DDB has a new creative lead for its San Francisco office after promoting former Chicago ECD Kevin Drew Davis to chief creative officer on the West Coast.
Davis moved to the Bay Area to begin his new gig at the beginning of this month, and while he is still collaborating on some of the Windy City accounts, he will be completely dedicated to the San Francisco team by the end of the year.
“We’re thrilled to have Kevin joining our west coast operation,” said S.F. CEO Todd Grantham in a statement. “He’s a proven creative leader that is as fluent in digital and social marketing as traditional media.”
We spoke to Davis and Grantham today about his new position. The CEO said: “The San Francisco market is dominated by tech startups and companies that need brands built for them. The creative leaders I’m looking for have to get both sides: They need to understand tech innovation but also know how to establish brands. Kevin is a perfect solution for us in terms of where we’re going next.”
Davis began specializing in digital while serving as “creative technologies director” at his native Austin’s GSD&M waaaaay back in the halcyon days of the early ’90s. He later held similar roles at Wieden + Kennedy, Publicis Seattle, FCB Chicago and Digitas before DDB recruited him to lead its Canadian operations in 2013.
Prior to moving west, Davis spent nearly two years as ECD at DDB Chicago, where he was one of the top creatives on the McDonald’s account and helped lead successful pitches for FIATChrysler’s Jeep and Alfa Romeo brands. His most high-profile project was the 2015 McDonald’s Twitter campaign “Lovin’ the Super Bowl,” which saw the Golden Arches praising all the other brands’ Big Game ads. Here’s the case study:
In comparing his work in Chicago and San Francisco, Davis said: “Chicago is big, Middle America brands being able to talk to the masses. In San Francisco, our opportunities are going to be on the sharper end of the stick with more disruptive companies. Taking those niche disruptors to the masses across America is a nice fit with what we can do.”
His promotion follows a round of downsizing that occurred in late June. This move followed Clorox’s decision to split its business between FCB and mcgarrybowen after 20 years with DDB.
DDB San Francisco’s largest current accounts are Qualcomm and ConAgra, but we hear that the team has been involved in several recent pitches and that there may be updates to come on the new business front.
Does Davis’s departure tell us anything about the never-ending McDonald’s creative review in Chicago?? Not really … why do you ask?