Special London has poached multi-award-winning talent from Saatchi & Saatchi and McCann London as it makes a significant move to boost its creative and strategic offering.
Multi-award-winning creative duo, Josephine Rasmussen and Marie Jensen, are joining the agency from Saatchi and Saatchi, and will be working across Special London’s portfolio, reporting into chief creative officer David Day.
Strategist Ashley Biack is making the move from McCann London and will be reporting directly to chief strategy officer Emily Harlock.
During her time at McCann, Biack helped the agency win a number of clients including McArthurGlen Group and Sky. She was also pivotal in building creative accelerator Atomic Soup.
Rasmussen and Jensen – who won Creative Circle’s ‘Most Promising Creative Team’ award in 2023 – started their career at Crispin Porter Bogusky in London and have worked together on campaigns for brands including Tinder, Asics and George. They also created the viral hit ‘Imagine a CEO’ campaign for International Women’s Day.
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The three new hires come in the wake of a series of new business wins at Special London, including global accounts for Employment Hero and Monkey Shoulder gin.
Special London CEO Jen Black said: “Ashley, Jose and Marie are brilliantly talented new additions to our team, and are joining us at such an exciting time. They bring with them unique and incredible experiences and they will be key contributors to the type of work Emily, Dave and I look forward to making.”
Harlock described Ashley as a “wonderful new strategist”, adding that she has “bags of strategic instinct and [is] a natural cultural thinker”.
“We talk a lot as an industry about opening up and giving on-ramps to new talent, so we are totally delighted that Ashley is joining our growing agency and making her move into strategy,” she added.
Biack said joining the team at Special was “a total no-brainer”, adding “it’s a privilege to be part of this talented gang of people, with bags of energy and true passion for what they do. I can’t wait to dive in and create some great work together!”
Day said he was “thrilled to begin working with his new reports.
“You meet creatives every once in a while, who, no matter their background or experience, just get it. They have a clear understanding of what works in real life but, more importantly, they know the type of work they want to make.”
Josephine Rasmussen and Marie Jensen said: “We are so excited to get started at Special London! It’s really good to be back working with Dave again and to join such a cool and inspiring bunch of people. We can’t wait to see what new and exciting work we’ll create together. With this team, energy and ambition, we have no doubt this will be a special journey.”
