McCann Sydney chief creative officer Darren Spiller departs the agency after eight months
CB can reveal that Darren Spiller, chief creative officer of McCann Sydney has departed the agency after eight months.
Spiller, who joined McCann Sydney in mid-April, is a multi-award winning creative leader with awards covering everything from Cannes Lions to D&AD pencils. He also featured in Adweek’s Top 100 Creatives for 2018. Spiller comes to the agency after spending 18 months as Host/Havas Australia’s first chief creative officer.
Spiller joined Host/Havas at the beginning of 2017, two months after departing his role as DDB Melbourne CCO.
He joined DDB Melbourne in 2012 as ECD, replacing Grant Rutherford, and was promoted to CCO in February 2015, a move which saw a major creative restructure for the agency. During his time at DDB Melbourne, the agency enjoyed a creative resurgence, developing high-profile work for Westpac, Devondale and RSL amongst others.
Prior to joining DDB Melbourne, Spiller held the role of CCO at Fallon USA, moving to Minneapolis in June 2009. Before Fallon, he was regional creative director of Publicis Mojo Australia and New Zealand.
It is believed Spiller is enjoying a break in Byron Bay and could not be contacted.
28 Comments
Smart Wax envy?
Wax off
A creative resurgence followed by….
OK….
How does McCann rank the way this week’s going?
mcaanwundermanthomposonddbwhitegrey
Oh, McCann and the revolving door of CD’s.
Smart Wax on, Smart Wax off.
The door revolves on everyone, not just creatives.
McCann is really having a bad… two years
They had already gone through years of upheaval when I joined in ‘85 as part of the then new creative regime. Apparently the mission was to ‘make McCanns Sydney creative’. Sound familiar?
I’d say that the root of the problem is that it’s a multinational whose clients just want safe, international pattern material. I wonder if that’s still the case.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
So how do you account for the fact the New York office is top notch? The screw ups here stem from the appointment of the management who came in and destroyed an agency that was earning its stripes. The multinational clients in the states embrace good work. Don’t blame clients when it’s shit people.
big yikes
A wax to smart for its own good
comment
Hey Daz, watchu doin up here in Byron brah? Thought you were busy birthin lions in Sydney!
you’ve done it again
McCann and creativity have never worked.
Fuck, tough crowd. I don’t know how it happened but when Darren was at DDB Melbourne it was the envy of the Sydney office. Really good work on some very tough clients. McCann Sydney is a tough gig.
All the best, hope you’ve found something good.
I thought you were old, but that makes you about 126. Don’t you have better things to do than comment on this sad ass blog? Like go fishing with your grand kids or donate your brain to science? Seriously though man, you’ll be much happier.
Actually I donated my brain to science a few years ago. My comments are made by the twitching movements of the fingers of my long-dead corpse.
It’s very nice here today.
McCanned
You get a guy like Darren in and you have to give him a good run at it, without getting in the way.
My guess is the latter happened.
McCann’s loss will undoubtedly be another agency’s gain.
I’ve worked with Spiller and this is spot on.
Problem is, few agencies will let anyone just have a ‘good run at it, without getting in the way’.
And even fewer will stand by and watch their staff being steamrolled just for ‘being in the way’…
He simply saw the rot around him and got smart. He won’t be the slightest bit worried. He’s no doubt sick of the plonkers that hold him back from doing his job.
Daz has a great mind and you need to let him use it, or he will leave. Evident here McCann got in the way. Adios!
Old CD guy, don’t you ever go away. We love you man. You had me at “new creative regime.” Pure gold.
Seriously how could he not have seen this coming when he joined…it’s happens every time…the only things that survive at McCann are the finance and HR ‘team’