Independent West Coast advertising agency RPA has elevated four people in its creative department, promoting Tom Hamling to VP, creative director, Ken Pappanduros to creative director, and Hobart Birmingham and Perrin Anderson each to associate creative director.
Hamling has lent his talent to campaigns for a variety of prominent brands, including Adidas, Sprite, Lego and Sony, as well as the iconic “Got Milk?” campaign. Hamling joined the RPA team as a freelancer in 2010 and his work on campaigns for Farmers Insurance and Newport Beach Film Festival catapulted the Nashville native into the role of creative director before his latest advancement to VP, creative director.
Birmingham joined RPA in 2006, and has become an invaluable asset to the agency. “Hobart has become a go-to problem solver on tough assignments,” said RPA EVP/ECD Joe Baratelli. Faced with budget constraints and the demand for a full-line campaign, Birmingham created the heralded “Everybody Knows Somebody Who Loves a Honda” concept. He created the acclaimed Facebook “Naughty-or-Nice-a-Tron” to engage consumers over the holidays. When Honda wanted a campaign to keep its brand top-of-mind in the absence of new models, he created the “Good Reasons” campaign starring actor Patrick Warburton.
Anderson, who joined the agency in the summer of 2005 as a floater, has shown his writing skills on several successful Honda campaigns over the years. Not only did he play an important role in “Everybody Knows Somebody Who Loves a Honda,” “Naughty-or-Nice-a-Tron” and “Good Reasons,” but he also made major contributions to the recent CR-V “Forecast” and Accord “Through It All” spots. “Perrin has shown that gentlemanly conduct and creative acumen are not mutually exclusive,” said Baratelli. “Clients love working with him, and so do we.”
In Pappanduros’ short tenure with RPA, he has made a big impression. “Ken’s guidance, wisdom and thoughtfulness seems to have permeated the entire agency,” said Baratelli. Working with his partner, Chuck Blackwell, Pappanduros has delivered several well-received campaigns, most notably the multifaceted “Leap List” campaign for the CR-V that included the lauded “Matthew’s Day Off” Super Bowl spot.
“Ken is a champion of the big idea,” Baratelli added. “He is able to first recognize its potential and then guide it to its success, overseeing the many details in today’s fast-paced multimedia landscape in a relaxed manner.”