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Ex-Caddy Creative Now on Ford at JWT
DETROIT–Jon Parkinson, formerly head creative on the Cadillac account at D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, has resurfaced at J. Walter Thompson, where he will work on the Ford Motor Co. account.
Parkinson, who was senior vice president and executive creative director on the General Motors brand, said he left the Troy, Mich., agency late last year because of “philosophical differences.”
At JWT, he will direct the Liquid 35 group, which is charged with Ford broadcast advertising.
Mutual friends put Parkinson in touch with Bruce Rooke, who heads Ford creative at the agency, in November. “From the get-go I really thought that we were like-minded about a great deal,” Parkinson said.
Parkinson will run day-to-day broadcast operations, and Rooke will concentrate more on strategy.
Parkinson is not unfamiliar with Ford advertising. During a stint at Wells Rich Greene in New York in the early 1990s, he worked on Ford corporate advertising.
Parkinson had been with D’Arcy since July 1998. His departure was not thought to be related to D’Arcy’s hiring last month of Robin Weeks, who took over as chief creative officer following last fall’s resignation of Gary Horton. K
