Along with taking responsibility for DDB's creative efforts around the world, Scarpelli will retain his title of chairman of DDB Chicago, reporting to DDB president and CEO Ken Kaess. There are no plans at this time to name a successor to the US chief creative post he held previously.
Kaess said that Scarpelli, a 28-year veteran of DDB, had given the agency some of its most talked-about advertising campaigns. These include the "farting horse" spot for Bud Light, which was voted most popular spot of the 2003 Super Bowl, although later withdrawn in the wake of the Janet Jackson "Nipplegate" controversy.
Kaess said: "Bob has inspired our people as US chief creative officer and chairman of DDB Chicago, all while chairing our worldwide Pinnacle Awards and Worldwide Creative Directors Conferences for the past several years. He is more than ready to take on this new and expanded role as my creative partner."
Other clients he has led the creative teams for include Dell and McDonald's, and his work and that of his team has been awarded widely, picking up prizes at Cannes, the Effie awards and the Clios.
He has also chaired awards shows including the 2003 Clio Awards and the 2001 Radio Mercury Awards, and served on juries at Cannes and the London International Advertising Awards.
According to Scarpelli: "It is a tremendous honour for me to be asked to lead our creative team around the world in making our work ever more effective for our clients, ever more engaging for our clients' consumers and to do both across a broader spectrum of media platforms."
Scarpelli began his career at Needham Harper in 1977 as a copywriter and was promoted to creative director three years later. The agency merged with DDB in 1986 and a year later he was promoted to group creative director. In 1990, he was named executive creative director of DDB Chicago with the role of chief creative officer of DDB Chicago following. In February 1995, he added the title of vice-chairman of the agency.
In 2000, he took on the US chief creative officer role, and a year later added the title of chairman of DDB Chicago.
Along with his work for the advertising industry, Scarpelli sits on the boards of The Off the Street Club, a home for children who live in a tough part of Chicago, and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
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