'Frogs' Creators Leap to Arnold

The creative team behind the first Budweiser frogs commercials has joined Arnold and is working on the new Jack Daniel’s Original Hard Cola beverage being marketed by Jack Daniel’s and Miller Brewing.

Mike Smith and Dave Swaine were hired by Arnold’s St. Louis office as vice presidents and associate creative directors. Their longtime shop, D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles in St. Louis, shut its doors in March after being buffeted by years of client losses.

Arnold, formerly Simmons Durham and the longtime agency for Brown-Forman Beverages, parent of Jack Daniel’s, is preparing a campaign for Hard Cola for July, when the beverage becomes available in taverns and restaurants, a Miller representative said.

The “malternative” entry, which Brown-Forman and Miller are hoping will be a year-round item rather than a summer splash, will hit stores in September.