Philadelphia Cream Cheese is cementing its relationship with Miami-based agency Gut, selecting the independent shop founded by Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio as its creative agency of record.
The Kraft Heinz brand previously worked with Gut on a project basis, with the shop turning in such attention-grabbing stunts as its “Wait, is that a Cheese cake?” Thanksgiving conspiracy theory and “Bagel That,” the device that can turn anything into a bagel. Prior to Gut, Philadelphia worked with Droga5 as its creative agency partner, following the conclusion of a review which also included Kraft Heinz’s Kraft Mac and Cheese brand.
Philadelphia spent over $32 million on marketing in 2018 and nearly $19 million in the first six months of 2019, according to Kantar Media.
“Our first experience working together this year has shown us that Gut has incredible potential to create iconic work for this iconic brand,” Philadelphia head of marketing Ariel Suffern said in a statement. “The creative power of Gut is very exciting, and we’re very happy to now be working full-time with Anselmo and his team on Philly.”
“We are extremely honored for the trust that the Philly team has given us. We love working for such an iconic brand and such brave partners,” added Gut founder and creative chairman Anselmo Ramos.
Back in June, executive creative directors Ricardo Casal and Juan Javier Peña Plaza, two of the most awarded creatives in the business, left David Miami. Casal and Peña Plaza joined Gut in September, along with chief client officer Carmen Rodriguez. The three senior executives represent just part of a talent war between Gut and David. While Gut has done the majority of the poaching from its founders’ former shop, David shot back with the recent hire of managing director Ricardo Honegger from Gut Miami.
In a statement, Casal and Peña Plaza called working on “an iconic and loved brand” like Philadelphia “the dream of any creative,” adding: “We have built a true partnership with the brand team and together have already created campaigns that we are really proud of. We are thankful for the trust they’ve placed in Gut.”