THE OBSERVATORY
At The Observatory, the Core Team consists of very senior, award-winning leaders in every necessary discipline for creating breakthrough branding and messaging. Then they draw from a network of elite creative talent which allows highly customized teams to be formed around client needs. These teams incorporate talent that traditional agencies could only dream of, ranging from Oscar nominated filmmakers, to multi-award-winning art directors, to Pulitzer Prize winning photographers, just to name a few. The great thing is, you work directly with the people doing your creative. Not some bag carrier taking messages back and forth. Allow us to introduce you to three key members of our core team.
JOHN STINGLEY
John Stingley has worked as a writer and creative director at the premiere creative advertising agencies in the U.S. on a wide variety of accounts. He is featured in the book, “The Copy Book: How Some Of The Best Advertising Writers In The World Write Their Advertising”, published by London’s Designers and Art Directors Association. John has won virtually every advertising award, from Clios, to One Show Medals, to Cannes Film Festival Lions.
One of the early writers at the now legendary Fallon McElligott (known today simply as Fallon), John helped build that agency’s fame with award-winning campaigns for clients that included Scotts lawn products, Prince spaghetti sauce, Windsor Canadian Whiskey and Porsche automobiles, just to name a few. After a decade at Fallon, he joined the fabled Chiat/Day agency in Los Angeles to mastermind the re-launch of the Infiniti luxury automobile brand, which had languished until then. In less than two years, Infiniti went from being on the verge of oblivion to surpassing rival Lexus.
Moving to New York, John joined one of the great NYC agencies of all time, Amiratti and Puris, to manage the UPS advertising. He then became a senior partner at Ogilvy & Mather. Seeing that communications and social trends were changing fast...and agencies were't, and weren't taking advantage of new opportunities for their clients...John left the agency world to start The Observatory.
John serves as the overall Observatory Core Team leader and Creative Director.
DOn FALLER
Don’s career as a producer encompasses television commercials, print, branded content, web series, and documentaries, including stints as Director of Production for two Omnicom agencies, Ketchum Advertising and Della Femina. He has produced work for a large stable of brands including Burt’s Bees, Heineken, American Express, Motorola, Kraft Foods, Campbell's, Miller Lite, and AT&T. Don has been the recipient of prestigious industry awards including Emmy, Webby, Addy, Clio, Mobius, and the London International Awards.
Don loves to break new ground. He partnered with Oscar nominated cinematographer Ed Lachman to create Motorola’s unprecedented “Cell Stories”. This series of quirky shorts earned Don a Producers Guild New Media Award. He was approached by Conde Nast to develop GQ’s Webby award winning “REBEL RULES!” online series . Continuing to innovate in the world of web content, Don collaborated with Isabella Rosselini to produce a comic web series which was awarded multiple Emmys and was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, was on the Sundance TV Channel and at other festivals worldwide.
Don is responsible for progressive work in documentary filmmaking for corporate sponsors such as Eli Lily and the Dream Team Foundation, resulting in the documentaries: “Life For a Child”; “In the Hearts of Africa”; and “Three Points: Tracey McGrady in Darfur”, promoting awareness of corporate public service efforts and amassing charitable donations for NGO’s.
Don is The Observatory Core Team member charged with serving as Executive Producer for all content, and has directed projects that have been produced around the world for clients including CARE, Girl Scouts of the USA, Cross Cultural Solutions and Hospital for Special Surgery.
John Stingley has said that Don is hands-down the best producer he has ever worked with, “You don’t have to worry about anything, no matter what it is or where it is…just talk to Don and it will happen.”