at Subway, as its new chairperson and Marc S. Pritchard, chief brand officer at The Procter & Gamble Co., as vice chair. In addition, 10 new marketing executives were elected to the board of directors. The officers and board members were approved by the ANA membership at its annual conference held in Orlando, Florida, from October 15-18.
The new members of the ANA Board are: Debra Berman, senior vice president, marketing at JCPenney; Roel de Vries, corporate vice president, global head of marketing, communication and brand strategy at Nissan Motor Co.; Natalia Franco, executive vice president, chief strategy and brand officer at California Pizza Kitchen, Inc.; Jack Haber, vice president, global advertising and digital at Colgate-Palmolive Co.; Jack Hollis, vice president, marketing at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.; Gerald E. Johnson II, chief diversity officer and senior vice president, marketing, stroke and multicultural at The American Heart Association; Kristin Lemkau, chief marketing officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Chantel Lenard, director, U.S. marketing at Ford Motor Co.; Alison Lewis, chief marketing officer, consumer family of companies at Johnson & Johnson; and Rodney Williams, senior vice president, Moët Hennessy USA, LVMH Moët Hennessy
“We are excited to welcome our new directors to their role for the upcoming year, and sincerely thank our departing board members for their strong leadership,” said Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the ANA. “The industry knowledge and marketing expertise the ANA Board of Directors brings to its role will help guide the organization as we drive marketing excellence and leadership throughout the industry.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More