Confessions of a Creative Director

On this episode of Confessions of a Creative Director, we’re getting into how creatives can actually play a role in fighting hate. Design Director Nick Adam’s roots aren’t in design school. They’re in the punk shows, graffiti, and rave culture of ‘90s Chicago, scenes that taught him how visual language shapes belonging, safety, and identity. That lived experience came rushing back during a recent...

As a creative director, when you’re working on a client project, there’s this a bit of a built-in safety net. You’ve got their goals, their guardrails, their brand voice to guide you as you solve their problem. But what about when the idea, the brand, the product is yours? When you’re the client? Now that’s a whole different story. The vision, the execution, the timeline, the risk—it’s all on your...

On today’s episode we’re thrilled to welcome Edmund Lam, Global Brand and Creative Director at Cozey. Edmund's journey from graphic designer to Global Brand and Creative Director is nothing short of inspiring. With a background that spans across music, fashion, and now furniture, he brings a unique perspective on how brands can and should evolve beyond traditional brand guidelines. Edmund shar...

On today’s episode we’re hanging with Chief Creative Officer Josh Tierney of BMF, a global integrated creative marketing agency. Josh is not only a CCO but also a conceptual artist who explores the tension between following trends and leading them and he believes Creative Directors need to think and act more like artists. We’ll discuss the new Reality for CDs, The Trend Paradox and much much, more...

Jody Orsborn Medina's career has been a whirlwind that has taken her from LA to London and from owning her own shop to global freelancing. She’s also the founder of the amazing resource Creative Playbook and Recess: Creative Show and Tell which are live talks where designers, strategists, producers and other creative minds share what’s inspiring them right now. We’ll also touch on battling imp...

On today’s episode I’m thrilled to welcome Myron Nilson, CEO of AdPipe Studio in Atlanta and former Executive Creative Director at Hilton. Today he’s going to talk about a difficult time in his personal life, how it wiped out his mental creative hard drive and what he did to comeback stronger than ever. He’ll also share his thought on dyslexia as a superpower and what he’s seeing on the horizon fo...

On this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Emily Kurek, Creative Director at Ammunition in Atlanta, Georgia. Emily and I struck up a conversation on LinkedIn and during our exchange she mentioned that when she became a creative director at just under 30 years old, she got a lot of flack from some people that thought she didn’t have enough experience or was too young to be effective. And...

On episode 83, I speak with Nat Resende, who grew up on a coffee farm in Brazil and has worked her way up to EVP and ECD, leading Creative for Digitas North America. She’s a champion of inclusive representation in the world of advertising and mentors creatives navigating the industry from a minority experience. Today, we’re focusing on the importance of weaving inclusivity into our creative work—e...

I’m thrilled to welcome back pitch and presentation expert Ben Levy for his encore appearance on Confessions of a Creative Director. Ben has a new book out called Stop Reading Slides: How to nail creative presentations and sell your best ideas. This book covers everything you need to know about the topic but today we’re going to focus on perhaps the most important part which is overcoming client o...

On this episode, we nerd out with Creative Director Calvin Innes from JVM Nerd London, a full service creative and media agency for Gaming, Nerd-Culture, and Fandom Communities. He’s going to deliver the Pop Culture Trends Creative Directors need to know about including the rise of the Kidults and the influence of gamification on retail and culture.

On this episode I speak to Andrew Carty Head of Strategy and Glen D’Souza Head of Creative respectively for Forsman & Bodenfors Canada about their unique approach to integrating creative and strategy into what they call “The Product”. They’ll also touch on the importance of creative teams being involved early in the process, the tools they use to foster creativity, such as 'what if' st...

On this episode I speak to Creative Strategist and Director David Levine, whose  wide ranging career has taken him from working in the scrappy world of the music business to the burgeoning of experiential marketing to now working alongside scientists and engineers. Listen as we break down David’s concept of using hyphens as a superpower, which emphasizes  the importance of embracing multiple skill...

On this episode, Nick Sonderup, Co-Chief Creative Director of Strawberry Frog in New York City, shares his incredible journey in the advertising industry, including stints at MTV, Wieden+Kennedy, and BBDO. Then, we’ll dive into an exclusive preview of his forthcoming book, How Not to Hate Advertising, which is, in reality, a love letter to the business. The book emphasizes the importance of mentor...

