RPA Promotes J Barbush to Creative Social Media Director

Santa Monica, Calif., August 27, 2012 – RPA, the largest advertising agency headquartered in Los Angeles, and the third-largest independent agency in the country, announces the promotion of J Barbush, previously VP, Associate Creative Director, to the position of VP, Creative Social Media Director, reporting to Joe Baratelli, EVP, Chief Creative Officer. This is the first time RPA has designated “social media” in a creative title.

Barbush will oversee all social media work for Honda as well as the agency’s roster of clients. He recently helmed Honda’s presence on Pinterest with the lauded CR-V “Leap List”-themed Pintermission campaign, encouraging pinners to take a 24-hour break from Pinterest to go out and experience what they’ve been pinning.

He also led the creation of RPA’s Culture Feed, featuring a variety of posts that focus on RPA Associates and office culture, including 60 seconds with Super Bowl Panda. Other Honda projects he has recently worked on include Honda’s April Fool’s video TERII, the Million Mile Joe campaign and Fans of you too initiatives.

“J has a unique knack for being able to take a creative platform and see avenues where social media can be leveraged to instigate conversation and interest in honest and meaningful ways. His keen insights have helped Honda to attract more than 2.2 million fans on their Facebook page,” said Baratelli.

In Barbush’s 17 years at RPA, he has worked on a variety of projects for clients such as Acura, VH1’s “Behind the Music,” ampm, ARCO, Discovery Channel and Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. He began at RPA as a digital writer, and his passion for social media took off in 2006 when he created the first-ever brand character on Myspace, Gil the Crab, for the Honda Element.

Since then he has begun testing out the newest platforms for himself, using them the way average users would. This hands-on approach has become his social media philosophy—to be inclusive and real, fan and brand never being separated.

Barbush’s campaigns have been recognized by CLIOs, Webbys and One Show, IAAA, Beldings, Yahoo! Big Idea Chair, Yahoo! Searchlight and MIXX awards.