Dawson Pickering co-founder Neil Dawson is joining TBWA’s Nissan United as global executive creative director. Nissan United is a dedicated unit of TBWA owner Omnicom that leads the Nissan account globally.
The appointment marks Dawson’s return to TBWA where he was creative director in the London office from 2003 to 2005. In his new role Dawson (below) will be responsible for all global Nissan creative and content from both Omnicom and non-Omnicom agencies. He will report to Nissan United president Jon Castle and TBWA global creative president Chris Garbutt and will be based in TBWA’s New York headquarters. Dawson says the opportunity was ‘too good to turn down.”
Castle says: “Neil is an amazing talent with an exceptional background and the ability to generate award-winning creative on a global scale. Nissan is an incredibly ambitious brand and we are confident that Neil will help drive great work in our markets around the world. We are delighted to have him join the Nissan United team.”
Garbutt says: “I’m thrilled that Neil is joining TBWA, and is going to lead Nissan creative globally. He has a history of disrupting the category with his creative product, and he’s not afraid to shake things up in order to produce the kind of iconic work that reinvents the status quo. At TBWA, we are committed to creative brilliance on all our brands and Neil will bring just that.”
Nissan United comprises Nissan’s global agencies of record including TBWA, OMD, Interbrand, Designory, Critical Mass and Emanate.
Dawson, who was creative director of BETC in London before setting up Dawson Pickering with Clive Pickering, has worked on a number of global tasks for big advertisers including Volkwagen and Philips at DDB and Johnnie Walker at BBH. Dawson Pickering had some success in its short life but its hopes of landing significant work from Diet Coke, which Dawson landed at BETC, were dashed by Coca-Cola’s decision to switch to a ‘One Coke’ strategy using existing agencies.
