Mekanism Hires 3 New West Coast Creative Directors

By Erik Oster 

Mekanism boosted its West Coast operations with the addition of three creative directors to its San Francisco and Seattle offices: Eric CosperHart Rusen and Matt Stafford.

The press release tells us that Cosper (as most people call him) “likes making things,” that his dad was a veteran of the Detroit auto industry, and that “When he’s not working or playing with his kids he sleeps.”

Cosper arrives at Mekanism San Francisco after a brief freelance stint that followed his departure from FCB Garfinkel, where he served as chief creative officer for nearly a year. While there, he worked on brands including Vonage, Lincoln Financial and Jamaica Tourism—but his best-known recent work is almost certainly the Untitled Worldwide Game of War campaign starring Kate Upton. He spent a year as an executive creative director and helped to establish the agency in New York after working as a senior creative director at BBDO, where he oversaw the GE account along with Michael Aimette and worked on the Emmy-nominated “Childlike Imagination” spot.

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He previously spent time at the New York offices of Wieden + Kennedy, Mother and Publicis in addition to serving as an art director at Fallon. He has worked on a wide range of brands including Jordan, ESPN, Delta, Heineken and Coca-Cola.
Hart Rusen

Rusen joins the agency’s Seattle office from nearby Tether, where he served as creative director since April of 2015 and worked with clients including Microsoft, Red Bull, Amazon and HTC. Prior to joining Tether he spent six years with Publicis Seattle as SVP/GCD working with brands including T-Mobile, KEXP and the Seattle Symphony and more than four years at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco on the Budweiser, HP, Cheetos and Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” accounts (among others).

You may be surprised to learn that he has a degree in business admin—”unlike most creative directors”—and that he graduated “with an emphasis in Finance, no less.” More importantly, he once shot a 65 on an unnamed golf course, and he attributes this once in a lifetime feat to fate. (We really like this oddball press release.)

Matt StaffordStafford arrives at Mekanism by way of the recently acquired Heat, where he worked as a digital creative director since early 2014. During his tenure there, his clients included Netgear and, of course, EA Sports’ “Madden GIFerator” campaign. After beginning his career in Great Brtain with stints at DigitasLBi London, Skive Creative and Work Club, he worked at what was then known as Draftfcb (as it was then known) in San Francisco.

He’s currently working on Alaska Airlines, Athleta and Muscle Milk.

We leave you with this line, again from the press release: “Advertising was the inspiration behind some of Matt’s earliest nightmares. Turns out, being chased by the Hamburger Helper glove wielding a chainsaw on a skateboard can have a positive influence on a young boy.”

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