TILFORD BROTHERS - Creative Director / 2024 - present
Working closely with the founders, we developed ZOMOZ from the ground up creating a super-premium Mezcal brand rooted in cultural legitimacy, unapologetic pride, and authentic heritage. For Katie’s Fine Foods, we repositioned the entire enterprise, creating a new logo and identity system that recentered the brand around the founder in order to build a national, emotionally resonant consumer brand. From naming and packaging to go-to-market strategy to a brand campaign and acquisition of the katies.com domain, we worked to make the brand as confident as the product and the founder driving it. A key inflection point came with Walmart’s Open Call. We identified the opportunity, built the pitch, and positioned KATIE’S around Walmart’s internal pursuit of “affordable luxury” — winning the coveted Golden Ticket and securing national retail access.
VAYNERMEDIA, LA - Social Content & Writing / 2023 - 2024
Creative direction for Sonic and Visa. Created Sonic x Bonnaroo campaign that included an experiential pop-up, merch, and a new limited edition product line.
LANGUAGE MEDIA, LA - Creative Director / 2017 - 2023
Creative Direction for Mac Miller’s most viewed music video. / Brand platform for Zoe Saldana’s BESE. / Brand platform for Scarlett Johansson’s new lifestyle brand. / Brand platform for Portia de Rossi’s General Public. / Strategic consulting and creative direction for LeBron James’ Uninterrupted.
FCB, GLOBAL - Global EVP, Content & Creative Development / 2016 - 2017
Strategic consulting: innovation / global content and creative development
FCB, CHICAGO - Chief Creative Officer / 2011 - 2016
Ran office in partnership with the president. / Led new business win, strategy, and creative for Michelob Ultra brand platform making it the fastest growing beer in the world five years running. / Led strategic and creative platform for KFC that turned around an eight-year sales slump and made them the most viral fast food restaurant in the world (it also included the first national TV campaign shot entirely on an iPhone). / Led strategy and creative platform for Kmart making them the most viral retailer in the world with over 100 million views (including one of the 10 most viral ads of all time and the world’s first shoppable viral video). / Led the agency to the two best Cannes Lions award showings in the agency’s history - all while maintaining the highest profit margins in the global network. / Co-designed new workspace for the entire agency that was awarded “coolest office space” in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business. / Restructured how the entire office and all departments worked, moving the agency from a linear silo model to an open-source, collaborative, interactive, non-linear, cross-discipline, rapid idea prototyping model. / Created, designed, and led the country’s largest in-house advertising agency production department operating with their own film directors.
GREY, NYC - Executive Creative Director / 2008 - 2011
Led new business win, strategy, and creative for the NFL’s first integrated brand platform that led to the highest sales and viewership in the league’s history. Pioneered an innovative, super-slow motion, high-speed film technique for the NFL that forever changed how all sports are watched. / Led new business win, strategy, and creative for DIRECTV that led to the highest sales and stock prices in the company’s history. / Led new business win, strategy, and creative for Ketel One Vodka that led to a 53% increase in sales year one. / Helped create a new agency model, leading Fast Company to deem the agency the “most innovative company in advertising.”
CORE, ST. LOUIS - Partner, Chief Creative Officer / 2008 - 2008
Black ops for Apple/Steve Jobs. / Co-created first national advertising campaign with entire post-production done on Apple Macs. / Co-led the world’s first fashion podcast for Karl Lagerfeld (in collaboration with Apple).
CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY, BOULDER - Consulting & Creative / Oct 2006 - Jan 2008
Strategic and creative brand platform development and creative for Nike+.
BBDO, NYC - Executive Creative Director Innovation & Design / 2004 - 2006
Set up BBDO’s first integrated innovation and design department. / Led strategy and creative for Braun’s global brand platform. / Led innovation and design think tank for Pepsi and Mountain Dew.
TILFORD:NORMAN, DALLAS - Founder, Partner & Co-Chief Creative Officer / 2002 - 2004
Created and led strategic and creative brand platform for Spyder Skiwear. / Created and led strategic and creative brand platform for Footaction that helped pioneer sneaker culture and urban/fitness fashion into mainstream malls.
PYRO, DALLAS - Founder, Partner & Chief Creative Officer / 1992 - 2002
Created the global “Blank Canvas” strategic and creative brand platform for Converse that repositioned them out of bankruptcy. The platform completely redirected the company purpose from focusing on basketball shoes to going all in on Chuck Taylors. The platform is still the foundation of the entire company, helping take Converse from $205M in sales to $2B in 2017. The campaign also helped pioneer the mass customization movement in fashion. / Created the strategic and creative brand platform for Hummer, taking it from a military vehicle and ranch equipment to a high-end civilian SUV and cultural icon, which eventually led to the acquisition by GM. / Created the global “Brand Art” strategic and creative brand platform for Dr. Martens that led to the highest sales in company history. / Created strategic and creative brand platforms for id Software’s Doom and Quake that forever changed the world of gaming marketing. / Pioneered the boutique “agency within an agency” model with The Richards Group.
THE RICHARDS GROUP, DALLAS - Creative Director / 1989 - 1992
Led agency to the biggest award show wins in their history for two consecutive years.