Franco Moretti named new President of ADC*E

Buone notizie!

Franco Moretti, Vice Chairman and Group Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Italy, been named the President of the Art Director’s Club of Europe (ADC*E). If you're unfamiliar with ADC*E, get to know them - basically, the winners here are the creme de la creme of Europe.

A long-time board member of the ADCE and president of the ADCI from 1995-1998, Moretti began his successful career in Advertising in Australia, shortly after finishing his Architecture degree in Italy. Having made his way through three agencies and developing from Art Director to Creative Director, he moved to London in 1970 to join Brunnings as Creative Group Head. In 1973 he returned to Italy to join McCann-Erickson in Milan as Senior Art Director Group Head. In 1979 he moved to New York to found Coca Cola’s International Creative Team. Returning to Italy in 1984, he became Executive Creative Director and Vice President for McCann Italy, which was followed by his appointment in 1990 as Senior Vice President of McCann Worldwide and European Creative Director.

In 1996 he joined Leo Burnett Italy as Chief Creative Officer where he was subsequently named Vice Chairman and Group Chief Creative Officer in 2001. Moretti currently serves on the board of the ADCE, Pubblicità Progresso Foundation, and is an active member of the TP and IAA.

Johannes Newrkla, founding member and president of ADCE from 2003-2007, will assume the role of Treasurer of the ADCE while continuing his work at Bluetango in Vienna, of which he is founder and CEO.

I should add...

If you want to adorn your desk with one of the hysterical calendars mentioned below, please contact Debbie Mudd. It's the funniest $!0 you'll ever spend.

Best memo...ever?

***THIS MEMO APPEARED IN MY INBOX THIS MORNING AND I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE BEST FRIDAY MEMOS I'VE EVER RECEIVED WORKING HERE***:)

SUBJECT: Manliness runs rampant at 35 West Wacker

COPY: Do you love mustaches and hate cancer? Then head to the 15th floor lounge today, Friday the 29th, from 4 - 5 p.m.

For the entire month of "Movember" ("mo" is Aussie slang for moustache) 24 of your fellow employees grew mustaches to "change the face of men's health" and raise money for Prostate Cancer research. They also challenged the Leo Burnett Down Under office and beat them in both the "style" and "donation" department. The final result? Arc/Burnett Chicago raised $7,000 (AND with your help, maybe $1,000 more) to hate all over Prostate Cancer.

For a $10 donation you can get your very own SIGNED Men of Movember 2008 calendar, sample delicious Swiss chocolates (provided by the officiating "neutral" judge from Switzerland, Mike Moore, Nestlé/Vevey) AND provide you and your'n with 365 days of uninterrupted fun.

Just head to the 15th floor lounge today from 4 - 5 p.m.

x's and mo's,
menofmovember.com

You Buy What You Vote

As the Spanish elections approach next month, Leo Burnett Spain decided to ask: Does who we vote for have anything to do with our preferences in regards to what we buy?

As it turns out, yes.

Madrid-based ad agency Vitruvio Leo Burnett, in collaboration with Spain’s leading ‘GAD’ Institute, has developed an intriguing study about the purchase behavior of Spaniards and its relationship to political tendencies and voting choices.

According to Marta Aguirrezabal, President of Vitruvio Leo Burnett, the study confirmed certain stereotypes, but it also brought to light other surprising and unexpected insights.

To wit:
-Men who vote for the socialist or nationalist parties use more cosmetics than their conservative counterparts.
-Young female voters from the left prefer“waxed” men, while conservative women were much more indecisive when it came to the issue of hairy chests.
-Socialist voters have a greater tendency to be vegetarians, while conservative party supporters are more enthusiastic about other culinary options.

Do you agree? Post a comment.

Delay No Mall Does It Again

“How can we inspire ourselves?”

Seldom do people consider this question, but this was precisely the quandry that served as inspiration for the second phase of the Delay No Mall campaign created by LB/Hong Kong.

The team realized that people often shy away from the power behind their inspirations, giving myriad excuses. Since Delay No Mall is a unconventional, daring and innovative client, the team decided to jolt the people of Hong Kong into awakening their creative passions.

The result?

Last weekend, five thousand “Gashapons” (capsule toys) were given away free in Causeway Bay. Inside, there were small plasticine pieces, allowing people to collectively partake in molding a giant art form and/or simply creating their own personal piece of art. The plan behind this concept was to instantly collect at least five thousand creative ideas.

Pretty cool...

Getting Ready for Thursday...

Love is in the air - despite the "arctic blast" that blew through Chicago this weekend - and so I've decided to celebrate the Valentine's Day season by trying out the music video tool that LB/Arc just developed for Hallmark. The result is pretty hysterical.

Want to try? Click here to get started.