David Blecken
Nov 4, 2011

John Merrifield departs top creative role at TBWA

SINGAPORE – John Merrifield, TBWA’s regional creative-at-large, is to part ways with the agency after a period of nine years.

Merrifield first joined TBWA in Japan
Merrifield first joined TBWA in Japan

TBWA did not elaborate on the reason for Merrifield’s departure. Keith Smith, the agency’s president international, noted that Merrifield had “created some iconic work and helped raise TBWA’s profile across the region”.

“On behalf of all of us at TBWA, I want to thank John for his contribution and wish him the best in the future,” Smith said.

Merrifield described TBWA as having been “a fantastic place to hang one’s hat” and said he was looking forward to taking time out to surf.

Merrifield, who has been described as the ‘Don Draper of Asia’ by the Wall Street Journal, began his career with TBWA in Japan in 2003 as chief creative officer. He achieved fame in the creative industry for the ‘Impossible Sprint’ campaign for Adidas, and took on his regional role in 2006.

A spokesperson from TBWA said the position would not be replaced.

Source:
Campaign Asia

Related Articles

Just Published

12 hours ago

Lululemon hands media account to GroupM in key ...

The business was won from Havas after a competitive pitch.

12 hours ago

Agency Report Cards 2024: We grade 25 APAC networks

The grades are in for Campaign Asia's 22nd annual evaluation of APAC agency networks. Subscribe to read our detailed analyses.

13 hours ago

GroupM restructures across Asia, Indonesia ...

Staffing cuts across Asia have begun as GroupM transitions to a “single operating model” under the soon-to-be-rebranded WPP Media banner.

13 hours ago

Agency Report Card 2024: DDB

A storied legacy weighed down by churn, uneven creative output, and account losses. As organisational change looms, DDB must reignite its creative firepower or risk fading behind siblings TBWA and BBDO.