DWA Client News

“It always amazes me how each time I attend the workshops they cover key questions or concerns I am currently facing.” – Kirsten Guise, NVIDIA, 2023 Fall Workshop Series

The National Hockey League (NHL) today debuted the newest ad in its “The Next Golden Era is Now” campaign to commemorate the start of the 2024-25 season. The spot, titled “Gen Z” and created by Highdive with a post-production assist from Cutters, takes a tongue-in-cheek approach and features popular Gen Z NHL stars – including Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard, pictured here – acknowledging and making light of the misconceptions about their generation.

Offering awe-inspiring immersions into breathtaking travel destinations, all Rare Air series episodes are available for free on its Vimeo Channel. Stay tuned for new virtual getaways coming soon. Now featuring: Underwater at Hansen Bay.

In this topsy-turvy world, deciding when and where to invest one's time and energy is of critical importance. Especially for creatives and other entrepreneurs where the need to be strategic and innovative is constant, conferences, festivals and other thoughtful gatherings of respected peers represent momentous opportunities for building vital connections and seeing exactly what people are thinking and responding to. This actively researched and updated series is my ongoing contribution toward helping us all learn about Ultimate Events on a timely basis.

Premier audio studio Another Country announce the expansion of their acclaimed Sound 4 studio to add state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos mixing and monitoring capabilities.

Rest of the World, the agency of record for Visit San Antonio, in partnership with Chamoy Creative, recently engaged full-service production studio Bella and director Rob Adamo to produce the cross-media brand films at the heart of this year’s national Visit San Antonio campaign.

In the first of three days of announcements of the AV Awards shortlists, we bring you a series of outstanding projects that are in the running for an AV Award. In the next two days, we will also bring you the shortlisted products and the shortlisted people and companies. Join us when the AV Awards winners are announced on Friday 1 November at Evolution London.

“Our tech wizards Justin Eslinger and Cody Parnell are absolutely energized and inspired after attending ACM SIGGRAPH 2024! The conference was an incredible convergence of technology, creativity, and innovation. From groundbreaking presentations on AI and 3D rendering to immersive experiences in VR and AR, every session was a testament to the limitless possibilities of digital art and technology.”

“Creative agency Hyperquake has hired Thomas Federl as chief sustainability officer. Here are three things to know about Federl's experience and Hyperquake's sustainability strategy.”

Sarofsky operates as a dynamic cross-media and video production agency, offering a comprehensive suite of services that includes motion design, animation, visual effects (VFX), color grading, and live-action production.

Fivestone was approached by Houston based design firm, PDR, to help elevate several digital media touchpoints in the newly designed Chevron Houston Headquarters lobby. Partnering with Electrosonic for AV design and conceptualization, we delivered two key digital activations: a large-format LED video wall hosting a customized interactive globe, and a projection-mapped realtime river that flows across the floors of the elevator lobby.

Hyperquake's team of Colin Crotty, Marshall Thompson, and Ryan Bedinghaus joined a small group of thought leaders this week at Sundance Mountain Resort in Provo, UT for a three-day industry share-out and networking event. Today, our team was honored to be on the podium with our client from Microsoft to talk about the evolving world of immersive experiences! Feel free to reach out to learn more about what was shared.

The 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be presented on September 7 and 8 at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The ceremony will be held on September 15, 2024, and will be broadcast in the United States on ABC. The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial is awarded to one advertisement each year. The 2024 nominees include State Farm's "Like a Good Neighbaaa", produced by O Positive via Highdive. Its credits include Cutters Studios, Another Country, and Sarofsky.

Cutters Studios' senior producer and post-production supervisor on trusting your gut, diving into the deep end and the importance of collaboration

Our team conquered a large project on the islands of O’ahu and Maui and we could not be more proud of the result. Very thankful for hitting this new milestone of filming across oceans -- and we will continue to hit more! Keep your eyes peeled for when we can share the final spots soon.

“Highdive showcased its innovative prowess and their exceptional ability to blend creativity with strategic marketing at the 2024 The D Show by taking home an impressive seven awards, including a coveted Best of Category.”

Courtesy of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD), welcome to the DesignThinkers podcast: “In celebration of 25 years of the DesignThinkers Conference we dig into our archives and reconnect with past speakers about the talks and ideas that have shaped their careers—and the event. You’ll hear from powerhouses such as Paula Scher, Lauren Hom, Michael Bierut, Karin Fong, Sagi Haviv, and Erin Sarofsky — just to name a few.”

Illumina engaged Hyperquake to bring to life their mission of improving health by unlocking the power of the genome in their new Executive Briefing Center. The goal of the EBC is to empower visionaries around the world to uncover answers and make life-changing advances.

DWA Principal and Chief Communications Officer Roger Darnell attended this year's AICP Week and AICP Awards Programs in New York City, where talents from Cutters Studios and its sibling companies Cutters, Another Country, and Flavor made numerous executive-level contributions to the festivities. Also, DWA's relocation to Boone this month made attending this year's Boonerang Music and Arts Festival especially awesome.

Following the spectacular premieres of the AICP Show: The Art and Technique of the Commercial, the AICP Next Awards, and the AICP Post Awards at The Museum of Modern Art, the talents from Cutters Studios and its sibling companies Cutters, Another Country, and Flavor are deeply honored to detail their artistic contributions.

2024 AICP Afters ✨ What a night. Incredible people, impeccable vibes, and we couldn’t dream of better co-hosts than O Positive and JSM Music. Thanks to everyone who joined us to make the night unforgettable ýǼ

Honored that our work done with Mineral.ai a Google X, the moonshot factory received a Silver Telly. This only happens with so many incredible forces (Bella, Prophet, Mineral.ai, the director, editors, animators, crew) working towards a common goal - to tell the story of AI in the future of farming. Also, our St. Augustine - About Time tourism spot also landed a Silver People's Telly. This piece was made possible by the team, the partners and clients who had the same passion and vision to showcase one of the world's most beautiful cities.

Born in Boston and currently based in Brooklyn, the unique perspective of rising director Jeremy Leibovitch draws on his passion for telling textured and human stories - spanning documentary, narrative, and experimental storytelling forms. His reel features bold, authentic, multi-format, and visually immersive campaigns developed alongside leading creatives for Amazon, American Express, Estée Lauder, Major League Soccer, Ram Trucks, Uber, and many others.

Women often default to language we believe is comfortable to our audience even when it camouflages our talents. Erin Sarofsky learned it’s as important to be able to talk tech as to know it.

“Who knew a little over 6,000 potatoes would lead us to ONE Guinness World Record and TWO Webby Awards!! ýßýß With 13,000 entries from over 70 countries, and over 2.2 million votes cast by over 550,000 people in this year’s Webby Awards, we are THRILLED for this project to have won two distinguished awards. Congratulations to our amazing partners at Frito-Lay, Slash Dynamic, and each of the amazing partners who made this possible. GO TEAM!”

“Since Fivestone Studios went remote, it has been increasingly important to find times to break bread and see each other face to face. Yesterday we gathered and flew in our outside team for an incredible company wide "State of the Union" day where we talked about why we do what we do, staying true to our culture, breaking down silos, and our mission of bringing life to stories AND storytellers.”

Fresh Kills brings late 1980s Staten Island to vivid life through the lens of young Rose who discovers her father is an emerging mafia kingpin. Rose’s growing desire to break free from the path set before her soon threatens her existence and alienates her from her mother, sister, and aunt...

“Latest work for Highdive U.S., MRM, The Marketing Arm, dentsu USA, Pepsi, Chewy, State Farm Insurance, and many others added to Another Country’s ‘Adventures in Sound’ playlist. #SoundOn”

Erin Sarofsky’s Meet The Skrimps reimagines some of the biggest pop culture icons – and villains – dominating headlines today. HUFFMAG explores how Erin’s love for fiber arts led to a viral masterpiece infused with humor and heart. Read on to dive into the creative genius behind Meet The Skrimps and discover how she’s using AI to explore creativity.

Bristol Noir is a not-for-profit indie publisher of curiously dark fiction, poetry and dirty realism founded by Bristol-based author, designer and artist John Bowie.

Christian Whittemore is a LA-based editor passionate about creating attention-grabbing, high-end visual experiences. He’s worked with clients such as Lincoln, Delta, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz to develop exciting, kinetic, and sonically driven edits that bring a memorable 'pop' to any project.

Executive Producer David Perry and his colleagues from commercial production and post company Bella are proudly announcing the addition of accomplished editor Jonathan Rogers to their roster for commercial representation across the U.S.A.

“Every dog has its day ♥️ Still beaming because of this work that aired during the Puppy Bowl for This is Cleveland. All our thanks to the fine folks at MMGY Global for having us join in on the cuteness!”

