• by Larissa Faw , July 10, 2019

Upstart agency Optimist has poached Toygar Bazarkaya from DDB's bespoke McDonald's agency We Are Unlimited to serve as the agency's first Global Chief Creative Officer.

Bazarkaya will lead all of Optimist’s creative output for the agency’s global clients, which include Nike, Google, Target, Uber Eats, SKODA and Beats By Dre.

He was attracted to the agency's focus on developing brand experiences. “What’s one meal you still remember from last year? Or the one movie you remember for decades now?," he asks. "I’m sure you think of both as an experience, not just a meal or a movie. Experiences make us feel something and they stay with us. Experiences can be anything, and Optimist is one of the best at creating them for brands."

Over the past ten years, Optimist founders, Juergen Dold, Rose Odeh, Nils Arend and Tino Schaedler, have grown the company from a four-person team to an agency with 150+ employees.

Originally founded in Los Angeles, Optimist has since expanded its offices to New York, London, Hamburg, Berlin, Amsterdam and Prague. Bazarkaya will work out of the agency's LA offices.

Bazarkaya most recently worked as We Are Unlimited's Chief Creative Officer and prior to that he served as Chief Creative Officer for the Americas at Havas. Earlier, he was at BBDO New York.

With his departure, We Are Unlimited executive creative directors Derek Green and John Hansa will serve as co-leaders to oversee creative direction, reporting to DDB North America CCO Ari Weiss.