The United States of Australian advertising

Back in the 70s and 80s it was the Brits taking over Australian advertising – now it looks like it is the Americans, with an influx of U.S. executive creative directors in the past few years.

Four of Australia’s leading ad agencies now have Americans at the creative helm and The Commonwealth Bank has been the subject of much controversy since it appointed US-based agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners to its account.

1. Ogilvy & Mather Sydney has hired Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco creative director Chris Ford (above left), who will relocate mid-July as ECD.

2. Franklin Tipton (above right) became the creative director of Publicis Mojo Melbourne earlier this year from Goodby Silverstein & Partners where he was ECD on Sprint and Zynga.

3. U.S. born Micah Walker (far left) is the ECD at Publicis Mojo Sydney. He joined the agencyin 2007 from Fallon London where he was a creative director. Prior toFallon, Walker was CD at Leo Burnett Sydney.

4. Andy DiLallo (above right) is the ECD of Leo Burnett Sydney – a role he originallyshared with fellow American Jay Benjamin, who returned to the US inDecember 2009. They joined Leo Burnett Sydney as joint executivecreative directors in April 2008, lured from the joint ECD roles at JWTSydney. DiLallo originally came to Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, hired from Bozell New York by then ECD David Nobay. 

Australia is also proving to be a popular choice among South African creatives with three agencies appointing South Africans to the creative helm.

1. Julian Watt (far left), joined George Patterson Y&R, Sydney as ECD this year. He first came to Australia in 2008 to join 303 Sydney as ECD from Net#work BBDO, Johannesburg in his native South Africa.

3. The Campaign Palace, Melbourne hired South African team,Gerhard Myburgh and Brent Liebenberg (above centre), as joint creativedirectors from November 2008 until May 2010, when they resigned. Thepair joined from Draft FCB, one of the top three creative agencies inSouth Africa, where Myburgh served as executive creative director withLeibenberg as his writer and CD.

3 In May this year, Lowe Sydney hired South African Mike Barnwell (above right) as its new executive creative director. Barnwell was most recently ECD of Grey South Africa, based in Johannesburg.