•WIEDEN NABS LEVI'S ACCOUNT> San Francisco-based apparel brand Levi's has awarded its American ad business to Wieden + Kennedy, Portland following a creative review earlier this month. The independent agency beat out TBWA\Cutwater, Ogilvy, Anomaly, Goodby Silverstein & Partners and Young & Rubicam for the account. Bartle Bogle and Hegarty, which has handled Levi's American work since 2001, opted not to participate in the pitch, however the agency's London and Singapore offices will continue to work on Levi's in Europe and the Asia Pacific region, respectively.
http://www.wk.com

•GEOFF EDWARDS LEAVING T.A.G.>Geoff Edwards, part of the team at San Francisco hot shop T.A.G., is leaving the agency to pursue new opportunities, Boards has learned. T.A.G., launched last year, was the creative agency behind the much-celebrated multi-platform work for the Halo 3 launch. No further details about Edwards' plans have emerged at this time.

•GETTY'S SHORT & SWEET FILMS IN THE SCREENING ROOM> Getty Images in London teamed up with short film fest Short & Sweet to stage a competition for filmmakers to create original films incorporating stills and footage from the stock company's Hulton Archive. Last month, the contest's judges awarded Laurie Hill's the grand prize of ₤5,000 for Photograph of Jesus, an animated documentary about the weirdest requests the archive has received. Filmmakers were asked to incorporate a minimum of 50% of visual content from the Hulton Archive. Big Red Button nabbed the £3,000 runner up prize for their film Perrington Stud, and Ian Mackinnon/Dominic Parker and Jasmin Jodry received honorable mentions and £1,000 each for their films Long Jump and Star Games respectively. See all four shorts from the 2008 Getty Images Short & Sweet Film Challenge in the screening room.
http://www.gettyimages.com

•W+K TOKYO CELEBRATES 10 YEARS WITH RETROSPECTIVE> Wieden + Kennedy's Tokyo office is marking 10 years of creative work with an art exhibition at Ginza Graphic Gallery entitled "OYKOT WIEDEN+KENNEDY TOKYO: 10 YEARS OF FUSION". The show, which will showcase the agency's hybrid Western-Japanese approach to creativity, began on Dec. 2 and runs until Dec. 24. Among the featured work is the installation "W+K Tokyo HEADS - The Peep Show," for which each employee shot a personal video and took a face cast, a graphic wall painted by different local artists, and a video installation depicting an ever-changing face made up of various employees facial parts.
http://www.oykot.jp

•ARCADE FIRE DOC DEBUTS> After a malfunctioning link delayed its Dec. 15 noon launch, Arcade Fire's hotly anticipated documentary Miroir Noir has finally been released as a digital download online. The 70-minute film, co-directed by Spy Interactive- and Rokkit-repped Vincent Morisset, Arcade Fire and Parisian director Vincent Moon, chronicles the making of the band's 2007 album Neon Fire. It also includes tour footage and short films made by the band while on tour. Initial news of the doc's release was cloaked in mystery. Arcade Fire simply unveiled a website, www.miroir-noir.com, which contained a looped montage of the band in performance and a hidden message indicating that it would soon be available for download. A limited edition version featuring performances on Saturday Night Live and the BBC is also available for pre-order as is a hardcopy version.

BBH, New York has hired Karen Monahan, formerly MD at Perfect Fools, as head of interactive production.
http://www.bartleboglehegarty.com

TBWA Worldwide has named Denis Streiff as its worldwide chief financial officer. He was previously international CFO for TBWA. The agency also named Robert Harwood-Matthews to the newly created position of managing director, Infiniti Global.
http://www.tbwaworldwide.com

Bicoastal Little Minx has signed directors Jesper Kouthoofd and Ben Mor for US and UK spot rep.
http://www.littleminx.tv

Spy Films, Toronto has signed director Benjamin Steiger Levine for international spot rep (excluding Quebec and the U.S.).
http://www.spyfilms.com

Madison Park Pictures, New York has signed director Martin Aamund.
http://www.madisonparkpictures.com

The Mill in London has appointed Mike Smallwood as managing director of BEAM.TV.
http://www.beam.tv

Chicago-based Calabash Animation has hired animator Jessica Plummer.
http://www.calabashanimation.com

Santa Monica-based Ascent Media Group will merge its boutique visual effects studios Riot and Method under the Method name, effective January 1, 2009. Aron Hjartarson, formerly of The Mill, New York, becomes creative director, and Matt Hackett will act as animation supervisor in New York. Gabby Gourrier becomes senior executive producer/VP and Helen Hughes joins as executive producer and director of production. Andy Boyd becomes head of 3D at Method Studios in Los Angeles and Alex Frisch, co-founder and managing director of Method, will continue overseeing the Los Angeles and New York operations.
http://www.ascentmedia.com

London-based animation house th1ng has opened a live action production company called th2ng. It will be headed up by producer Hannah Cooper. The roster includes directors Dan Lumb, Simon Cracknell and Stuart Fryer.
http://www.th2ng.com

Toronto-based Fuse Marketing group has named Jeff Pontes as director, digital strategy.
http://www.fusemg.com