Ogilvy New York Welcomes Kasia Canning and Cha Spruce as Executive Creative Directors
Kasia Canning and Cha Spruce have joined Ogilvy New York amid incredible creative momentum for the agency’s flagship office, each bringing acclaimed and innovative creative chops to their new roles. Kasia will serve as executive creative director dually dedicated to supporting key New York-based clients and deploying big-impact thinking across the Ogilvy network. Cha arrives as the agency’s first dedicated executive creative director for PR, Social, and Influence, focused on driving cultural relevance for clients through earned-first thinking and creative product.
Samira Ansari, chief creative officer of Ogilvy New York, said, “Kasia and Cha have been the tip of the spear on some of the most jealousy-inducing work to come out of our industry lately. So bold, so sharp. I couldn’t be more excited to have these two creative giants and super-cool humans join our team, bringing such modern and diverse thinking to our office at a time of growth across all of our capabilities in New York.”
Kasia Canning said, “I know what Ogilvy is capable of, Ogilvy knows what I’m capable of. It feels like the right time to be here, in a role that allows me to borrow from the different sides of agency and industry I’ve played in - to help find where there’s heat for Ogilvy and its clients, and fan the flames. This is also probably the best reunion I’ve ever been to, getting to work with both Rafa and Sami again, plus many others. It feels like being back home, but with all new opportunities in front of me.”
Cha Spruce said, “I’m filled with excitement when I look at how Ogilvy has been leaning into the specialisation of social, influencer and PR to drive earned-first creativity, and what I can bring to the agency to flex that muscle even more. There’s a real opportunity for the industry to think about platforms and mediums differently, and for brands to invite audiences in for a different kind of storytelling. I’m here to help Ogilvy’s clients show up in all the right spaces, and help them capture audience attention that’s deeply rooted in culture.”
Charlotte Tansill, president of Ogilvy PR, Social and Influence in North America, added of Cha’s role, “Cha has a contagious passion for social media and this special type of creativity that is so pertinent and needed today. People are looking for greater connection, and more humanity out of the brands they love – and social is the first port of call. There is no better person to step into this new position and help us level up our earned-first approach to creativity and reputation-building. We are so happy to welcome Cha to our team.”
Cha joins Ogilvy from Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, where they helped found and lead BODEGA, the agency’s social-first creative studio, for the past three years. There, Cha’s work included DoorDash-All-The-Ads, which won the 2024 Dan Wieden Titanium Lion Grand Prix at Cannes - the very first time in the agency’s history - as well as the D&AD Yellow Pencil for Direct, Integrated and The One Show Best of Discipline Pencil for both Social Media and Integrated. Their client portfolio spans such names as Meta, Instagram, Samsung, Visa and the WNBA. Prior to W+K, they directed the real-time social newsroom at iOne Digital, and helped the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture dominate the arts and culture digital scene.
Kasia joins Ogilvy from Maximum Effort, where she worked across a wide range of creative, from slamming open-net salmon farms with William Shatner and burying daylight savings with Titan Casket, to multiple campaigns for Ryan Reynold’s Aviation Gin and Blake Lively’s Betty Buzz and Betty Booze brands. Prior to Maximum Effort, she was an ECD at BBH New York where she helped lead Google’s award-winning Black-owned Friday work, and during which time she was honoured as the Most Awarded GCD Globally at The One Show 2022. Other acclaimed work includes ING’s ‘The Next Rembrandt,’ which won two Cannes Lion Grand Prix in 2016. Kasia has also led teams at 72andSunny, Barton F. Graf and Johannes Leonardo, and has mentored and advised in various capacities for the Cannes Lions initiative See It Be It, the Manhattan Early College for Advertising, D&AD Shift, the Creative Circus and Miami Ad School in New York.
Kasia and Cha arrive at Ogilvy New York as the office was named the No. 1 US agency and No. 3 global agency coming out of the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This year, Ogilvy was recognised by WARC as the World’s Most Creative Agency Network and World’s Most Effective Creative Network for consecutive years - the only agency to claim back-to-back accolades - and Ad Age’s Global Network of the Year, The Clio Awards’ Network of the Year, D&AD Awards’ Network of the Year, and Fast Company’s list of World’s Most Innovative Companies for the second year in a row.
