Work History:
BarkleyOKRP, EVP, Executive Creative Director of Chicago
- O’Keefe Reinhard and Paul, Executive Creative Director
- O’Keefe Reinhard and Paul, Group Creative Director
Leo Burnett, Creative Director
Doyle Dane Bernbach, Creative Director
Goodby Silverstein and Partners, Writer
Heat, Writer
DigitasLBi, Writer
Olson, Jr. Writer

Awards:
Cannes Lions, Grand Prix. Thighstop
Cannes Lions, 2 Shortlists. Thighstop
D&AD, Graphite Pencil. Thighstop
D&AD, 2 Wood Pencils. Thighstop
D&AD, 2 Shortlists. Thighstop
AICP Next, Best in Show. Thighstop
AICP Next, Winner - Integrated. Thighstop
AICP Next, Shortlist - Influencer. Thighstop
WARC, Silver. Thighstop
One Show, 2 Bronze. Thighstop
One Show, 6 Merits. Thighstop
One Show, 14 Shortlists. Thighstop
Effie, Bronze. Thighstop
Clio, Bronze. Thighstop
ADC, 2 Shortlists. Thighstop
Andy, Shortlist. Thighstop
Webby, Finalist. Thighstop
Addy, 4 Silver. Thighstop

One Show, Bronze. Million Dollar Whopper
One Show, 4 Merits. Million Dollar Whopper
Effies, 2 Silver. Million Dollar Whopper
Effies, 2 Finalists. Million Dollar Whopper

Webby, Honoree. Metro Social

ANA, Multicultural Growth. Metro Nada Yada Yada

One Show, Bronze. Whopper Whopper
Effie, Silver. Whopper Whopper
AdFed, People’s Choice. Whopper Whopper

ADC, Bronze. 6ourbon 7ime
ADC, 1 Shortlist. 6ourbon 7ime
Andy, Gold. 6ourbon 7ime
Clio, 2 Silver. 6ourbon 7ime
Clio, 1 Bronze. 6ourbon 7ime
Clio, 1 Shortlist. 6ourbon 7ime
One Show, 2 Merits. 6ourbon 7ime
One Show, 10 Shortlists. 6ourbon 7ime
Addy, 5 Silver. 6ourbon 7ime

D&AD, Graphite Pencil. Wearable Billboards
D&AD, Shortlist. Wearable Billboards
One Show, 4 Shortlists. Wearable Billboards
ADC, 2 Shortlists. Wearable Billboards
Andy, Shortlist. Wearable Billboards

Cannes Lions, 4 Shortlists. Coors Clone Machine
One Show, 9 Merits. Coors Clone Machine
LIA, 2 Bronze. Coors Clone Machine
ADC, 3 Merits. Coors Clone Machine
ADC, 4 Shortlists. Coors Clone Machine

Cannes Cyber Lion, Gold. The Giferator
Cannes Cyber Lion, Silver. The Giferator
Cannes Cyber Lion, Bronze. The Giferator
Cannes Mobile Lion, Gold. The Giferator
Cannes Mobile Lion, Silver. The Giferator
Cannes Mobile Lion, Bronze. The Giferator
Cannes Data Lion, Gold. The Giferator
Cannes Branded Content, Silver. The Giferator
D&AD, Wood Pencil. The Giferator
ADC, Gold. The Giferator
ADC, Silver. The Giferator
Effie, Gold. The Giferator
Effie, Silver. The Giferator
Webby, Honoree. The Giferator
Webby, 4 Nominations. The Giferator
Shorties, 3 incl. Best Meme. The Giferator
One Show, 3 Bronze. The Giferator
Addy, Best in Show. The Giferator
Addy, 3 Gold. The Giferator
Clio, Gold. The Giferator
Clio, Silver. The Giferator
Clio, Bronze. The Giferator
GMA, Silver. The Giferator
GMA, Bronze. The Giferator
OMMA, Winner. The Giferator

Webby. It’s Bubly!
Webby, People's Voice. It’s Bubly!
Clio, Gold. It’s Bubly!
D&AD, Shortlist. It’s Bubly!
ARF Ogilvy Awards, Best New Brand. It’s Bubly!

Cannes Lions, Shortlist. Is Pepsi OK?
Effie, Silver. Is Pepsi OK?

