Richard Marlis, the former exec VP of Hollywood-based ka-chew/Klasky-Csupo, and Carmen Italia, an advertising and marketing exec and founder of Italia Partners, announced the opening of Wild Canary Media today, based in Burbank, California, USA.
Joining Marlis and Italia at Wild Canary are executive producer of animation Liz Seidman, directors Paul DeMeyer and Gary Johns and producer Chris Hutchison. Heading up the CG animation team are CGI supervisor Bryan Blevins and lead TD artist James Parks. Spearheading the broadcast entertainment business is Mark Pinsker.
Wild Canary is currently working on several new spots for Mucinex, Chucky Cheese and a video game project for RDAI. Also in production are numerous entertainment projects for clients Disney, Marvel Studios, Cartoon Network and Fox.
Marlis and Italia said in a joint statement, "We both have a vision as to what Wild Canary is going to be in the coming years as a company and it starts with smart and talented people moving a brand across multiple platforms including print, websites, traditional :30 spots, and branded content. Today's companies need to be strategic and focused on the building of assets. It all starts with the right company made up of talented individuals who are flexible and creative, and who can deliver for the client in a timely and economic fashion."
Marlis is the former executive vice president of Klasky-Csupo, where he ran day-to-day operations for the studio and the commercial division, ka-chew! During his tenure at Klasky-Csupo, Marlis spearheaded the production of dozens of pilots for Nickelodeon and feature film projects. The commercial division, ka-chew!, produced award-winning projects for some of the most respected names in the industry, including Mucinex, Campbell's, Keebler, Hallmark, Kraft, Mattel, Easton, Kidz Bop, and Earthlink. They also created on-air promos for such companies as ESPN, FOX, E! Entertainment, MTV, and Nicktoons.
Italia brings a multitude of marketing experience to Wild Canary. He built his own agency from scratch into a $100 million company with offices across the country employing more than 100 employees. Some of his accounts included CompUSA, Sears, Wendy's, True Value and EAS nutritional products. He is inventive, hands-on, and very involved with the media, particularly in developing creative ways to approach cross-platform media.
An integral part of Wild Canary's strategy is in the broadcast entertainment industry. Pinsker, executive producer, was a principal Partner of THINK, a strategic branding, marketing and production company with a diverse client base in television and film entertainment. Clients include: FX Networks, Fox Broadcasting, ABC Cable Networks, Disney, ESPN, NBC Productions, Wal-Mart, Earthlink, PBS, and Warner Bros. Previously, he served as senior vice president of production of special projects at Fox Family Worldwide and was vice president of on-air advertising and promotion with Saban Entertainment.
Also part of the Wild Canary team is Seidman, who worked with Marlis at ka-chew! She previously worked at Colossal Pictures, Broadcast Arts, Peter Wallach Enterprises, Jumbo Pictures and Michael Sporn Animation.
Director DeMeyer's high-profile campaigns for Mucinex (featuring Mr. Mucus) and Campbell's are among his commercial directing credits, along with spots for MCI, Taco Bell, American Airlines, Zicam, and Joy Liquid. His award winning feature and television credits include co-directing RUGRATS IN PARIS: THE MOVIE, directing DUCKMAN and serving as creative producer for the early days of the television series RUGRATS.
Director Johns has received numerous major awards in advertising and commercial filmmaking, and has worked with such high profile clients as Lexus, Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas, AT&T, Honda, Sprint, Miller Lite, Pepsi, Apple, Reebok, Range Rover, and Ford. As creative director of Chiat/Day, he created internationally acclaimed campaigns for Nike, including the famous I LOVE LA commercial and the introduction of the AIR JORDAN campaign.
Producer Hutchison started at Klasky-Csupo as a production assistant and was promoted to production coordinator working in the television pipeline. He moved from Klasky-Csupo to ka-chew! five years ago as a coordinator and was quickly promoted to producer at ka-chew!
CG Supervisor Blevins has worked on a multitude of CG projects including BLADE, HELLBOY, JIMMY NEUTRON, SCOOBY DOO, KUNG POW, XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS and ALLY MCBEAL.
For more information go to www.wildcanary.com.
