Newhaven Communications is losing its top creative team to London, but has poached Leith’s senior creative team of Rufus Wedderburn and Chris Watson.
The agency will bid farewell to Paul Mason and Mark Harrison, who have agreed to a move to Red Brick Road, the agency set up by industry veteran Sir Frank Lowe in London.
The hiring of Wedderburn and Watson came shortly after news broke that the agency had been appointed to the Bank of Scotland advertising roster.
Newhaven beat both The Union and 1576 in a three-way pitch for the chance to manage the bank’s Scottish retail-banking advertising campaigns.
Wedderburn and Watson will now join Newhaven to work on the bank business among other high-profile agency clients.
Since Wedderburn teamed up with Watson at Leith, the pair have won numerous awards for their work on BNJ, Irn Bru and the Scottish Executive, securing Scottish Advertising’s Grand Prix in 2005.
The departing Harrison and Mason have enjoyed enormous success at Newhaven. The agency took the pair on as juniors, and in just over two years they have become one of the most lauded teams in Scotland, earning the Young Team of the Year accolade in 2005, and the 2006 Grand Prix for their Tennent’s Black Magic ad.
“It’s fantastic for Paul and Mark that their talent has been recognised in London, and a great riposte to those who suggest that fresh talent can’t be nurtured in Scotland,” said Newhaven creative partner Zane Radcliffe. “Their creative output was unbelievable for us and I have no doubt that they will be very successful.”
Mason said that the move to London came out of the blue: “We hadn’t been looking to move. We were the second team at the most creative agency in Scotland and very happy too. It took a great offer from London to prise us away.”
“We’re really excited about the prospect of Rufus and Chris coming in to the fold,” said Newhaven partner Gareth Howells. “We can’t wait to let them loose on briefs like Tennent’s and Bank of Scotland.”