The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, has appointed senior creatives Danny Pattison and Max Rapley as associate creative directors, effective immediately.
Pattison has been promoted from senior art director, a role he has held since 2017. Rapley, who joined the agency as a copywriter in July 2018, is being promoted from senior copywriter, which he was promoted to in 2021.
The Monkeys confirmed that Pattison and Rapley will join the agency’s existing team of ACDs, including Lennie Galloway and Thomas Gledhill, who were tapped by the creative agency from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners earlier this year.
“During my time at The Monkeys I’ve been lucky enough to work on some of the biggest brands in the country, guided by the best creative leaders around. The opportunity to start leading that work with Danny, the nicest Glaswegian to ever live by my side, is a thrill,” said Rapley
Pattison added: “Along with Max, I’m excited to take this next leap in our careers and, with the help of Tara Ford, ECD Barbara Humphries and the rest of the leadership team, push the agency on to even greater heights.”
In his ten-year career, Pattison has worked with brands like Adidas, Amazon, Unilever, NRMA Insurance, Telstra, Blackmores, CGU, and MLA, being recognised at major local and international award shows. Pattison has also tutored at AWARD School twice and is an experienced film director and artist, holding a miniMBA in marketing and recently completing the AWARD Creative Leadership course.
Rapley, who also carries a decade of experience, has worked on creative projects between Sydney and Los Angeles. He started in the arts and entertainment industry before returning to Australia in 2016 to join creative collective The Glue Society. He has worked with clienting include Amazon, Telstra, NRMA Insurance, Crown, Tourism Western Australia, SMEG, HCF, a2 Milk Company, David Jones, and Art Gallery NSW.
Rapley has also crafted campaigns for Uluṟu Dialogue and UNICEF and helped develop the social enterprise Mood Tea, which is dedicated to helping fight youth suicide.. He holds an MBA from The University of Technology Sydney and recently graduated from AWARD’s Creative Leadership course.
“We’re thrilled to have Max and Danny elevated into the positions of ACD,” said The Monkeys and Accenture Song’s growth markets chief creative officer, Tara Ford.
“It’s well deserved as they’ve proven themselves time and again as great talents and great leaders in the making. They have been naturally inspiring the teams and building the culture so I’m excited to see where they take this next.”
Last month, The Monkeys also promoted Milla McPhee to chief strategy officer and Ben de Castella to head of planning.
This announcement follows last week’s news that Tourism Australia appointed The Monkeys, Accenture Song, and Droga5 as an agency village for its creative and digital services.
Earlier this year, Accenture Song, which acquired The Monkeys in 2017, made waves by tapping Mediabrands-owned Initiative’s senior leaders: CEO Melissa Fein, MD Sam Geer, and chief strategy and product officer, Chris Colter.
See also:
Tourism Australia appoints Accenture Song, The Monkeys and Droga5 to its creative and digital services
Accenture Song on nabbing Fein, Geer, and Colter: ‘Reflects our global strategy to deliver integrated solutions’
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Top Image (L-R): Danny Pattison & Max Rapley