Ogilvy Sydney lures star creative duo Lisa Down and Leila Cranswick from BMF for CD roles

Ogilvy Network ANZ continues to build its pool of proven creative talent, this week announcing the hire of Lisa Down (right) and Leila Cranswick (left) as creative directors in Sydney.

The duo will work closely with Ogilvy Network ANZ chief creative officer Toby Talbot and the Ogilvy Sydney creative leaders, tapping into and working with the agency’s multiple pillars as part of its focus on borderless creativity.

Creating a name for themselves at BMF over many years, Cranswick and Down have been working jointly for several years as associate creative directors and innovation leads across a range of leading brands, together creating award-winning campaigns for clients such as ALDI, Tourism Tasmania, TAL, the Federal Government, and Insuranceline among others.

Says Talbot: “To say I’m excited that Lisa and Leila are joining Ogilvy would be something of an understatement. The strength and depth of their work at BMF really impresses. The Tourism Tasmania ‘Off Season’. Divine. ‘One Talk at a Time’ for New South Wales Government. Deftly handled. I can’t wait to see what they do for us as newly minted CDs”.

Says Bridget Jung, ECD, Ogilvy Sydney: “Bringing a team of this calibre to Ogilvy is truly exciting and speaks volumes about our continued commitment to investing in the best creative talent. Beyond the work, they’re smart, nice and rock a great line in alliterated first names.”

Cranswick brings a broad range of experience to the role, having spent close to eight years working abroad in the photographic industry, before turning her hand to Art Direction. In nearly a decade of advertising, she’s worked on ALDI, Tourism Tasmania, TAL, Budget Direct and Harley Davidson as well as winning joint Award School Tutor of the Year in 2020.

During her nine-plus years at BMF, Down’s experience includes everything from leading ALDI retail copy to creating highly effective integrated campaigns for nearly every client in the building. She has tutored Award School and presented at D & AD Shift Sydney.

They jointly say: “The enthusiasm about Ogilvy from Toby, Bridget and the rest of the team was palpable from the start, and clearly it became pretty infectious. We’re excited to move into the next phase of our careers with great agency leaders and clients.”

Down and Cranswick’s hire follows other recent creative appointments across the Ogilvy network, including Chris Andrews and Ant Simmons as GCDs in Melbourne, and a range of creative promotions within the Ogilvy Sydney team.

Ogilvy has also received a raft of recent accolades for its work; last month it won both WARC’s #Creative100 and #Effective100 for the second year in a row. Ogilvy was also named 2024 Global Agency Network of the Year by AdAge.