More than a month ago, we heard that Hyundai’s Innocean was ready to name a new leader for its creative department. We couldn’t get confirmation at the time for some reason, but Eric Springer will indeed be chief creative officer there, effective immediately.
The release tells us that Springer’s hire is part of an effort to “build [Innocean’s] arsenal of top talent.” He is the agency’s first CCO, but he technically replaces departed ECD Greg Braun, who left over the summer. Springer will report directly to CEO Steve Jun, who calls him “the perfect leader to take our creativity to the next level and continue our momentum.”
Jeremy Craigen, the adam&eveDDB vet who was named global CCO of Innocean around the same time Braun left, writes:
“We held an exhaustive search for a U.S. creative leader, and I must say I was delighted with the high caliber of creative IWA could attract. In the end, however, Eric was our unanimous choice.”
For some backstory, Craigen was allegedly forced out at DDB after 25 years by one Amir Kassaei, who relocated the VW account from the UK to Germany and wanted Craigen to follow.
Springer is perhaps best known for spending more than 15 years at Deutsch and working on the Volkswagen Super Bowl spot. You know the one.
After leaving the Deutsch team in 2012, he held CCO roles at Culver City’s Pitch and FCB, where he stayed for nearly two years and worked on such accounts as Taco Bell and Levi’s. He then parted ways with the FCB organization in late 2014 and eventually joined L.A.’s Ignited as creative lead.
Less than a year later, he was in talks with Innocean. Regarding the new gig, he writes:
“The potential for success at this agency is boundless, and I’m excited to work with all of the exceptional talent located here in Surf City.”
Innocean, in case you were keeping score, also recently parted ways with its CEO, who got fired and sent back to his native Korea by management.