Ad agency Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners has a tradition of welcoming new employees in unusual ways—like carving their faces into crayons or totem poles. But its latest new-hire stunt is particularly sweet: It fired up its 3-D printer and turned Ron Villacarillo and Ben Levy into Pez dispensers.
Check out a little video about it here:
RTO+P has a whole Maker Department, which, when it's not re-creating human likenesses in candy packaging, contributes to the agency's creative process, including pitches. The new-hire stunts, of course—besides making the new hires happy—have the added bonus of making them a bit more newsworthy.
So, below, read more about what Villacarillo and Levy will be doing at RTO+P, beyond disgorging blocks of candy from the neck region.
—Ron Villacarillo, Creative Director/Art Director
In this new position, Villacarillo will work closely on clients including Dockers and Morningstar Farms to develop creative across various media platforms, both traditional and digital. He will also play a large role in directing and mentoring junior talent at the agency.
Prior to joining RTO+P, Villacarillo was a freelance creative director. During his extensive career with agencies such as TBWA/Chiat/Day, McCann, The Martin Agency, CP+B, Saatchi and DDB, he's been honored with numerous awards including the One Show, Cannes and AICP, to name a few. He was also recognized outside of the advertising industry at the Cannes Film Festival for a short film he co-directed.
Commenting on his new role, Villacarillo said: "I'm excited to work at an office that doesn't feel like an office and with co-workers that feel more like friends than co-workers. And I'm also looking forward to riding my bike to work."
—Ben Levy, Associate Creative Director/Copywriter
As ACD/CW, Levy will be responsible for developing creative across all media for clients including Planet Fitness, Speck, T. Rowe Price and Under Armour.
He joins RTO+P from Havas Worldwide NY, where he was an ACD wordsmithing on clients like Keurig, Ritz Crackers, PayPal and Liberty Mutual. Levy's experience comes from working at a variety of prestigious agencies including Lost Boys International, Johannes Leonardo and SapientNitro. He is also a former student, teacher and mentor with the Miami Ad School. Throughout his career, Levy has amassed a number of awards including Cannes Lions, Webbys and Clios.
On joining RTO+P, Levy said: "I'm looking forward to new clients, new coworkers and having fun in advertising again. Not necessarily in that order."
