CB Exclusive: After less than 10 months Toby Talbot departs Assignment for new adventure
February 28 2017, 4:20 pm | | 18 Comments
CB Exclusive – Campaign Brief can reveal that after less than 10 months in the role Toby Talbot has resigned as managing partner, Assignment Auckland, and is considering new opportunities both in New Zealand and overseas.
Talbot joined Assignment from DDB Sydney in May 2016, partnering up with Peter Biggs and Philip ‘Duster’ Andrew.
Under Talbot’s watch DDB Sydney was the most awarded Australian agency at Cannes in 2016, bringing home 12 Lions.
Apart from Cannes (one Gold, five Silver and five Bronze Lions), DDB scored Silver at the Facebook Global Awards, Silver at Effies and made the top 10 of the 2016 Bestads Australian Agency Rankings.
18 Comments
Toby to Saatchis NZ?
I’m pretty sure that would be a massive step backwards for someone as good as Toby.
Good luck, T Bone. You my boy!
He’d be better off heading to a top US agency, one that makes stuff. BBDO NYC or W+K Portland. If he can’t get into BBDO Auckland, why bother with this shitty town?
Assignment is a shadow of its former self. Good time to get out Tony.
Wow, what really happened here!?
Look what happens when you’re once again surrounded by seniors and not fresh out of school juniors…
Will be the 4th for Toby in 4 years…. That’s not exactly a great recent track record, even if you presume the Assignment thing is not his fault (seriously, who thought recruiting only generals and not giving them any soldiers to command would work out well?)
Wow, that is so blimmin’ unfair. I’m an ex DDB’er. One of the reasons I joined was to work with Toby and one of the reasons I left was because he left. People quickly forget things like this but he left DDB in 2011 on a real high. And he left because his dad was dying in the UK. The agency was no 1 in New Zealand back then. It isn’t any more. I also heard he left DDB Sydney last year because his wife got ill back in Auckland and he’d been commuting every week for 2 years. Fair enough. Don’t blame him. And look how good he made the work in 2 years! You should ask people who actually know the guy before you go slinging shit around. As for Assignment – well when was the last time they did anything good, if ever? That place just doesn’t care about the work enough to hold someone as talented as Toby for long. Surprised he lasted 10 months in fact. Reckon he’ll bounce back because talented leaders like him always do. Sorry about the rant people. Love you Tones.
So don’t sling it at Assignment. They made Hyundai number one here, created Z, and have done a fairly good job taking Whittaker’s to the NZs favourite. But you won’t hear that from them. The brands they build aren’t those of their staff.
At his level, you never leave a job until you’ve found a new one. That is unless you were…
I hear The Pond is looking.
I work client side. And though I’m a little cynical about awards I can definitely see the upside. It pushes agencies to do better and more innovative work year on year. How convenient it is then that Assignment don’t enter awards. None of the work you mention would even win a finalist at a creative show I suspect. To be fair they’d win ‘sustained success’ at the Effies for Whittakers for sure. But how much of that is because of the innovation and quality of the product itself I wonder coupled with Cadbury self destructing here, rather than their middle of the road advertising with Nigella? By the way, all the brands you mention are I believe run out Assignment Wellington, not Auckland. And there’s a reason their staff aren’t ‘brands’ in their own right. Particularly in Auckland. The work they do isn’t going to make anyone famous. That’s why they aren’t getting on pitch lists. And that’s why Toby left I suspect. One person alone can’t turn a place like that around. He would need support. Bet he didn’t get any. Good on him for leaving when he saw the writing on the wall.
Who’s to say he hasn’t got a job in the bag numbnuts? It’s only just been announced he’s leaving, hasn’t it? By the way, why don’t you apply for the Pond job. Your use of completely unnecessary hashtags would go down really well there.
Is Assignment an advertising agency? I thought it was an ego factory?
The OLD Assignment made Hyundai number one, created Z, and have done a fairly good job taking Whittaker’s to NZs favourite. But you won’t hear that from them… because they’re no longer there.
I wonder who actually wrote the long responses above?
Please bring back comment moderation.
People suck.
Assignment are a bunch of old ad men that don’t have a lot of drive. They’re made their money and this is just a bit of cream on top for their retirement. Good on them!