On this episode, I speak to Emily Jeffrey-Barrett, founder of Among Equals in the UK, a brand and campaign agency for people who want to make more than *just* money.   Emily shares her journey from working in large advertising agencies to one day realizing that her fear of not starting her own agency became bigger than her fear of actually doing it. That was the day she handed in her notice and ju...

I am thrilled to welcome my friend and former colleague, Creative and Brand Strategist Matt Jones. Matt and I met during his time at Jack Morton where he was Global SVP of Strategy and Creative… and to this day, he is hands down the best, most brilliant, most effective creative strategist I've ever worked with. His career has taken him from the halls of Parliament to the C-Suites of some of th...

On this episode, we’re speaking with Eric Segal, CCO of X&O, which stands for Experts and Officers, a unique creative and strategy company composed of a network of over 100 big thinkers, all formerly associated with top brands and powerhouse agencies. They describe themselves as a CMO’s secret weapon, brought in to solve tough marketing challenges in record time. And the coolest part? They all...

On the latest episode of the show, we have Christian Lachel, Chief Creative Officer of BRC Imagination Arts, a unique design and production agency that specializes in Brand Homes and Flagships and Cultural Attractions and Museums. If you’ve been to the Johnnie Walker Princes Street Venue in Scotland or the Raiders Stadium Tour in Las Vegas, you’ve likely experienced their work. Christian is here t...

I’m excited to have Colin Jeffery, CCO of Doner and Co-Founder and CCO of Wolfgang, on the show today for a very interesting and timely discussion. Colin has worked for top agencies all around the world, from his homeland of South Africa to Singapore to the US, so I think it’s fair he’s seen a thing or two. And over the last several years, he’s spotted a distressing trend: advertising professional...

On another international episode, Laura Stein, Chief Creative Officer of Bruce Mau Design in Toronto Canada, is here to share 5 things we as creatives can do right now in our work and in our lives to be more sustainable. This cause is near and dear to her heart and something she brings to every project. Spoiler Alert: If you’re a user of Post-It Notes, you might be in for a big surprise. Laura wil...

On today’s show we have Ly Nguyen, Head of Creative at Movement Strategy, the social media agency behind some of the best brand social channels on the inter webs. Ly is here to share how her unique and versatile career path set her up perfectly to deliver on the agency’s social centric approach, as well as some misconceptions about executing effective social media campaigns. https://www.linkedin.c...

All the way from Thailand, it's Creative Director and Creative Coach Rodd Chant! Rodd and I are kindred spirits who share the same passion for finding the perfect black t -shirt and for helping bring up the next generation of creative directors. I've been following him on LinkedIn for some time and a recent post really caught my eye. Rodd believes that AI will kill all agencies, but it mig...

Gordy Sang and Brian Siedband, Co-Chief Creative Officers and founders of Quality Meats Creative (recently named Ad Age Small Agency of the year!) share the story of their once-fledgling agency that is now exploding by forgoing conventional wisdom, trusting their instincts, maintaining a high standard of work, and fostering a collaborative environment where all disciplines are valued.

On today’s show we’re talking to the irrepressible Cameron Day, Creative Director and Copywriter extraordinaire and author of Spitting Chiclets, his second book in a trilogy about the triumphs and tragedies of the advertising business. He’ll share his motivation for writing the books and some of the extraordinary lessons he learned from his father, legendary adman Guy Day, the Day in Chiat Day. Ca...

It's the very first edition of Wash-A-Pig Wednesday! Wash-A-Pig is a a unique card game that boosts your creative and advertising skills in a fun, engaging way. On this episode we play the game live with a few unsuspecting victims, er, panelists: Creative Director and creator of Stuff About Advertising Ashley Rutstein, Sell It Great's Pitch Guru Ben Levy and Wash-A-Pig inventor and Creativ...

The brilliant, charming and very funny Sean McBride, Chief Creative Officer of Arnold Worldwide, is here to talk about the resurgence of comedy in advertising, which I’m sure we all witnessed during this year’s Super Bowl. Sean is an expert in this area, overseeing creative for two of the longest running and funniest campaigns in advertising history. I’m talking about his work on Progressive’s ico...