Independent creative agency Zambezi has brought Gavin Lester on board as its first chief creative officer. He also has been named an equity partner in the agency. His career has spanned 20 years and two continents, having worked in London, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, for agencies such as 180LA, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, BBH London and NYC. Over the years he has had a hand in high-profile campaigns for Sprint, Levi’s, Lexus, Sony, Netflix and Google, among others. He has won assorted awards including Cannes Gold Lions, Andys, Addys, D&AD and Clios.
Lester comes to Zambezi following a long spell of freelance work at 72andSunny and previously was EVP, executive creative director at Deutsch L.A. where he led creative for Sprint.
Lester’s hire is a reflection of Zambezi’s rapid expansion following a streak of new business wins over the past two years, including Cox Communications, Hubert’s, Stance and Las Vegas Sands Corp. Recently, Lester worked with the Zambezi team in a freelance capacity on the agency’s “Come As You Are” campaign for Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Venetian Resort. He will take charge of a growing creative department that counts two other recent hires, creative director Dan Maxwell and associate creative director Annie Johnston, as well as key internal promotions–Ben George and Nick Rodgers to creative directors and Chris Rutkowski to associate creative director.
A Similar But Different Take On A Feature Film Debut
Similar But Different is not only the moniker for the directorial duo of Dani Girdwood and Charlotte Fassler but also in some respects an apt description of their feature filmmaking debut, My Fault: London (Amazon MGM Studios). The movie, which premiered last week on Amazon Prime Video, has on one level some select elements similar to what we’re accustomed to in the young adult (YA) universe--which helps make it familiar, comfortable and relatable--yet at the same time My Fault: London brings a new, decidedly different dimension to YA entertainment, uniquely meshing action-adventure, mystery, music, romance and humor. The film captures the feel of the underground London culture, lending an authenticity and contemporary vibe that’s a departure from the norm when it comes to the adaptation of YA literature. This mesh of similar but different has served the film well in that there was some target audience skepticism initially over the notion of doing an English adaptation of the popular, fan-favorite Spanish-language novel “Culpa Mia,” the first of the “Culpables” trilogy. Thus it’s most gratifying for Girdwood and Fassler to see the social media response after the release of My Fault: London, with many viewers enthusiastically embracing the film. My Fault: London introduces us to Noah (portrayed by Asha Banks) who’s uprooted from her U.S. hometown, having to leave her boyfriend and friends behind to move with her mother (Eve Macklin) to London. Mom has a new rich husband (Ray Fearon) in London and their new residence is a mansion. There Noah meets Nick (Matthew Broome), her new stepbrother. They have an immediate mutual dislike for each other which blossoms into something quite different over time. Along the... Read More