Chris Clarke (advertising executive)

Chris Clarke (born 1968 or 1969)[1] is an Australian advertising executive. He is currently the CEO of Pure Growth Partners and partner with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson on Street King.[2]

Career

Clarke started his career in Australia as a documentary filmmaker. He moved into advertising after landing a job directing a commercial for Mars, and, unhappy with the script, convinced Mars to use his ideas instead. In 1993, Clarke founded the agency network Pure Creative while in his 20s. He kept Mars as a client, and also went on to pick up work for other large companies, such as Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble. In 1994, he moved to China and continued his work there. Clarke sold Pure Creative to D'Arcy in 1999.[1]

In 2002, Clarke began the creative and digital agency Nitro in Shanghai. In 2004, Nitro acquired Soul, expanded with new offices in London and New York, and subsequently acquired River Communications and Mook. By April 2007, Nitro also had offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Dubai, Hong Kong and Taipei. Nitro acquired AKA Advertising and expanded its offices in New York.[1]

In October 2007, Clarke purchased Australian advertising agency Cummins & Partners in a deal with a two year buy-out,[3] renaming the Australian entity Cummins Nitro.[4]

In June 2009, Clarke sold the entire Nitro Group with its 300 employees to the Sapient Group to create the global advertising and digital network SapientNitro in a two-year deal worth $50 million.[5] Clarke became Global Chief Creative Officer and Executive Chairman, and announced his move to London in November 2009.[6]

In January 2011, Clarke left SapientNitro to start the venture capital group[4][7] Pure Growth Partners. Partnering with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Pure Growth launched the Street King energy shot brand in September 2011.[8]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 O'Leary, Noreen. "Chris Clarke Is Coming for Your Business". Ad Week. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  2. "Rapper launches energy shot with philanthropic edge" (Press release). Beverage Industry. 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  3. "Cummins Sells to Nitro". Campaign Brief. 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sinclair, Lara (2011-03-28). "Sapient Nitro puts brave face on client losses". The Australian. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  5. Morrissey, Brian (2009-06-17). "Sapient to Buy Nitro for $50 Mil.". Ad Week. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  6. "Chris Clarke takes charge at SapientNitro UK" (Press release). Campaignlive.co.uk. 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  7. "Aussie expat adman Chris Clarke resigns from SapientNitro to launch venture capital project" (Press release). Business Wire. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  8. Horowitz, Steven J. (2011-08-12). "50 Cent Launches Energy Shot "Street King" To Help Feed One Billion Children". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2012-07-04.

External links