BENJAMIN, SAMPSON AND DILALLO: GOAL TO MAKE LEO BURNETT BEST IN THE WORLD

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Jay, Todd & Andy-WEB.jpgLeo Burnett Sydney has confirmed the CB Blog story posted last night that Andy DiLallo and Jay Benjamin have been appointed joint executive creative directors of the agency, replacing Mark Collis, who has headed to the ECD gig at Ogilvy Tokyo, as previously reported.

Says Leo Burnett CEO Todd Sampson – centred with Benjamin (left) and DiLallo (right): “I hired Andy and Jay because I think they are the best and will liftan already high bar of creativity in the agency. This year Leo Burnettwill be one the top creative agencies in the world. We are the onlynetworked agency in the world to ever win Titanium and I view this asour starting point.  Therefore, it requires a certain type of energy,drive and talent to push that even further. I have found that in Andyand Jay.”

American born DiLallo and Benjamin were promoted to joint executivecreative directors of JWT Sydney in August last year after joining asdeputy CDs in December 2006 from Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand. Thepair were brought out to Australia by Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney in2003, hired by then ECD David Nobay, who was their boss at Bozell, NewYork.

Says Sampson: “My ambition creatively is simple – to be best in the world and I want to dothis across all channels, in all mediums on real clients both large andsmall. This year our awards and recognition are coming from a range ofclients and disciplines including McDonald’s, Fairfax, Bundy, Canon andWWF. We had the most awarded digital campaign in the world last year,our Promotion Division is 4x Agency of the Year and we recently won DMAgency of the Year at Adfest. I want to be the most recognised andawarded in all mediums and channels.”

Benjamin and DiLallo are two of the top and most awarded creative directors in the country. They rank in the top 10 in the region and their work has been continually recognized at Cannes, One Show, D&AD, Clio, AWARD, Adfest and Young Guns. They were also big part of five Campaign Brief Agency of the Year titles during their five year stint at Saatchi’s both in Sydney and Auckland. 

Says Sampson: “But it was when they took on the role of co ECDs at JWT that their true talent as creative directors came to the forefront. In their time at JWT, they took it from number #72 in the network to #1 and made one of the least creative agencies in Australia runner up Campaign Brief Agency of the Year. Many thought this was not possible but it is proof of the power of this creative duo. Everyone that has worked with Andy and Jay talk about their passion and drive to be the best in the world and their ability to bring the entire agency with them.

“Now with the appointment of Scott Davis as Head of Strategy and Josh Grace as Head of DM we have completed the management line up with the best talent in the industry. There is no limit to what we can achieve as an imaginative company.”

Mark_Tutssel-SMALL.jpgSays Mark Tutssel (left), Leo Burnett Worldwide Creative Director, who was in Sydney last month judging the Andy’s: “Andy and Jay have a proven ability to generate big ideas time and time again. Their award winning work speaks for itself. With Todd Sampson we now have a dynamic, new, creative management team in place, with the talent to take full advantage of the infinite creative opportunities that face our industry.”

Says DiLallo: “Leo Burnett is already a solid agency with creativity firmly planted in its DNA and for that reason is a place we have always had our eye on. Todd’s unrelenting drive toward big, creative, problem solving ideas is very much in line with the way we work and where the industry is headed. When you combine that with Leo Burnett’s world class capabilities in the digital, direct and emerging media landscape and our experience in these areas, there really is no limit to what the agency is capable of achieving”

Adds Benjamin: “We believe that the best work comes from creating a vibrant, fun and rewarding agency culture, across all departments. We’re passionate about the people we work with and share the same philosophy as Todd in this area. People first, then product, then profit.”

The pair has experience with some of the biggest international and local brands including Toyota, Kellogg’s, Nestle, Westpac, Tiger Beer, Johnson & Johnson, Olympus, Thrifty, Bank of America, Fujitsu and Verizon…to name a few.