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Webdenda: Accounts and People of Note in the Advertising Industry

Accounts and People of Note in the Advertising Industry

Julie Atherton joined the New York office of SapientNitro as vice president for strategy. She succeeds Steve Zaroff, who is now the chief strategy officer at McCann Erickson New York. Ms. Atherton had been a global digital director on Team Colgate, the WPP unit that is devoted to the Colgate-Palmolive account. McCann Erickson New York is part of the McCann Erickson Worldwide division of the McCann Worldgroup, which is owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies.

Mike Bender joined the New York office of CraveOnline, part of Evolve Media, as senior vice president for sales. He succeeds Drew Berkowitz, who joined Vistar Media, handling strategic sales and marketing partnerships. Mr. Bender had been vice president for East Coast sales at Spin Media, formerly Buzz Media.

Blade PR, Boston and New York, was opened by Victoria Brody, who had been director for communications at the Bravo cable channel that is part of the NBCUniversal division of Comcast.

Constant Contact, Waltham, Mass., which offers online marketing services, selected Mediahub, Boston, part of the Mullen division of the Interpublic Group of Companies, as its media agency of record, to handle media planning and buying. Spending was not disclosed. The assignment had previously been handled by NorBella, Boston.

Carolyn Contois joined Entrinsic, Toronto, in a new post, executive director for client services. She had been vice president and director for integrated solutions at the Toronto office of DDB Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group.

Jim Delaney, chief operating officer at Marketwired, Toronto, was promoted to chief executive. He succeeds Michael Nowlan, who served as chief executive for 14 years and is to remain on the company’s board.

Michelle Dickens and Neil Saunders joined GSD&M, Austin, Tex., part of the Omnicom Group, in new posts, as vice presidents and planning directors. Ms. Dickens, who will led the agency’s strategic efforts on the Walgreens account, had been a partner and planning director at Ogilvy West, part of the Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide unit of WPP. Mr. Saunders, who will lead planning for the John Deere and Goodyear accounts as well as for new business and special assignments, had most recently worked as a freelance planner at many agencies.

Sabrina Galati and Kathryn Redekop joined the San Francisco office of Gyro in new posts. Ms. Galati becomes vice president and media director; she had most recently been media director at Moxie, Atlanta, part of the Publicis Groupe. Ms. Redekop becomes vice president for agency operations; she had most recently been vice president and group director for project management at the San Francisco office of Digitas, also part of Publicis.

John Gilles joined the San Francisco office of Code and Theory in a new post, director for new media. He had most recently been managing director at A Different Engine, San Francisco.

HHGregg, Indianapolis, chose two agencies owned by the Publicis Groupe to handle its creative and media accounts, which had both been handled by Zimmerman Advertising, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., part of the Omnicom Group. Spending was estimated at more than $100 million. Leo Burnett, Chicago, will handle the creative duties and Spark SMG, Chicago, part of the Starcom MediaVest Group division of Publicis, will handle the media duties.

John Henderson joined Answers, St. Louis, in a new post, senior vice president for sales. He had most recently been vice president for sales at TripAdvisor.

Horn, New York, hired two employees. They are Eric Kim, art director, and Brooke Murphy, vice president and creative director.

Eric Mower & Associates, Syracuse, hired three employees. They are Lindsey Ferrara, project manager; Kori Pensabene, media planner and buyer; and Kelly Russell, account supervisor.

Mark C. Newcomer joined Digitaria, San Diego, part of the JWT unit of WPP, as senior vice president for strategy. He succeeds Dan Jurek, who left, the agency said. Mr. Newcomer had been a digital strategy architect in the Boston office of Accenture.

Nancy Roth joined Marc USA as senior vice president and media director. She succeeds Dan Albert, who retired, the agency said. Ms. Roth had been senior vice president and media director at Spark SMG, Chicago, part of the Starcom MediaVest Group unit of the Publicis Groupe.

Khan Smith joined Vibrant Media, New York, in a new post, senior vice president for product. He had been vice president for product management and marketing at Akamai Technologies.

Mike Stocker and Robin Chrumka, senior vice presidents and group creative directors at McCann Detroit â€" the Birmingham, Mich., office of McCann Erickson Worldwide, part of the McCann Worldgroup division of the Interpublic Group of Companies â€" were promoted to executive vice presidents and co-executive creative directors. They assume duties from Matt Canzano, who has taken two posts: global executive creative director at Commonwealth â€" the agency operated by McCann Erickson that is devoted to the worldwide Chevrolet creative account â€" and chief creative officer at MRM Detroit, part of the MRM Worldwide division of the McCann Worldgroup.

Kim Tan joined Real Simple magazine, New York, part of the Time Inc. division of Time Warner, as vice president for marketing. She succeeds Sarah Kate Ellis, who left, the magazine said. Ms. Tan had been executive director for creative services at GQ magazine, New York, part of the Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications.

Julie Thompson, vice president and co-director for local broadcast at Doner, Southfield, Mich., part of MDC Partners, was promoted to a new post, senior vice president and director for local broadcast.

Sascha Uzzell joined Campfire, New York, in a new post, director for accounts. She had been vice president and senior director at Safari Sundays, New York.



Fox to Bring Back ’24’ as a 12-Hour Special Event

Fox to Bring Back ’24’ as a 12-Hour Special Event

Jack Bauer will soon have another ticking time bomb to defuse.

