Multicultural marketing vet comes over from LatinWorks
Spike DDB, part of Omnicom Group, has brought Victor Paredes on board as managing director. Paredes will lead the agency in partnership with Dabo Ché, sr. VP, executive creative director. Paredes’ role will also include spearheading new business and overseeing clients including Cadillac and Chevrolet. He will report to Spike Lee, CEO and chief creative officer.
“Victor is a multicultural visionary in the marketing space and brings with him inspiring strategic insights as well as expertise in activating across platforms,” said Lee.
In the multicultural marketing world Paredes has been an integral part of managing brands such as Bud Light, McDonald’s, Heineken, Johnnie Walker and MasterCard. Prior to joining Spike DDB, Paredes served as sr. VP, strategic business development at LatinWorks (Austin) where he was responsible for leading and sourcing organic and new business growth. Earlier at LatinWorks, he was VP and responsible for overseeing brands including Jamba Juice, Kimberly-Clarke, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Marshall’s and PepsiCo.
“I am excited to be joining a team that continues to build a strong reputation for creating impactful, culturally aware brand campaigns,” commented Paredes on his new role. “I look forward to continuing my passion for brand building and making diversity a leading force with Spike DDB.”
Before joining LatinWorks, Paredes spent over a decade at The Vidal Partnership where he was VP, Associate Director of Account Management responsible for new business, fostering marketing partnerships and creating integrated Hispanic marketing solutions for brands such as Heineken, Kraft, MasterCard, Sprint, Trident and Wendy’s.
A big Latin music enthusiast, Paredes began his career at RMM Records and Video Corp. where he spent three years helping lead marketing efforts for Latin stars such as Marc Anthony and Latin legends like Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. The world of entertainment and channel management today inspire Paredes’ drive towards inspiring best in class engagement mapping practices.
Spike DDB is a joint partnership between filmmaker Lee and Omnicom Group’s DDB Worldwide.
Steve McQueen Shows Wartime London Through A Child’s Eyes In “Blitz”
It was a single photograph that started Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen on the journey to make "Blitz." As a Londoner, the German bombing raids on the city during World War II are never all that far from his mind. Reminders of it are everywhere. But the spark of inspiration came from an image of a small boy on a train platform with a large suitcase. Stories inspired by the evacuation are not rare, but this child was Black. Who was he, McQueen wondered, and what was his story? The film, in theaters Friday and streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22, tells the tale of George, a 9-year-old biracial child in East London whose life with his mother, Rita ( Saoirse Ronan ), and grandfather is upended by the war. Like many children at the time, he's put on a train to the countryside for his safety. But he hops off and starts a long, dangerous journey back to his mom, encountering all sorts of people and situations that paint a revelatory and emotional picture of that moment. SEARCHING FOR GEORGE AND FINDING A STAR When McQueen finished the screenplay, he thought to himself: "Not bad." Then he started to worry: Does George exist? Is there a person out there who can play this role? Through an open casting call they found Elliott Heffernan, a 9-year-old living just outside of London whose only experience was a school play. He was the genie in "Aladdin." "There was a stillness about him, a real silent movie star quality," McQueen said. "You wanted to know what he was thinking, and you leant in. That's a movie star quality: A presence in his absence." Elliott is now 11. When he was cast, he'd not yet heard about the evacuation and imagined that a film set would be made up of "about 100 people." But he soon found his footing, cycling in and out of... Read More