Stuart Harkness, formerly a creative director at Wieden+Kennedy’s Portland headquarters, has been hired to serve as co-ECD at 72andSunny Amsterdam.
In the new role, Harkness will lead the agency’s creative department along with fellow ECD Carlo Cavallone, another Wieden veteran who joined 72 in 2010 as the agency beefed up its creative team (he previously worked on Nike, Heineken, Coca-Cola, etc. at W+K’s Amsterdam office).
After spending more than seven years as a copywriter at TBWA London, Harkness served as CD at both W+K London and W+K Portland, where he worked on campaigns for Nike, Honda, Powerade and Facebook; his headshot tells us he’s already made the move back to Europe.
Harkness has a colorful portfolio, and he’s given to creative block quotes like this one:
“72andSunny Amsterdam have done an amazing job assembling a brilliantly diverse bunch of talent and a client list that would turn David Banner green with envy. There’s a palpable energy and the Amsterdam office is poised to do groundbreaking work, in any market. Carlo is also a seriously smart cookie who cares not just about creating provocative ideas but nurturing the people who make them in the process.”
Cavallone tries to top him by going literary:
“We are extremely excited to have Stu joining us. He brings a lot of experience to this place, a very unique take on creativity and a dedication to his job that can rival Captain Ahab’s. His long track record of amazing work combined with his very tall figure will definitely contribute to him becoming a new point of reference for this company.”
72 Amsterdam recently surprised many by beating AXE’s agency of record BBH in a review to win project-based work for every teenage pervert’s favorite deodorant brand. Its most recent work includes an ongoing campaign for Carlsberg.