DDB North America brings Ari Weiss in as first-ever CCO
In a first for DDB North America, chief executive Wendy Clark announced the appointment of Ari Weiss as chief creative officer. Responsible for leading the agency’s North American creative departments, effective February 1st, Weiss crosses the street to Omincom’s DDB from BBH New York, where he spent a productive six years as chief creative officer, reeling in a good chunk of creative hardware, having led his teams to 24 Cannes Lions.
“There were so many qualities we wanted in our North American chief creative officer, and Ari hits the mark on all of them. His work is sensational - driving business impact and consistently winning creative acclaim at the highest levels. Every time we met during this process we ran out of time, such was the depth of our instant connection, shared vision and ambition for DDB.”
Under Weiss’ stead, BBH created award-winning work for the likes of Axe, PlayStation, Netflix, Vaseline, Seamless, Unicef, Sprite, and The Weather Channel. Weiss also helped launch the political campaign for Frank Underwood, the fictional candidate and main character in Netflix’s highly-lauded “House of Cards,” this year, landing seven Cannes Lions, including the Integrated Grand Prix. An additional industry claim to fame for Weiss was penning the line “Greatness Awaits,” which won the Sony PlayStation business and eventually took the console to number one in the category.
Despite the pedigree, the allure of DDB’s history appeared to be of great import and both he and Clark found some common ground.
“I am a huge advertising nerd. And you can’t be a huge advertising nerd without worshiping Bill Bernbach. He was the original creative renegade,” said Weiss. “He wasn’t a renegade because he wanted to be different he was a renegade because he knew difference would drive business growth. That kind of bravery is in DDB’s bones. You pair that with the incredible momentum Wendy and her team have built in the last year and you’ve got the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Added Clark, “In what can only be described as a turnaround year for DDB, with epic new business wins, healthy expansion of existing clients and topline revenue growth, we are now completely focused on elevating the quality, impact and profile of our work. It is our very reason for being and nothing could be more important. My confidence could not be higher that Ari's creative, cultural and business impact will be felt immediately at DDB and I just can't wait to get started."