McDougall Recruits Jones as Creative Chief: Advertising Veteran Freelanced for Cuneo, Penned a Jingle for Retailer T.J. Maxx

By David GianatasioBOSTON--Dana Jones has joined McDougall Associates as vice president and creative director.Jones, who was scheduled to take over as head of the agency's 12-person creative department late last week, has experience as both a copywriter and art director at agencies in Boston and New York. For the last four years, he has worked as a freelance copywriter.In that capacity, Jones recently completed Chevrolet dealership assignments for Cuneo Sullivan Dolabany in Boston. He also teamed up with the NorthRidge Marketing Group in Manchester, Mass., to craft TV ads for the Milton's clothing store chain.He worked from 1986-93 at Ingalls, Quinn & Johnson, eventually rising to the position of group creative director. At the Boston agency, Jones developed the 'It's Never the Same Place Twice' campaign and jingle for retail chain T.J. Maxx.'He's a big concept guy, really good with TV,' said NorthRidge partner Christine Chamberlin, who served as Jones' supervisor at Ingalls.Noting Jones' experience as a group creative head, Chamberlin said he maintains the right attitude to properly manage people and also predicted he will fit in well with the low-key personalities of McDougall Associates partners Mike and Dan McDougall.'He'll definitely get along with them,' Chamberlin said. 'He . . . is the kind of a guy who can improve a creative department.'Prime considerations in hiring Jones were the need to expand beyond the agency's print-oriented industrial client base and the goal of overcoming a mediocre creative reputation, said agency president Dan McDougall.'We really want to get out of that mold we've gotten ourselves into. The clients like our work, but we want to get into better reviews,' he said. Improving the creative product is the only way to achieve that end, McDougall said.'We were looking to bring someone in who has experience (at) bigger agencies,' he added.McDougall Associates is an agency 'not fully into broadcast work,' said Jones, who will report to agency chairman Mike McDougall. 'That's where they want to improve and that's what they hired me for,' he said.Jones succeeds Bob Conte, who served as creative director of the 45-person shop for nearly four years. Conte remains affiliated with the agency, however. Earlier this year, McDougall Associates launched a video production spinoff called Educate America to produce children's programming for syndication. Conte is working as a writer for that unit, housed at the agency's offices.Educate America's first offering is a live action kids' show featuring a pelican and an alligator, What's New Marty & Lou? The show was created by Scott Geraughty, a nephew of Dan McDougall. About $100,000 was spent to film a pilot and money is now being raised from outside sources to shoot more episodes, McDougall said.Conte will also continue to write copy for clients such as General Electric, Marriott Hotels and Tyco International, McDougall said. Copyright ASM Communications, Inc. (1997) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED New England

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McDougall Recruits Jones as Creative Chief: Advertising Veteran Freelanced for Cuneo, Penned a Jingle for Retailer T.J. Maxx

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