Shannon Washington Joins Deutsch as SVP, Creative Director

Deutsch today announced that it has hired Shannon Washington as SVP, Creative Director in its Los Angeles office. Washington will lead the H&R Block account, which recently appointed Deutsch as AOR in June 2018. She will report to Chief Creative Officer of North America, Pete Favat.

“Shannon is a creative force,” said Pete. “Her energy is infectious as hell. Let’s just say she had me at hello. Her leadership style and work are exactly what we need and she’s a champion of young talent and her award-winning work speaks for Itself. I am so proud she decided to join Deutsch and I am beyond excited for us all to learn what Shannon can teach us.”

Washington joins Deutsch from Droga5 New York, where she served as a creative director on CoverGirl and Chase. She brings more than 10 years of experience in integrated, print, experiential, broadcast and digital brand and consumer experiences for clients including DIAGEO, Pantene, Moet Hennessy and Pepsi. Prior to Droga5, she worked at INVNT, a division of Time Inc. as a senior creative director where she focused on strategising live and integrated media experiences for brands like Intel, SC Johnson, POPSUGAR, People, InStyle and Essence Magazines. Before INVNT, Washington was a digital creative director at Grey New York, focused on beauty and lifestyle brands.

“Working on a brand like H&R Block unlocks a unique creative opportunity,” said Washington. “Literally, everyone has to do their taxes and the competition is stiff. I jumped at the opportunity to work on this business because I thrive at doing human-powered work that can empower people from all walks of life. Much like CoverGirl, redefining an already established brand from the ground up is an attractive challenge for any creative. Deutsch has an incredible reputation and I’m ready for this next chapter of my career in sunny Los Angeles.”

Washington is passionate about action and service. In 2006, she co-founded The Vanguard, a young auxiliary group of the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. A couple years later she became founding member of New York’s ARTNOIR, providing dynamic and diverse artists a platform for bold acts of creativity and storytelling. Washington has graced the stages of both the 3% Conference and Advertising Week NY to add her voice to the discourse around the importance and power of women in advertising and has contributed her time to the One Club’s Here Are All the Black People, a multicultural career fair. This year, Washington served as a judge for the 2018 One Show Awards Branded Entertainment Jury and has been a part of the Marcus Graham Project’s Advisory Board since 2016. Additionally, Washington is an avid traveller and owns, operates and contributes to PARLOUR, a global digital travel and lifestyle destination for women of colour.

Washington received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University.