Clio, Shortlist. Gameday Morning
Addy, 2 Bronze. Gameday Morning

Clio, Shortlist. Thursday Night Football
Addy, Silver. Thursday Night Football

One Show, Shortlist. U.S. Army

Webby, 3 Nominations. Madden 16
Webby, Honoree. Madden 16
Addy, 4 Gold. Madden 16
Addy, 5 Silver. Madden 16
GMA, Bronze. Madden 16

Effie, Silver. Phillips Distilling

AIGA Show, Incepta App. Boston Scientific

AdFed Bronze Pin, Integrated. Derwent

Agency, Client, and Individual Recognition:
Museum of Modern Art, NYC - Permanent Collection
Fast Co. Most Creative People
Contagious Magazine, Interview
AdAge BK's Maddeningly Catchy Jingle
Slate The Story Behind the Earworm
The Ringer The BK Whopper Guys
Forbes How Wingstop Stole the Show at Cannes
AdAge A-List, Standout, BarkleyOKRP.
AdAge A-List, OKRP
One Show Agency of The Year, Leo Burnett
ADC Agency of The Year, Leo Burnett
Clio Agency of The Year, Leo Burnett
AdAge A-List, Comeback Agency of The Year, GSP
AdAge A-List, Breakthrough Agency of The Year, Heat
AdAge A-List, Marketer of the Year, Pepsi
AdAge A-List, Marketer of the Year, Taco Bell
Super Bowl LIV Ad Blitz Top Spanish Spot
Super Bowl LIV Ad Blitz #6 Comedy Spot
Super Bowl LIV Ad Blitz #7 Overall Spot
Super Bowl LIII Ad Meter Top 10 Ad
Super Bowl LIII’s Most Shared Ad
Twitter’s Most Tweeted LIII Super Bowl Spot
Billboard’s Best LIII Super Bowl Spot
Communication Arts Annual
AdAge Spot of The Week x12
CA Website OTD, The Giferator
FWA Site & Mobile OTD, The Giferator
CA Website OTD, Concepting With Convicts

Perhaps counterintuitively, I don’t think advertising should be in the business of certainty. But I do have one really firmly held hypothesis: People change their behaviors when brands do. It doesn’t always go right. It rarely goes as planned. Yet rest assured, in what we do it’s the only thing that ever really works. 

So I ask a lot out of clients, and agencies, and teams—but nothing I don’t ask out of myself. If you asked around, I wager I come as advertised. 

My Career:
I love this job. Never wanted to do anything else. After losing my first jr. writer gig I tried to be a fish counter for the Minnesota DNR. I moved to California instead.

I intended to work for Goodby Silverstein and Partners, but with a portfolio of catheter ads it took two other jobs and six lions to get 'em to answer my emails. Finally they did, and while there I helped win Pepsi, the NFL, and Liberty Mutual, producing super bowl spots and campaigns still running today. 

Eventually, I moved back to Middle America. My dad was dying, my brother had kids, and I missed the creative advantage of being overlooked that comes with flyover country. I briefly creative directed the US Army, trying something entirely different than anybody I knew. It was, and surprising to no one but me, six months later I joined Leo Burnett to creative direct a small brand named Wingstop. 

In two years we grew Wingstop from famous on World Star to winning nearly every single award in advertising, including the first grand prix for commerce. My partner and I delivered the best growth in the brand’s history every year we worked on it, even through COVID, and a national wing shortage. We pitched, lost, and surprisingly “re-won” Dunkin, and simultaneously grew a project with BeamSuntory into multiple AOR roles, including the largest bourbon brand on earth: Jim Beam. 

Then, with equity in a then unknown agency OKRP we took directorship of industry darling Burger King. Despite perceptions, the brand was failing—an amazing problem to tackle. We delivered a campaign so obnoxious the industry didn’t know what to make of it, but the internet went nuts for. Our jingle generated more social content each day of the NFL season than most Super Bowl spots ever do, and posted better sales than Crispin and David had in 15 years. 

In 2023 we pitched and won Metro by T-Mobile, the biggest prepaid phone carrier in the world. Created a fake reality TV show with Nathan Fielder that would rank in the top 10 of Netflix. Doubled the size of what was now an award winning, multicultural creative department, and suddenly found ourselves in charge of it. Within a year we were merging with Barkley, another oft-overlooked agency in the Midwest. Ever since doing our best to continue to make the unfamous famous, and the famous, something new entirely.

Recently, that’s meant giving out the literal phone number of the president of Burger King so fans could call him directly to complain—inadvertently starting one of the wildest fights in fast food history as the internet lambasted the CEO of McDonalds for taking an uninspired bite compared to Burger King’s President, Tom.

I guess it’s like I said: just try something different. It won’t always go as planned. But, it’s the only way anything ever really works.