John Norman, currently executive creative director at Wieden+Kennedy’s (W+K) Amsterdam office, will join The Martin Agency in February as chief creative officer.
During his first year with the Richmond-headquartered Martin, Norman will share the CCO title with Mike Hughes, president of the agency.
“I’m not going anywhere,” said Hughes. “I’m planning to remain as president of the agency for as long as our clients will put up with me. And I’ll stay in the creative department as long as John wants me there. That said, all of our creative directors, writers and art directors will report up to John from his first day at the agency.”
During the course of two stints at W+K, Norman created notable work for Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Nike, Tanqueray Gin, Electronic Arts, Nokia, Heineken and Honda. Among his notable credits is the lauded Coke spot “Happiness Factory.”
“It’s been an incredible experience working with the talented international team at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam,” said Norman. “Making the decision to leave was not easy, but I could not pass up the opportunity to work alongside Mike Hughes and [CEO] John Adams at one of the best agencies in the U.S.
Norman, 43, a native Texan, has a range of experience that extends well beyond W+K. He earlier served as a graphic designer for Nike in Oregon, a design director for Benetton in Treviso, Italy, and a director for Benetton’s Fabrica creative laboratory. As a group creative director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, he helped develop the acclaimed “+HP” campaign (with its “Picture Book” TV spots) for Hewlett-Packard.
Martin Scorsese On “The Saints,” Faith In Filmmaking and His Next Movie
When Martin Scorsese was a child growing up in New York's Little Italy, he would gaze up at the figures he saw around St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. "Who are these people? What is a saint?" Scorsese recalls. "The minute I walk out the door of the cathedral and I don't see any saints. I saw people trying to behave well within a world that was very primal and oppressed by organized crime. As a child, you wonder about the saints: Are they human?" For decades, Scorsese has pondered a project dedicated to the saints. Now, he's finally realized it in "Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints," an eight-part docudrama series debuting Sunday on Fox Nation, the streaming service from Fox News Media. The one-hour episodes, written by Kent Jones and directed by Elizabeth Chomko, each chronicle a saint: Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene, Moses the Black, Sebastian and Maximillian Kolbe. Joan of Arc kicks off the series on Sunday, with three weekly installments to follow; the last four will stream closer to Easter next year. In naturalistic reenactments followed by brief Scorsese-led discussions with experts, "The Saints" emphasizes that, yes, the saints were very human. They were flawed, imperfect people, which, to Scorsese, only heightens their great sacrifices and gestures of compassion. The Polish priest Kolbe, for example, helped spread antisemitism before, during WWII, sheltering Jews and, ultimately, volunteering to die in the place of a man who had been condemned at Auschwitz. Scorsese, who turns 82 on Sunday, recently met for an interview not long after returning from a trip to his grandfather's hometown in Sicily. He was made an honorary citizen and the experience was still lingering in his mind. Remarks have... Read More