“We wanted to create something unique that elevated the brand and really tapped into its experts by providing the customer an environment in which to interact with Sport Chalet’s snow products,” said Eric Feitel, Creative Director for TM Advertising.  “The mountain micro-site gives consumers a cool and engaging look at the latest in sporting gear and provides insight from top professional athletes in a fashion-forward and candid way.”

“I’ve known Max for years, given his Seattle roots, and have long admired his work and passion for this business,” said Jim Walker, chief creative officer for TM Advertising. “We’re thrilled that he’s joined us and know that his experience and talent will have a dynamic impact on the agency.”

A graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, Godsil’s previous agency experience includes Borders, Perrin Norrander, BBDO in Los Angeles and Vitrorobertson of San Diego.

“TM has a lot of momentum right now. You can feel it in the halls. You can see it in the work,” said Godsil. “We’re in a unique position, geographically and otherwise. Not too many agencies have the ability to solve big, global problems – but from a creative boutique creative mind-set. The potential is really unlimited.”

The obvious, Cannes is beautiful. But, if you haven’t been here, it’s surprisingly small, so when the Advertising Festival hits town, you see advertising people everywhere. It’s like one big ad agency with a bunch of tourists mixed in.

The Americans and the English especially like staying on the boulevard, in storied hotels like The Majestic, The Carlton, The Martinez and The Palais des Festivals. Big names, big hotels. Big histories. An apt metaphor for our traditional perception of where famous advertising comes from. But a lot of the work is coming from places a lot less traditional. (I’ll get to that later)

Yes, I stopped by the Carlton last night (no I’m not staying there), but the bar was humming. Saw friends from Cole & Weber United, caught up briefly with Michael McLaren and Matt Ross (McCann Worldwide Account Director and Managing Director of McCann San Francisco-hopefully here to pick up a lot of hardware for the Halo launch) and Michael Roth (you know, chairman of IPG and the guy on those ethics courses you probably still need to do). Headhunters mingle with creatives on the deck, and out-of-pitch live music plays on public docks across the boulevard. Companies from Getty Images to Microsoft sponsor everything along the waterfront. (It’s an advertising festival after all) Even Argentina is a brand here, with a sign proudly plastered across the festival hall. Groups break up and head for dinner, the restaurants are open air, and television screens show Italy and France playing soccer. You can hear the whole city groan and cheer when something happens. I don’t know how the match ended up (you can ask Oakley if you’re curious), but Italy was up 1-0 when I finally gave up watching.

But back to the festival. It’s hard to believe that not that many years ago, the US and England seemed to dominate, and the rest of the world came to watch and hopefully sneak a few Lions home. But the work is coming from amazing places, and when you look, you can see (and feel) the passion, and enthusiasm for the ideas and execution, in all mediums, from places like Johannesburg, Mumbai (heard of the agency FP7? Me neither, but they’re worth paying attention to), Seoul, Dubai and Sao Paolo (I don’t know what they’re drinking down there, but we should get some.)

Besides the media and cyber categories, one of the most interesting categories was the outdoor category. Our work for Nationwide “Coop’s Paint” was short-listed but no Lion. BBDO’s Voyeur won the Grand Prix, but there was a lot of cool work done in that category. Television and Cyber Lion shortlists will be announced later this week.

It’s inspiring to be around the work and the attendees here. Saw Bob Greenburg from RG/A present with the Chief of Brand Connections from Nike (very cool, but that’s a note in itself).There’s a common theme from the winners to the presenters. All it takes is powerful, simple ideas, elegantly but single-mindedly executed in surprising ways (and places). And there is definitely a trend toward work that involves the viewer, not just work that “inspires” them. More evidence that our positioning, “Ideas that Change Cultures” is spot on. And with new mediums, new technologies and new passionate people coming into our business, it’s an exciting time to be around. Time to raise our game. It’s going to be fun and a wild ride.

And Cannes is a reminder that sometimes you need to get out of the traditional places, do a little exploring and try something new.

Jim Walker, Executive Creative Director

“We’ve long admired Shane’s work and are thrilled that he’s joined us,” said Jim Walker, chief creative officer of TM Advertising. “He’s exactly the type of talent who will help us continue to reinvent the way we work and help us build on the tremendous momentum that we’ve created this year.”

Prior to GSDM’s Idea City, Diver was creative director at LaBov Advertising, where he worked on Audi and Volkswagen, the Certified Pre-Owned Divisions of both.

“I’m excited about being in Dallas and working with Jim and his talented team,” said Diver. “TM Advertising represents an evolving agency model that hosts tremendous creative talent, great digital and strategic resources and a desire to seek new ways of doing things.”

Diver has earned numerous awards and recognition for his accomplishments throughout his career on both the traditional and digital fronts. More specifically, he’s earned honors from Communication Arts, National ADDYs and The Webby Awards.

Diver is a graduate of Southern Illinois University, with a B.S. in Commercial Graphics & Design and a minor in Advertising.

“This is an exciting time here, and we’re thrilled that Bob is joining us,” said Jim Walker, chief creative officer for the agency. “I’ve known Bob since he came to Seattle from Fallon in the mid-’90s. He’s exactly the type of talent who will help us continue to reinvent the way we work and help us build on the tremendous momentum that we’ve created in the last couple of months.”

“My passion is working at an agency that constantly works to break the boundaries of traditional advertising,” said Brihn. “The agency Jim and Tom Hansen have put together is built specifically to challenge conventional thinking. TM represents an evolving agency model that host tremendous creative talent, great digital and strategic resources and a mind-set about seeking new ways of doing things that is almost obsessive.”

Brihn started his career in 1986 at Fallon where he worked on brands such as Porsche, Lee Jeans, Time magazine and Gilbey’s Gin. He also spent time at other Minneapolis shops including Carmichael Lynch and Campbell Mithun where he worked on Harley-Davidson, Samuel Adams and Schwinn. Brihn also had a stint at Cole & Weber in Seattle where he served as executive creative director. He has earned honors from the One Show, Cannes, the Art Directors Club of New York, Communication Arts and D&AD.