“The 36th USA TODAY Ad Meter ratings have come to an end, with panelists weighing in on 59 commercials during the breaks in the Super Bowl action. Like the game, it was a close race, with a few brands moving toward the top five though as the clock struck midnight and the advertising version of a 2-minute began. When the polls closed in the early morning hours, well after the confetti-filled celebration on the field concluded, a 2024 Ad Meter champ emerged.”

The Super Bowl was a big night for Cutters Studios, whose team collaborated with Highdive for the popular State Farm “Like a Good Neighbaaa” and BetMGM “For Everyone” commercials for the epic evening. So what did Executive Producer Heather Richardson think of the rest of the Super Bowl advertising lineup?

The first Chicago Flame User Group in many years convened at Flavor on Wednesday February 7th at 7 pm. It featured demos by Andy Milkis, Brian Higgins, Randy McEntee, and Fred Warren and Stephane Labrie from Autodesk.

The Sarofsky founder tells LBB’s Ben Conway about how she and her companies use AI, and why “the onus is on women” to experiment with new tech as early as possible.

Thoughtfulness: Women tend to be the relationship keepers in society. Just like I know my sister in law’s favorite flower, I know how my clients take their coffee and where they prefer to eat. I can leverage this information, that is available to everyone, to stand out.

Another Country Managing Director Tim Konn and his colleagues worldwide are very proud to announce the immediate promotion of Joe Philips to the position of Creative Director for Another Country Detroit.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership! I hope Roger’s answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Traylor Woodall is the Founder and CEO of Fivestone Studios, an immersive multimedia studio that leverages design, technology and storytelling to create wonder and drive human connection. Drawing strength from five shared cultural touchstones — Honor, Bravery, Vision, Generosity, and Excellence — Fivestone’s groundbreaking multidisciplinary talents passionately resolve giant-sized storytelling challenges using emerging technologies and patent processes.

Shoutout to the very funny folks at Allstate for inviting us to be a part of Mayhem's continuing antics. The latest releases have unleashed our fear of parking gates and losing bets ý˝.

The most viewed videos of 2023 posted to the SHOOT Publicity Wire include the main title sequence for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a trailer to a feature documentary on Selena Gomez, a Gal Musette music video, and an American Express commercial featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Produced, directed, co-written, and edited by Ira Rosensweig, the film SHARE? tells the story of a man navigating a society solely connected by primitive computers, where the ability to entertain is his only currency. As the first feature film entirely shot from one fixed camera angle, Ira relied on Adobe Creative Cloud including Premiere Pro and After Effects to meticulously craft the film.

We’re Flavor, a diverse gang of visual storytellers who create globally impacting, industry defining works. We are currently seeking an amazing 3D Motion Designer, and highly experienced and passionate designer, animator (2D/3D), character animator, VFX artist, compositor or Flame finishers.

Together with my family, I am sending my warmest thoughts to many friends and colleagues worldwide, and feeling a lot of gratitude. I truly appreciate your help in sending daily clicks to https://GreaterGood.com, where our simple mouseclicks can benefit a number of vital causes each and every day. I’m also especially thankful to the individuals behind my client companies Cutters Studios, Fivestone Studios, Sally Spiegel, and Sarofsky for their leadership and help in supporting the following heroic organizations...

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Allstate for including us on this new work. It almost makes us want to break out our old skates. Almost.
Production Company: Furlined
Director: Speck & Gordon
Audio Engineer: Peter Erazmus
Editor: Kevin O'Brien, Cutters

Gifts so good, your pets may lose their minds þǿ
We're big animal lovers over here, so getting to work on this very cute holiday spot for Chewy was a real treat. Thanks so much to all the fine folks at Chewy for bringing us in on this one!
Production Company: O Positive
Director: Brian Billow
Editor: John Dingfield, Cutters Studios

Fivestone was asked to create :90 of CG content for the ATL Attractions Technology Lab, an event designed to showcase the latest technology, hardware, lighting, and media for the attractions industry. This was a huge step for the Fivestone team as it required new technologies and processes and posed an incredible creative challenge to pull off in a tight deadline.

A new anthem reel celebrating 15 years of wonderful, engaging projects, creative collaborations, incredible friendships, and unique challenges. We're deeply appreciative of everyone we've had the privilege to meet and work with over the past 15 years. Here's to many more decades of great work!

