BBDO New York named three new executive creative directors this week. They will each begin work at the firm by March 1.
Mathias Appelblad will join BBDO from independent Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors, where he was creative director. Toygar Bazarkaya joins BBDO’s New York office from BBDO Dusseldorf, where he was chief creative officer. Ralph Watson was hired from Saatchi & Saatchi NY, where he was SVP, creative director and head of art.
Bazarkaya will serve as head of global creative for client P&G, while Watson will oversee most AT&T work. Appelblad’s accounts are yet to be determined, though he said he will serve as director of innovation in addition to his creative role.
“It’s all about inspiring people to use their creativity and translate that into digital work,” Appelblad said. “Most traditional agencies are struggling with how to think digitally. It’s not that different, but takes a different skill set, and you have to know what drives a campaign in the digital space [as opposed to traditional space].”
The three hires join Greg Hahn, Don Schneider, Mike Smith and Ronald Ng as executive creative directors at BBDO NY. They report to David Lubars, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO North America.
