Creative: Changing Orbit

Tod Seisser Brings A Warmer, More Emotional Edge To Saatchi & Saatchi
Early one October morning, Tod Seisser, in London for the production of Saatchi & Saatchi's first campaign for Beck's beer, received an excited phone call. Richard Pels, an executive creative director on the New York agency's Delta Air Lines account, had an idea for a spot celebrating John Glenn in orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
Seisser, the agency's chief creative officer, appreciated Pels' enthusiasm. After all, he knew what it was like to be seized by creative inspiration. Still, it was 2:30 a.m. back home, an hour when even the most wired New Yorkers are asleep, so Seisser told Pels to go back to bed and call him later. One problem: Pels was already at the production house.
The 30-second Delta spot was produced in three days and aired just two hours after Glenn, the astronaut turned senator turned astronaut again, returned to Earth. The effort generated terrific publicity for Delta and fit snugly into its "On top of the world" campaign. More importantly, it showed that a creative department known for sturdy, if predictable, work for Procter & Gamble, was still fast on its feet.
"You've got to have morale high enough to do that," says Seisser, who has found a home at 375 Hudson St., the largest office in Saatchi's $7.4 billion global network. "People [need] to feel supported."
After nearly a year on the job, Seisser says he's pleased with the ads his 70-plus creative staff has produced--whether for cereal, aspirin or beer--and he boasts of an agency without "creative ghettos" that aspires to award-winning work.
"I'm amazed and proud of how far we've come," says Seisser. "To be honest, I didn't think we'd have a reel this good to show for at least two years. The work has gotten braver and the production values better."
On Seisser's watch, Saatchi has produced more than 80 new spots for Delta, General Mills and P&G, as well as new campaigns for PaineWebber and Beck's. The latter, a sexy, high-profile campaign, "isn't what you'd expect from us," says Jennifer Laing, Saatchi chairman and CEO of North America. Sporting a humorous twist, it contrasts the shortcomings of Germans ("Germans don't do romance") with their reputations as master brewers. The tagline: "Beck's--the best of what Germans do best."
The work, directed by Tarsem and developed by the team of Kevin Weidenbacher and Augusten Burroughs, jumps off the reel. The lighting is stark, the colors ultra-rich and the approach decidedly tongue-in-cheek. "It's great to have an opportunity to present something quirky," adds Laing.
In fact, though Saatchi's meal ticket continues to be written by P&G, Johnson & Johnson and General Mills, their brands have adopted a more homespun,