“Carbon’s Liam Chapple served up some HOT new content in our latest work for Takis. Full of classic 80’s film vibes, mixed with comic book and anime style, the film launches Takis’ new Dragon Sweet Chili flavor. And we mean that literally – this baby gets launched like a fluorescent firework.”

“Cat McCarthy, the design lead at Sarofsky, is a creative dynamo fueled by kinetic storytelling. She finds joy in playing with patterns and turning them into design magic. From early days of crafting bedroom door collages to working on mind-bending title sequences like WeCrashed, Goosebumps, or The Staircase, Cat's journey is a testament to the power of curiosity and the courage to explore.”

“Award-winning immersive multimedia company Fivestone Studios is proud to detail their contributions to Cosmic Crisis, the latest interactive experience from The Escape Game (TEG). Recently launched at TEG’s popular Opry Mills location in Nashville, this new game will also open soon at more of the company’s 37 retail locations across the country. Entering the thrilling interactive game, up to eight players band together in a deep-space adventure requiring fast thinking and focused cooperation to save the solar system.”

“Chicago boasts a deep bench of production and post houses ranging from full-service houses like Optimus and Cutters Studios to smaller boutique houses so there are multiple options for every type of project. In addition to having the physical space—and being home to dozens of leading ad agencies—Chicago supports a number of official organizations to help with the heavy lifting.”

“Join us for 10 Questions with Fivestone Studios, an immersive multimedia studio. We’ll dive into their recent project Cosmic Crisis and explore how they leveraged design, technology, and storytelling to deliver an immersive escape room experience.”

“I recently had the pleasure of delving into Roger Darnell’s poetic memoir, and I can’t resist sharing the profound impact it had on me. Arc of the Poet: A Poetic Memoir is a masterpiece that will linger in your heart and mind long after you’ve finished reading.”

“We are so proud of our Molly Piveral who is speaking at Themed Entertainment Association SATE North America next week! Hear her talk about the importance of cultural authenticity in the workplace October 12th at 4:20pm ⭐️”

“Edited by Peter Zachwieja (Cutters), sound designed and mixed by Jordan Stalling (Another Country), with Mo Tavera (Flavor) as the Flame artist, we feel so honored to have had the opportunity to work on this beautiful and powerful film. Our gratitude to the whole team for bringing us along on this incredible journey ýÞ✨”

“I’ve been wrestling with this craft for most of my life, and I mean this in an encouraging way: The words don’t write themselves.”

“We’re so excited THE FUNERAL PHOTOGRAPHER is playing tonight as a part of The Midwest Film Festival’s Ad Community Night. It’s a wonderful film, with an incredible team behind it - we’re proud to have been involved!”

Unsplash is a website dedicated to sharing stock photography under the Unsplash license. The website claims over 100,000 contributing photographers and generates more than 9 billion photo impressions per month on their growing library of over 690,000 photos. Not only does DWA principal Roger Darnell rely often on Unsplash for spectacular stock photography, many of his own images are reaching a wide global audience through the platform.

“Pets aren’t just pets ýÝ Very silly (and weirdly relatable) work for Chewy recently started airing, and we love how it turned out. Big thanks to the awesome team at Chewy for having us along on this one!”

“Love this new work - and new branding - for Pepsi as the brand celebrates 125 years of making all of life’s moments #BetterWithPepsi. Big thanks to the fabulous folks at Pepsi for inviting us in on the celebration!”

“At Sarofsky, we are well known for our main title sequences. In this workshop, we will share the inside scoop with you; everything from how we ideate to how we develop the ideas into a visual presentation. We will supply a few creative briefs from which you will work and, by the end of the weekend, you will have developed an idea of your own into a visual presentation. Writing is also encouraged in this workshop.”

Twenty-three years after launching The Darnell Works Agency in Los Angeles, I am still privileged to be collaborating every day with the world’s most awesome business executives and media luminaries. Together with these bold leaders, we are unlocking their organizations’ full potential, fulfilling key objectives, and strategically propelling them into the future.

“Come and collaborate at Sarofsky Open House! We’ve created a frame-by-frame storyboard of abstract shapes on a journey through time. Pick 1-10 of those sketched frames and bring them to life however you choose. We’ve allocated 5 time slots on Saturday, the 9th, so come and start whenever it works best for you.”

Since 2005, CONNECTIONS has been the leading platform for best-in-class creative services, bringing together top talent from agencies, film and post-production, VR/AR, social media, event producers, and more. Explore our past events and find out what’s coming up next.

