Hapa’nings | October 8, 2026
Hapa Represents · Intel for our production partners
Who moved, what shot, who's pitching, and what's open in commercial production. Pulled from the trades, cut down to what matters, twice a week.
Roll004
DateThu · Oct 8
CoversOct 5–7
Who moved
15- Hope Nardini joins R/GA as ECD. She was global ECD at Grey.
- Adrian Coleman, VCCP co-founder, steps down.
- Joaquin Salim named head of creative at MATTE Projects.
- Stephanie Thiel joins Mother LA as managing director.
- Phoebe Dubay named managing director of Sweet Rickey.
- Jessica DeVirgilis leads the new experiential offering at 1stAveMachine.
New work
16 spots with credits| Brand · spot | Agency | Director | Production co. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patek Philippe · Ladies Collection "Elevator" ↗ | Leagas Delaney | Mona Fastvold & Brady Corbet | magna studios UK |
| Breast Cancer Foundation NZ · "Save your life. Rinse. Repeat" ↗ | Special Group | Taika Waititi | Curious Film |
| DoorDash · "Dash of a Lifetime" livestream ↗ | Hartbeat | Nate Edwards | Invisible Collective |
| LEGO × PlayStation · "Play Like It's 1994" ↗ | LEGO Agency | Alfie Whiteman | Somesuch |
| Oat Cult · tiramisu horror ↗ | Thingy & Thingy | Mike Upson | MindsEye |
| Samaritans · "The Right Words" ↗ | Don't Panic London | Greg Hackett | Park Pictures London |
| MND Association · "Life Stripped Away" ↗ | Pablo London | Ben Liam Jones | Merman |
| CommSec · "Seagulls" ↗ | M+C Saatchi Australia | Dylan Duclos | Collider |
| Uber · "Ooooo" sonic mnemonic ↗ | Talented | Ryan Mendonca | Bang Bang Films |
| Tinder · SwipeCenter ↗ | Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo | Tomoki Ota, cynthia, Takafumi Matsunaga | Hakuten, Wonderhood Studios |
| Visit Turku Archipelago · Lambert Wilson ↗ | United Imaginations | Jan Sederlöf | Breakfast |
| Miami City Ballet × GapStudio ↗ | — | Ezra Hurwitz | RundaShow Productions |
| KOKO Electronic · Camden kebab shop film ↗ | — | Eoin Glaister | Stink Films London |
| Lil Nas X · "World's Greatest" ↗ | — | Phillip Youmans | SMUGGLER USA |
| The General · Roman Reigns as Akuma ↗ | BBDO Chicago | — | Omnicom Production |
| Disney+ Canada · "Hu Dis?" (hero spot Oct 9) ↗ | Courage | — | — |
Also out: Charlotte Tilbury holiday campaign with Christina Aguilera (LBB), Sage "The Financial Symphony" with Loud Numbers (LBB), Wet Ones "Just For Hands" stills (BBH USA).
Pharma pulse
6- McKinney Health launches L.E.A.P., a long-term patient ambassador program. No actors, no scripts. Alcon is in.
- FDAEvolus / Jeuveau: FDA flags an Instagram reel for blurring an Rx injectable with a beauty product.
- Sanofi signs Karl-Anthony Towns for its Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine awareness push.
- Genentech marks 50 years with "The Impossible Bet," a documentary.
- UK ASA bans ads from five online pharmacies pushing oral weight-loss drugs, including oral Wegovy pre-orders.
- Data privacy: a state-by-state patchwork of health data rules has pharma marketers building privacy in from the start.
Pitches & business
11- ProductionOmnicom Production is the production company on The General's new Roman Reigns spot for BBDO Chicago. Holdco in-house production, credited on the work.
- ProductionObject & Animal partners with PUSH to open in Tokyo, covering Japan, China and Southeast Asia.
- ProductionTango Production + Dynamo Film join forces in Poland.
- Electric Theatre Collective opens ETC Warsaw, its third site.
- Psyop Group partners with Free Agents.
- Papercut editorial (Biff Butler, Brandee Probasco) officially launches, bicoastal.
- Ferrero will run two Super Bowl 2027 ads, part of a $50M sports push.
- Disney+ will stream Super Bowl LXI (Feb 14, 2027) alongside ESPN and ABC.
- Stagwell retires the Assembly name. It relaunches as Stagwell Media under Liz Rutgersson.
- AcquisitionMSQ buys January Digital (NY/Dallas, about 80 staff).
- Walmart Connect pitches streaming TV ads to non-endemic brands.
Signings
8- Evan Bourque signs with Spy Films (Canada).
- Shreya Jha signs with Anonymous Content for UK and Amsterdam.
- Plummer/Strauss sign with Boldly for Canada.
- Sofia Ivanova-Kozhevnikova joins Park Village.
- Rebecca Applebaum joins The Salmon (Toronto).
- Ruairí Bradley signs with MindsEye (EyeCandy roster).
- Justyna Obasi signs with BIRTH for France.
- Amanda Marie-Rose (editor) joins WORK Editorial, ex-Doma.
Dates & deadlines
6- Young Arrows 2026: Oct 14, ODEON Luxe Leicester Square, London.
- Immortal Awards UK Winners Night: Wed Oct 21, Framestore, London. Free, limited tickets.
- MM+M Media Summit (Oct 29): Disney's Mary Sheehan and Meta's Matt Baczyk keynote.
- shots Out of the Box London: Nov 18, The Londoner. First sessions out.
- MM+M Transform: Mar 30, 2027, National Constitution Center, Philadelphia.
- AMP West Coast Awards: Best in Show to The Elements Music with Droga5 for GM "See You on the Road."