Bio
TL;DR: After picking the wrong major in college, I discovered advertising and have since created award-winning work for a variety of clients at some of the best agencies in NYC.
I always loved to draw. At first, it was Porsches and Star Destroyers, then still lifes and figure studies. I left college with a BFA in Art Education, but also the sobering realization that I didn’t really want to be a teacher. So, I talked my way into an internship at a small ad agency near my hometown in Delaware. I shadowed the art director and studied award annuals, ultimately deciding I could make a career out of it.I landed my first job at Ogilvy in New York, working on ads for IBM, Jaguar, and Ford. After building my chops, I joined Oasis, an independent downtown boutique. During my seven-year tenure there, I learned a ton and I'm very proud of the work I did for clients like Canon, Sharp, Alitalia, and Toyota—a highlight being the launch of the Prius.
Following Oasis, I dove head-first into the digital age. I was up for a job at McCann to work on “traditional” campaigns for Intel and the U.S. Army, but when I saw there was an opening at MRM, McCann’s digital arm, I figured it would be more fun. I was right: I was a kid in a candy store with lots of new toys to play with, but it was my traditional-agency knowledge of strategy and branding that allowed me to excel there.
With pixels in my eyes, I joined R/GA as a creative director on the Walmart account. I led a team of 30+ digital creatives to develop advertising, social media campaigns, digital tools and applications for the world’s largest retailer. The hard work and relationships forged there led to an ECD role at iCrossing, building and leading their new creative department. Clients included Hilton, Pep Boys, ING, Avon, and PNC Bank.
At Publicis, I was ECD on the global Citi account and was responsible for all corporate, enterprise, and sponsorship advertising. Highlights included integrated campaigns for the Olympics, the Presidents Cup golf tournament, and Citi Field—home of the frequently awful New York Mets.
Looking for a new challenge, I turned my attention to the growing healthcare sector. Much like digital years before, it was a category ripe for some creative innovation. I'd recently lost my father to cancer and I have a few doctors in the family, so I thought it would make a good place to focus my skills. I've held leadership positions at Area 23 and 21GRAMS—both are consistently recognized as the top healthcare agencies in the world. When I'm not working on a project for a client, you will probably find me with either a camera or a guitar in my hands—two other creative passions I've had since I was a kid. Speaking of kids, my wife Frauke and I made two of them: Julian and Arthur. We live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Staff Positions
21GRAMS
SVP, Group Creative Director
Pfizer, Janssen, Merck, Alexion, Invisaline, Sobi, Amneal, Ipsen, Daiichi-Sankyo, Andelyx, Treace, Jazz, Shield, new business
Area 23SVP, Group Creative Director
Pfizer, Janssen, Merck, Alexion, Invisaline, Sobi, Amneal, Ipsen, Daiichi-Sankyo, Andelyx, Treace, Jazz, Shield, new business
VP, Creative Director
GSK, Bayer, AstraZeneca, Horizon, Eli Lilly, Biogen, new business
Publicis
EVP, Executive Creative Director
Citi, Samsung, Heineken, Axa, Abbott, new business
EVP, Executive Creative Director
Citi, Samsung, Heineken, Axa, Abbott, new business
iCrossing
VP, Executive Creative Director
PNC Bank, Hilton, Williams-Sonoma, Avon, Ally Bank, Benjamin Moore, Pep Boys, ING
VP, Executive Creative Director
PNC Bank, