Wieden & Kennedy London artistic chief Tony Davidson is leaving, after greater than 20 years on the company.
Davidson, who’s government artistic director, will exit W&Okay London in the summertime, similtaneously his artistic accomplice Iain Tait, who introduced final 12 months that he would additionally depart the agency in 2021.
W&Okay is presently looking for replacements for Davidson and Tait.
Davidson is without doubt one of the most esteemed artistic leaders in UK promoting. Throughout his tenure at W&Okay, he has overseen campaigns similar to Nike’s “Nothing beats a Londoner”, Honda’s “Energy of goals”, Three’s “Foolish stuff. It issues”, Sainsbury’s “Reside nicely for much less” model refresh and TK Maxx’s “Ridiculous prospects”.
He additionally led company initiatives together with in-house artistic crash course The Kennedys, native faculty outreach programme Perpetually Curious and the Makers’ Residency home windows.
In 2016, the British Arrows gave Davidson the Chairman’s Award for his contribution to promoting. He has usually been named amongst Marketing campaign’s prime artistic leaders every year.
He joined W&Okay in 2000 with then artistic accomplice Kim Papworth and have become a world accomplice in 2009. After Papworth left in 2014, Tait joined to be Davidson’s fellow ECD in London.
Earlier in his profession, Davidson was a artistic at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Leagas Delaney and Boase Massimi Pollitt.
Davidson stated: “It’s by no means straightforward deciding when to go away top-of-the-line jobs in promoting, however all through my time right here I’ve all the time tried to place Wieden & Kennedy forward of myself. After a tremendous 20 years on the helm of the London workplace, it seems like the correct time to step away and let some new voices lead and make their mark on the way forward for this place.
“Once I joined, W&Okay was a tiny start-up company on Nice Titchfield Road. I’m massively grateful to Dan Wieden for giving me the chance then, and I’m now desirous to cross the torch. I owe an enormous debt to all of the individuals who handed by means of this place throughout my tenure and made me look good. Whereas I’m happy with the work we made, I’m most happy with the tradition we constructed.
“Past Wieden I’m excited to flex my artistic muscle tissue in numerous methods, together with a number of inexperienced initiatives which might be near my coronary heart.”
On the similar time that W&Okay revealed Tait’s departure last year, it additionally introduced that chief technique officer Ben Armistead was leaving. He was changed by Dan Hill, who moved to the UK workplace from W&Okay New York.
W&Okay stated on the time that Tait and Armistead’s departures weren’t linked to its wave of redundancies final 12 months. W&Okay cut its global workforce by 11% in 2020.
Initially of this 12 months Ryan Fisher additionally returned to W&Okay London as head of development after greater than two years within the Tokyo workplace.
The company has been led by managing director Helen Andrews since 2017.
Andrews stated: “Anybody who has been a part of W&Okay London over the previous 20 years, is aware of that Tony’s influence on our work and our tradition can’t be understated. His ardour for creativity and nurturing a very artistic tradition hasn’t as soon as wavered in twenty years. We’ll miss his vitality, legendary artistic abilities and simply how a lot he cares in regards to the place and the folks in it.
“He is leaving the company in an extremely robust place for our subsequent artistic leaders to play their half in making the following 20 years as profitable because the final. Thanks, Tony, for all the things you have executed for the company and all our purchasers – and for giving us the chance to herald a brand new period of artistic management, with all the joy and vitality that comes with it.”
Author: ” — www.campaignlive.co.uk ”