After months of industry speculation, DDB Chicago has apparently chosen a new Chief Creative. According to various publications, Londoner Ewan Paterson will take on the role of DDB Chicago’s Executive Creative Director. Paterson is currently Executive Creative Director at London-based Clemmow Hornby Inge & Partners.
A DDB representative told AgencySpy this morning that “we don’t have anything to confirm at this time.”
Lewis Lazare of the Chicago Sun-Times apparently spoke to the same rep, as he posted the following in a column on the subject today: “And so the news has come. In leaks and rumors and and dribs and drabs. And as of today, there is still nothing to confirm, according to a DDB spokeswoman.”
So the question of Paterson becomes: Is he, or isn’t he?
For weeks, AgencySpy has been receiving tips on possible chief creatives, and should Paterson be confirmed as DDB’s new ECD, AgencySpy will have to give props to a commenter identified only as “Yawn,” for providing us with the correct DDB musing. “Yawn” proposed the “Exotic Foreigner” theory last month when he left the following comment on an AgencySpy article:
“Hey Kaitlin, why don’t you tell us about the new DDB ECD? the one they poached from overseas who is hated by his own agency? the one that his current agency doesn’t know he’s leaving them yet so he has to keep it quiet the rest of the spring? (but they will be thrilled once they find out).”
Thanks, “Yawn.” If this was Watergate, you’d have been the Deep Throat to our Bob Woodward. That is, if Paterson actually turns out to be the CCO. And, if we’d broken the story first. Ah, nevermind. Stay tuned.
More: DDB’s CCO Speculation