“Video from our July 24th visit to Blue Hole PFA in Tapoco, North Carolina, very near Cheoah Point Campground where we snagged a Sunday night accommodation in the awesome little cabin there. I believe "PFA" stands for paralyzed fishing access ... there is a beautiful accessible ramp and a nice fishing dock. It's also a great swimming hole!”

Put your heads together to beat other teams in a fast paced flurry of game show rounds. Great Big Game Show is a new concept from the creators of The Escape Game.

“The only thing with more volume than his hair is the CarBravo inventory. Another super fun spot from the CarBravo campaign that we got to hop on with the good folks at MRM. Thanks again to MRM for having us along for this hair-larious project!”

Full-service production company Caravan recently completed work on a 15-minute short that introduces Harley-Davidson’s eagerly-awaited CVO motorcycles. On June 7th, The Motor Company launched the all-new 2023 CVO Street Glide and CVO Road Glide with a film that lives online. Based on a detailed creative briefing by associate creative director Jon Cain, director Bernardo Marentes rapidly conceived a plan.

Since Sans Serif is based in the Bay Area and partners with many tech companies, Mission Bit’s goal of making the benefits, resources, and wealth of the tech industry available to youth of color in the region moved the agency to partner with them in such an extensive, ongoing way. Using the brand strategy and look and feel established in the 2022 rebrand, Sans Serif helped bring Mission Bit to life online through a completely revamped website.

“A bittersweet moment, for sure. Chris Rossiter has been a pillar of our industry and the Cutters Studios family, and it’ll be hard to see him go. In this piece for SHOOTonline, he shares some of his career highlights and leaves a few pearls of wisdom for the next generation. We are so grateful to Chris for being an incredible leader, mentor, collaborator, and friend. We’ll miss you dearly, Rossiter, but are so excited for you and this next chapter!”

Brian McCauley: “We were drawn to the idea of nature as canvas, where the beauty of the natural world can be molded and changed to create something new. So we set out to create flowers in 3D and use their surfaces as a moving canvas to create something familiar but unique; a new perspective. “To set each show apart, we focused on bold, bright, pop gradients for The AICP Show, on paint and pastels for The AICP Post Awards, and on a more graphical, techy look for The AICP Next Awards...”

“Creating a movie or a series is a huge deal, whether it is a short DIY film or a Hollywood blockbuster. Every little detail needs to be taken care of to achieve maximum quality and impress the audience and critics too. For us typography aficionados, one super important element of cinematography is always the title design. There is a lot of hard work, great history and stylistic evolution when it comes to title sequences.”

Most recently an AR Engineer for Snap, Justin’s latest work focused on creating experiences and developing hand interaction around the firm’s proprietary AR glasses. Prior to that, Justin’s talents flourished as Game Engine Supervisor and Lead Software Developer for The Third Floor, where his pioneering developments in Unity and other technologies contributed to a 2021 Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in Technical Innovation for Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge at the Super Nintendo World theme parks in Osaka and Hollywood.

By Director Jake Banks via Production Company Sugarhi: Spots including “Confused” :30, “Jobs” :15, “Touchy” :15, “Magic” :15, “Lettuce” :15, “Cholestersome” :15, “Buns” :15, “Corn” :15, “You’re a Plant” :06, “Hormones” :06, and more.

“The writing style of the author is amazing and I appreciate the various life experiences the author has shared in this poetic memoir. The narration is smooth and I couldn’t put this book down until I finished it. This book opens our eyes to the struggles artists face.”

“Every bite is better with Pepsi! It was such a ball getting to work on this fun summertime spot with the awesome team from The Studio at PepsiCo. Thanks again to all involved for having us along for the ride!”

“With over 200,000 ways to make the Whopper your own - YOU RULE! Love this bouncy new work for Burger King from the awesome team at O’Keefe Reinhard and Paul. Huge thanks for inviting us in for all the fun, friends!”

“Currently based in Spain, Rincón is a Mexican-born director with a strong focus on visual storytelling. Her quirky style is marked by bold colors and graphic composition set builds, which give her tabletop and performance-based work a unique flavor that is purely Paloma”

“Thanks to a new strategic partnership between Sarofsky and Nolo Digital Film, Nolo has moved to Sarofsky’s studio in Chicago’s West Loop and is now sharing Sarofsky’s customer service and production resources. This collaboration combines the offerings of two artist-owned production entities. As a key part of this new arrangement, Sarofsky’s MD/EP Steven Anderson and head of production Joel Signer will share oversight of production for both companies.”