• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, July 21, 2014

Jumping aboard the whole used car ad trendlet, Australian ad man David Johns has created a dubstep infused, pulse-pounding ad for his old 1999 Holden Barina which borrows heavily from every car ad cliche you have ever seen. The video, with over one million views since its launch July 13, ends with a plea to tweet Johns an offer or to visit BuyMyBarina.com on which the vehicle's "specs" are highlighted. The whole thing may or may not be a promotion for Johns' agency, Sydney-based digital agency Chimney Group. Tiny links from the BuyMyBarina site point to the agency's Web site. Either way, this little bit of work ups the wacky used car ad game. And who can blame an ad exec for garnering notoriety any way he can? After all, pretty much everything we ad folks do is self-promotional anyway.

That little New York digital agency that the pot likes to call black, Kettle, is amping up its bi-coastal presence with two new hires -- one in San Francisco and one in New York. Amanda Hughes-Watkins will join the San Francisco office as creative director and Crystal Ginn will join the New York office as senior producer. Hughes-Watkins joins Kettle after spending the last two years as a creative director at Digitas San Francisco, where she led the creative work for eBay, Paypal and Kraft/Taco Bell Sauces. While there, her excellence in digital advertising was recognized with a Clio, Webby, MIXX, OMMA, and Communication Arts award. Prior to Digitas San Francisco, Amanda worked at R/GA San Francisco on Microsoft. Ginn comes to Kettle with experience as director of production at AREA 17, where she led work with brands like Google Chrome, Billboard, SPIN and Dering Hall. Prior to that, she worked at agencies including Razorfish, Syrup (LBi), Coty Prestige and createthe group with Axe, Marc Jacobs, Gwen Stefani Fragrances, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein X Underwear, Polo Ralph Lauren, David Yurman and Juicy Couture. She started her career at JWT and later served at Siegel+Gale.

Canadian marketing agency, Pivotstack took it upon themselves to determine the 50 most social ad agencies. Taking a look at each agency's presence on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn along with Alexa, the agency arrived at the list. Topping the list is Ogilvy & Mather with a score twice as high as the number two agency, IDEO. Given Ogilvy & Mather's social presence at Cannes and throughout the year, it's really no surprise that the agency snagged the top spot on the list. Rounding out the top five are Wieden+Kennedy, JWT and Leo Burnett. Not that "most social" actually means anything when it comes to creating advertising that sells a client's products, but it is an indicator of an agency's willingness to embrace and engage with social media.

In more mundane (excruciatingly boring) news, McKinney has announced former TBWA\Toronto Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer George Nguyen has joined the agency as managing director in New York. Nguyen will be charged with attracting global brands and talent to the agency. Of the hire, McKinney Chairman and CEO Brad Brinegar said: “George is a great addition to our leadership team. His infectious passion for brands and entrepreneurial spirit fit our plan for growth to a tee.” During his six years with the TBWA network, Nguyen worked with Visa, Asia Pacific Breweries, Johnny Walker, L’Oreal, Nivea, Nissan and Gatorade, among others. He was country manager of the operation in Vietnam and also helped to launch Vietnam's first professional international sports team, the Saigon Heat. Okay -- so that last part isn't so boring after all .