Independent agency Zulu Alpha Kilo’s New York office has made multiple key creative hires–Cannes Lion-winning creative director teams Vic Bath and Dan Cummings, and Nikki Garrett and Jeff Tyser–as well as creative team Lizzie Cox and Tilden Lincoln.
The hires come at a time where the agency has continued momentum with Booking.com, OperaGX, Gas Leaks, and active new business opportunities.
During their four years at Zulu Alpha Kilo’s Toronto office, Bath and Cummings developed multi-award-winning campaigns together, including the Harley Davidson Tough Turban activation, which won a Gold Cannes Lion. Additionally, their work together has won a Grand Clio, Best in Discipline ADC Cube, Gold at the Andys, and several One Show and D&AD Pencils, among other accolades. Prior to joining forces at Zulu Alpha Kilo, they spent several years separately at many of Canada’s top agencies.
South Africans Garrett and Tyser join Zulu Alpha Kilo New York as a creative director team, coming from Hill Holiday in Boston, their first U.S.-based role. They bring a wealth of experience, gained over 16 years working on brands. The pair got together several years ago at TBWA Hunt Lascaris. Their work has been recognized around the world–notably, winning South Africa’s first ever Glass Lion at Cannes, and the country’s first ever Gold at the Webby Awards.
Cox and Lincoln are also joining the agency as a Creative Team. Before joining ZAK NY, Cox was an art director and designer, respectively, with Fact & Fiction and Moxie Sozo, both creative agencies based in Boulder, CO after completing her Masters in Communications Design at Pratt in New York. Prior to becoming a writer, Lincoln got his Masters in Education and attended the Denver Ad School in Colorado.
“They say you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Lucky for us and our clients we are encircled with some of the brightest, warmest, hilarious and talented people in the business. It’s only up from here,” said CCO and partner, Tim Gordon.
The New York office launched a year-long brand campaign for Booking.com in this year’s Super Bowl, including a 2-minute musical featuring Melissa McCarthy that ran during the Oscars. The :30 version was this year’s most watched Super Bowl spot, racking up over 118M views. Zulu Alpha Kilo NY followed it up with additional global campaign extensions using McCarthy and launched Booking’s first MLB sponsorship campaign. The agency also recently launched Splash Spots, transforming New York City fire hydrants into mini water parks during summer’s hottest months, designed for maximum fun and water efficiency.
Zulu Alpha Kilo maintains offices in Toronto, Vancouver and New York City.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More