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Randy Stein will be the first to tell you that he has some large shoes to fill. As the new vp, creative director at Palmer Jarvis ddb in Vancouver, Stein replaces Trevor McConnell, who replaced Chris Staples last fall when the latter left the agency to launch Rethink Communications. (McConnell is reportedly staying with the agency and an announcement on his new post is expected soon.)

Stein, who has been playing the advertising game for six years, has been in his new office for about a month and says he is having a good time at it, now that he has bested his nerves.

‘At first it was a little scary, but people have been very supportive,’ says Stein. ‘There has been a really good energy around here lately, which has been excellent.’

Stein says although his time in the ad biz has been relatively short, he feels ready for the challenges of the vp, creative director post, thanks to his on-the-job training at the hands of some of Canada’s finest.

‘The two creative directors I’ve worked for the most have been Chris Staples and Jack Neary, who are arguably two of the best, if not the two best creative directors in the country,’ says Stein. ‘I feel really fortunate that I’ve had these great mentors and teachers who I’ve learned a lot from. I guess that makes this all a little less scary.’

Stein began his career in Toronto in the mid-’90s. Fresh out of school he joined Cossette Communications, where he first worked with Neary. After two years there, he followed Neary out west to join BBDO Vancouver. In ’97, he moved to Palmer Jarvis as a copywriter.

Stein, 29, says his appointment is a further reflection of what a young company Palmer Jarvis has become. He says in terms of leadership, the agency joins a number of dot-com companies where youth is at the helm of some very large, expensive ships.

Among his goals are to make Palmer Jarvis a more integrated company. The agency’s in-house design shop is utilized often, he says, but the designers are still an untapped resource.

Stein is very positive about Canadian advertising and is encouraged by the growing number of advertisers who now seem willing to take risks. He points to Lever Ponds as a case in point.

‘We are lucky enough to advertise for a few of their brands, but I think across most of their brands they are doing really different, out-of-the-category stuff and really standing out,’ says Stein. ‘If they are successful, and from everything I know about what they’ve been doing they’ve been really successful, that is going raise the bar for everyone.’

Stein hopes to see the same kind of ideas and guts displayed in car and home furnishing commercials. He feels the recent crop of automobile ads – cars driving down curvy roads – has fallen a great deal from the days of the gm ‘Built for Drivers’ campaign.

Canada’s recent successes on the international advertising awards scene, notably the many Canadian wins at Cannes this year, is a significant achievement given the deep pockets of the competition and their clients, says Stein.

‘When you’re competing against million-dollar budgets, the idea has to be that much better. We are proving we have the ideas and I think that is key,’ he says. ‘One of the Palmer Jarvis philosophies has been keep it simple and keep it a great idea. We know we are not going to have million-dollar budgets, so it has to be a great idea.’

Comparisons will inevitably be drawn between Stein and longtime Palmer Jarvis creative director Staples. Stein, although flattered, says these comparisons are largely unfair.

‘I’m just starting out and Chris [Staples] is an amazing guy who has done amazing things,’ says Stein. ‘He essentially took this agency that was doing bad retail advertising and over the course of about eight years made it the best agency in the country. I understand the comparisons, and I think they are natural, but I think over time they’ll just go away as I do things my way. Hopefully, I’ll make my own name here, based on the work we do.’

-www.palmerjarvisddb.com