Cheil Worldwide hires Brits Ashton and Pinnington as global creative directors
South Korean marcoms company Cheil Worldwide has hired British freelancers/consultants Luke Ashton and Dean Pinningtom as global creative directors, based in Seoul and reporting Cheil Worldwide global ECD Wain Choi.
Ashton (below right with Pinnington) began his career as a copywriter on McLaren Formula One. After becoming editor-in-chief of the British American Racing Honda magazine, he joined up with Pinnington in London in 2005 and, at 29, became one of DDB London’s youngest creative directors. Pinnington started at Ogilvy and Mather and Collet Dickenson Pearce where he worked on accounts including Historic Royal Palaces, Honda and Isle of Jura Whiskey.
Choi says: “I had the pleasure of working with Dean and Luke before. Most of the projects were demanding from a timing point of view and briefs were constantly moving. However they were always willing to find the best solution. I enjoyed their energy throughout the creative development process and their attitude towards great ideas, ‘it can always be better’. I am confident that they will be a great asset to my creative department.”
Ashton says: “Cheil has projects that any creative in the world would want to work on. They are winning the big awards, because they ask ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could do this…’ and then put all their energies into finding a way to do it. That’s what got us excited, as that’s the way we’ve always worked.
“Seoul is a vibrant, electric city and working at Cheil gives you the feeling that you’re right at the sharp end of the cutting-edge. Having been creative consultants for a long time, we’ve had the fortune to learn from many different creative directors at many different agencies, so we aim to use this varied experience to get the most out of the talented teams here.”
Cheil’s global network includes McKinney, The Barbarian Group, Beattie McGuinness Bungay and iris. Its biggest account is Samsung.