Commentary

Former Top Vice Creative Lands At Spring Studios

Tom Punch, the former top creative at Vice Media and its in-house ad agency Virtue, has joined the New York and London creative marketing and production shop Spring Studios as global president-Chief Creative Officer.

Punch, who resigned earlier this month, was a driving creative force at Vice. He is credited with leading content partnerships for Vice clients, such as Anheuser-Busch, Unilever, Samsung, YouTube and Google. Punch also oversaw the building of a production studio to create commercials, documentaries and other content for brands.

Punch will report to Spring Studios CEO, Richard Yaffa, who said: “Tom’s global experience and achievements will continue to expand Spring’s role as aspirational storytellers, carving out a strategic space where culture and commerce collide.”

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He added: “Spring has a powerful brand with untapped potential, a single-minded focus on a high end gap in the content marketplace, diversified creative output and revenue streams all underscored by a disruptive business model. Its merging of culture with commerce, community with content, and digital with physical has attracted a talented community of hybrid creative, business people.”

Before joining the millennial-focused Vice, Punch held roles at ad agency Mother and at several WPP shops, including MediaCom, Y&R and The Futures Company.

Punch is the latest senior executive to depart the struggling Vice, which is now planning cost cuts as it faces declining web traffic and flat earnings for 2018, while missing earlier projected revenue targets by more than $100 million.

Last week, The Walt Disney Company disclosed that it was taking a $157 million write-off against its 10% stake in the company.

Well, Tom, it looks like you’re getting out just in the nick of time!

Vice, as I’m sure you’ve read, has also been under a spotlight since a New York Times report late last year for having a frat boy culture that didn’t exactly have a zero tolerance policy when it came to alleged sexual harassment. Since the Times report (and follow-ups) a number of executives have left the company following sex-harassment allegations.

 

 

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