Remember when independant shop, Amalgamated, burst onto the scene as this cool, smart, full of life shop? With these creative visionaries Doug Cameron, Jason Gaboriau and Charles Rosen, who left Cliff Freeman on a mission to start an agency that really cared about the work they were doing.
They had great ideas and the talent to back it up. They did fun work like the claymation spots for Ben & Jerry. And, inspiring work like this ad for Fat Tire Beer-
They were all the buzz. Everyone had heard of them and it seems like quite a few people had interviewed with them. Their staff was ballooning. They even brought Mike Kelly, who was formerly a senior partner and executive group director at Olgivy, on as their first official president, at the end of 2006. Things looked very promising for them. They had some impressive clients including, Court TV, Ben & Jerry, Checker’s, Cablevision and Steve Madden.
Amalgamated created that sexy fembot for Svedka. They also seemed to have an affinity for viral marketing. (The Emily Billboard for Court TV and Rap Cat for Checker’s)
However, just two short years after they really started to get that recognition and notoriety for being a small shop that really gets it; they have all but vanished from the scene. Mike Kelly left the agency last July and they have yet to replace him. There have been no new business wins and the buzz has died down. I miss those guys. I was really excited to see what they were capable of. Anyone know what’s going on with them?