Samsung loses 'Next Big Thing' marketing chief

Todd Pendleton, the executive behind Samsung's successful "Next Big Thing" campaign, is looking for his next big thing -- but it won't be at Samsung.

Pendleton, who has served as chief marketing officer for Samsung's US mobile business for nearly four years, notified his colleagues this week that he's leaving in April, people familiar with the matter told CNET. Some of his direct reports have also left Samsung or have been transferred to other departments, the people said. Samsung and Pendleton didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pendleton has been lauded as one of the people central to Samsung's fast rise in the mobile market. His team spearheaded the popular "Next Big Thing" marketing campaign, which mocked Apple's devices and fanboys and helped Samsung's Galaxy S3 become the best-selling smartphone in the world, at least for a time. Because Samsung convinced all US wireless carriers to release the device at the same time under the same branding, Pendleton and his team -- along with ad agency 72 And Sunny -- were able to create one major campaign instead of having to market multiple models of the Galaxy smartphone.