DDB has filled the top creative role on its McDonald's business in the U.S. with Tony Malcolm, a creative director who's well known within the fast-food giant.
That's because Malcolm has worked on McDonald's at fellow roster shop Leo Burnett, albeit out of the U.K. His reel includes the "Just Passing By" campaign that won gold and silver Lions at Cannes.
At DDB, Malcolm becomes executive creative director on the U.S. portion of the agency's global McDonald's account. In his new job, he'll lead a team of 30 creative staffers that works on the brand in Chicago. He starts today.
Malcolm arrives after a challenging year at McDonald's, which experienced some monthly sales declines in the U.S. McDonald's is also one of DDB's largest clients.
"To be the creative leader on the biggest piece of business that you have on an iconic brand like McDonald's—it's an important position no matter what the business environment," said Paul Gunning, CEO of DDB Chicago. "Tony knows what he needs to do. There's no change in attitude whether or not business environments are more challenging at all."
DDB represents Malcolm's first stab at working in the U.S. market. Earlier in his career, he worked as a senior copywriter at the London offices of Wieden + Kennedy and BBDO, and was a partner and cd at his own agency, Malcolm Moore Deakin Blazye.
Beyond McDonald's, Malcolm's brand experience ranges from Honda, Guinness and Nike to Sony PlaytStation, Absolut and Heinz. His tenure at Leo Burnett dated back to 2004.
DDB's last ecd on McDonald's was Bill Cimino, who left the agency in late 2012 to become chief creative officer at Young & Rubicam in Chicago. After Cimino's exit, DDB Chicago CCO Ewan Paterson led creative development on the account, but Paterson left five months ago and has yet to be replaced. Gunning hopes to fill the CCO role shortly.