The Un-CCO

The earth moved last week.

Not because of any tectonic plate shifting. The seismic activity was confined to the Los Angeles advertising world, where in the span of just a few days we learned of the departure of one CCO -- Chief Creative Officer for those of you in the real world -- and the hiring of two new ones.

With all this free flowing digital ink, and none of it about me, it's hard to not feel like I'm being ignored.

That is until one loyal reader found this article buried in the back pages of ADWEEK (just the printed version.)


HAWTHORNE, CA -- Independent boutique agency, SynergInc, a rapidly growing team of "brand landscapers" has not named Rich Siegel to be their Chief Creative Officer. The 44-year old copywriting veteran, known for his brutal honesty and uncompromising demeanor, was not chosen to take SynergInc to the next level and will continue to be exploring other opportunities. 

SynergInc President Herman Hardwick was eager to go public with the announcement of Siegel's non-selection.

"We couldn't be happier not to welcome Siegel to the ranks of SynergInc's staff, a proven team of marketing assassins who come to work every day ready to change the world with wide-eyed optimism, selfless sacrifice and a limitless arsenal of cutting edge UX design, robust databases and rich banner ads. 

At SynergInc, we are finding new ways for our clients to engage in conversations with their customers. We are extremely excited that Siegel will not be in those conversations."

Cramming his laminated ABC outdoor boards back into his oversized leather portfolio case, the 44 year old Siegel, who refused to show us his driver's license, had this to say about not being named CCO, "That's just how the business goes these days. Did I mention my recently published book?"