“24,” the counterterrorism drama that brought to life the American’s public’s fears after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is returning to Fox as a 12-hour special event next year, the network said Monday. Kiefer Sutherland will return in the title role of Jack Bauer, a secret agent who will stop at nothing to stave off impending attacks.

“The response to ‘24’ is unlike anything I have ever experienced as an actor before,” Mr. Sutherland said in a statement. “To have the chance to reunite with the character, Jack Bauer, is like finding a lost friend.” He thanked the producers and Fox for the opportunity and added, “Make no mistake, my goal is to knock your socks off. See you soon.”

Fox said the new version of “24,” with the subtitle “Live Another Day,” would likely premiere in May 2014. It will be shown for 12 weeks in a row as part of what Fox calls a “limited series” strategy. That means it is intended to be a one-time event â€" though in television, those plans can always change.

The network has a second “limited series,” called “Wayward Pines,” in the works for 2014 as well.

Fox said “24: Live Another Day” would stick with the show’s original conceit, a 24-hour clock, but would skip some hours and condense others to fit into the 12-hour format. Kevin Reilly, the chairman of Fox Broadcasting, told reporters on a Monday morning conference call that 12 hours “is the perfect form” for “24” this time around because the spine of the past seasons had about 12 hours worth of action, with “little events and connective tissue in between.”

Fox will promote the plans for the franchise’s return at its annual event for advertisers on Monday afternoon.

“24,” at its height in the early 2000s, regularly drew 10 million to 15 million viewers, and it became a big hit on DVD, partly thanks to its 24-hour format. (It was meant for binge-viewing years before the term was popularized by Netflix and other streaming services.)

The show ended in 2010. There has been occasional talk since then about a “24” film, but Mr. Reilly said that the producers concluded that “'24’ being compressed into two hours isn’t ’24.’ ”

With its brutal scenes of torture at the hands of Bauer, the series was sometimes a rorschach test for post-9/11 counterterrorism strategies. The threats portrayed in “24,” and Bauer’s responses to them, were repeatedly evoked by Bush administration officials and Republican presidential candidate. Some activists blamed the show for popularizing the use of torture and misleading viewers into thinking that the tactics were effective.

Howard Gordon, an executive producer of the series, said in a statement on Monday that the Bauer character “has evolved through the years, and this new and exciting event series format is perfect to tell the next chapter of his story and continue to reflect how the world is changing.”



Fox Looks to Shore Up Comedy Lineup on Tuesdays

Fox Looks to Shore Up Comedy Lineup on Tuesdays

The Fox network will unveil a prime-time schedule on Monday that includes sweeping changes and â€" like the schedules expected from its network competitors â€" a copious injection of new programming.

Fox is adding 12 new series, to be spread throughout the season in the latest network effort to maintain a mostly original schedule from September to May.

The network is adding five comedies, four dramas, an animated show, a reality show and something Fox is calling an “event series.”

The stars filling the casts include names like Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Greg Kinnear, Matt Dillon and Seth Green.

Fox will try to shore up a lackluster Tuesday night of comedy with new entries, “Dads,” which features Mr. Green and Giovanni Ribisi as young, single men trying to cope with living with their fathers, and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which stars Mr. Samberg and Mr. Braugher as two incompatible city cops.

The network, which has scored before with science fiction, has two new entries in the genre. “Almost Human,” from the producer J.J. Abrams, is about a police force in the future that works with lifelike robots, and “Sleepy Hollow,” which brings Ichabod Crane back to life to save humanity.

Mr. Kinnear will play a self-destructive lawyer in “Rake.”

The so-called event series is “Wayward Pines,” which is set for early 2014. Mr. Dillon plays a Secret Service officer trying to unravel the mysterious deaths of two agents. Presumably it will be a closed-end case that will come to a conclusion, making it akin to many cable series.

The new animated show, “Murder Police,” tracks the adventures of an inept cop, while the new reality entry, “Junior Masterchef,” is a cook-off among child chefs.

The Fox prime-time lineup will change substantially at midseason. Here is the schedule, with new shows in italics:

MONDAY

8:00-9:00

Bones (fall) / Almost Human (new; late fall)

9:00-10:00

Sleepy Hollow (new; fall) / The Following (midseason)

TUESDAY

8:00-8:30

Dads (new)

8:30-9:00

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (new)

9:00-9:30

New Girl

9:30-10:00

The Mindy Project

WEDNESDAY

8:00-10:00

The X Factor (fall) / American Idol (midseason)

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00

The X Factor Results (fall) / American Idol Results (midseason)

9:00-10:00

Glee (fall) / Rake (new; midseason)

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00

Junior Masterchef (new; fall)

9:00-10:00

Sleepy Hollow (new; fall)

FRIDAY (Late Fall)

8:00-9:00

Bones

9:00-9:30

Raising Hope

9:30-10:00

Enlisted (new)

SATURDAY

7:00-10:30

Fox Sports Saturday

11:00-12:30

Animation Domination High-Def

SUNDAY

7:00-7:30

N.F.L. Game (fall)

7:30-8:00

The OT (fall)

8:00-8:30

The Simpsons

8:30-9:00

Bob’s Burgers

9:00-9:30

Family Guy

9:30-10:00

American Dad