Peter Arnell

Peter Eric Arnell (born April 22, 1958) is an American designer and branding executive, author, photographer, and founder of Arnell Group. He is known for creating products, brands and campaigns for companies including Chrysler, PepsiCo., Reebok, Donna Karan and Unilever, and he has written extensively on architectural theory and art history.[1][2][3][4]

Peter Arnell
Born (1958-04-22) 22 April 1958
Occupation(s)Branding and design consultant
Known forFounder and CEO of Arnell Group

Early life and education

Arnell was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. His father, who changed the family name from Abraben to Arnell, was a mechanical engineer. His grandfather, a Russian immigrant, was a fishmonger; as a child, Arnell sometimes accompanied him to work at the Fulton Fish Market.[5]

Arnell studied architecture at Brooklyn Technical High School. He graduated in 1976.[5]

Career

Arnell started his career as an intern working for Michael Graves. There he met Ted Bickford, and the two collaborated on a series of books about artists and architects[1] before forming Arnell-Bickford in the early 1980s.[6]

Bergdorf Goodman fashion director Dawn Mello hired Arnell-Bickford to create ads for Bergdorf,[1] and they later worked on in-store designs and promotions for Donna Karan's new clothing line.[6] During his work for Donna Karan, Arnell created DKNY and its signature style, first with a black-and-white photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge, and later with DKNY's logo featuring the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.[5]

By 1985, the agency's income reached $4.4 million per year, with clients including Anne Klein, Bank of America, Chanel, Condé Nast, Consolidated Edison, Ray-Ban, Rockport and Tommy Hilfiger.[1]

In 1993, Bickford left the company and Arnell renamed it Arnell Group.[6]

Arnell partnered with architect Frank Gehry on projects such as the Barclays Center[7] and the Sentosa resort and aquarium between 2006 and 2010.[8]

In early 2000, Arnell sold a 55% stake in Arnell Group to Draft Worldwide, and the firm became AG Worldwide.[9] Shortly after in 2001, Arnell bought back his shares from Draft[10] and sold the entire firm to Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC).[11][1] In 2008, AG was hired to redesign the logo for Pepsi[12] and Tropicana.[13] For both companies, Arnell wanted to "evolve [it] to a more modern state"[14] but both rebrands were scrapped by the companies after being poorly received by consumers.[15]

He remained chairman and Chief Creative Officer until 2011, when he left Omnicom under disputes with the company which were then settled in 2012.[16]

Arnell founded Intellectual Capital Investments (ICI) in New York City in 2011.[17] In 2013, Arnell worked closely with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to create ThaiWorks for SMEs (small and medium enterprises), artisans and OTOP's of Thailand.[18] He has also worked with GNC,[19] Digicel,[20] Fontainebleau Resorts[5] and Lowe's Home Improvement.[3]

In 2014, Arnell's photography was showcased in Milk Gallery in New York City.[21]

Community service

Arnell created the identity and graphics for the Council of Fashion Designers of America's "Fashion for Haiti" fundraising drive after the earthquake in 2010,[22] and the charity shirt "Fashion for America," which raised $2 million for the 9/11 Twin Towers Fund in 2001.[23] He designed the 9/11 Tribute Museum's exhibit to commemorate the rescue workers.[24]

Arnell has worked with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and the FDNY Foundation on safety campaigns.[25]

Publications

Arnell has written, edited and contributed to over 20 additional publications in architecture, art history, photography and branding.[1][3]

His works include:

  • Shift:How to Reinvent Your Business, Your Career, and Your Personal Brand (Random House 2010)[26]
  • Gucci:The Making of (Rizzoli 2011)[27]
  • O Wonderful, Wonderful and Most Wonderful, Wonderful! And Yet Again Wonderful--: Portraits of Our U.S. Olympic Hopefuls (Sidney Press, 1991)
  • Peter Arnell Portfolio 1980-2020 (Hatje Cantz 2020)[28][24]

Selected awards and recognition

Several of Arnell's ads and campaigns have won awards, including:

2003: Cannes Gold Lion for Best in Category – “Terry Tate, Office Linebacker”[29]

2007: Ellis Island Medal of Honor[30]

References
  1. "The gospel of Peter: Arnell on a mission". www.adage.com. November 18, 2002.
  2. "Like him or not, Arnell can help us design next generation". www.adage.com. October 4, 2004.
  3. Elliott, Stuart (November 3, 2004). "Thinking Outside the Marketing Box". www.nytimes.com. ISSN 0362-4331.
  4. "'Breathtaking' Is One Word for Purported Arnell Pepsi Doc". www.adage.com. February 11, 2009.
  5. "The Crazy Genius of Brand Guru Peter Arnell". www.newsweek.com. March 27, 2009.
  6. "Adbrands Archive:Arnell Group".
  7. "The true brand architects". www.adage.com. September 11, 2006.
  8. "Atlantis Sentosa | Frank Gehry". Mutual Studio - Independent design studio in Amsterdam.
  9. "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING; Hard to believe, but the direct marketer Draft Worldwide will acquire the iconoclastic AG". March 10, 2000. ISSN 0362-4331.
  10. "Addenda: Executive Buys Back a 55% Stake in AG". www.nytimes.com. May 7, 2001. ISSN 0362-4331.
  11. "Omnicom snaps up Arnell Group". www.campaignlive.co.uk.
  12. Jim Edwards (10 February 2009). "Pepsis Nonsensical Logo Redesign Document".
  13. "Peter Arnell Defends Tropicana Rebrand". 27 February 2009.
  14. Marion (1 May 2015). "What to learn From Tropicana's Packaging Redesign Failure".
  15. Stuart Elliot (22 February 2009). "Tropicana Discovers Some Buyers are Passionate About Packaging". New York Times.
  16. "Peter Arnell Settles With Omnicom, Closing Book on Library Lawsuit". www.adage.com. February 15, 2012.
  17. "Marketing Guru Peter Arnell Shares his Thoughts on Creativity and Branding". 11 October 2017.
  18. "Thaksin hires 2 global top creative, Peter Arnell & Frank Gehry, to help Thai SMEs build brand". Thai Intel Economics News. September 11, 2003.
  19. "See Peter Arnell's First New Work Since He Was Fired From His Own Agency 2 Years Ago". Business Insider. January 31, 2013.
  20. "Peter Arnell Is Back -- and Creating Campaigns for GNC". Ad Age. January 30, 2013.
  21. "Peter Arnell's Personal Photography at Milk Gallery – Peter Arnell iPhone Photos". DuJour. March 24, 2014.
  22. "CFDA Launches Fashion For Haiti Effort". WWD. January 25, 2010.
  23. "Beyonce Official Face for "Fashion for Haiti" T-Shirt". Hollywood News. Feb 10, 2010.
  24. Lockwood, Lisa (15 March 2023). "Media People: Peter Arnell Talk About his Career, How Branding has Changed, and His Most Memorable Campaigns". Women's Wear Daily.
  25. Chan, Sewell (2006-05-09). "Fire Department Tries a Softer, Gentler Approach". ISSN 0362-4331.
  26. "Shift by Peter Arnell".
  27. "Gucci: The Making of".
  28. "Peter Arnell, Branding Expert, Designer, Photographer, Author, and Marketing Executive Releases his Book on his 40 years of Groundbreaking Creativity and Innovation". 28 February 2023.
  29. Wiese, Mike (2016-02-05). "Terry Tate: The Forrest Gump of branded content". www.campaignlive.com.
  30. "Congressional Record, Volume 153 Issue 90 (Wednesday, June 6, 2007)". www.govinfo.gov.
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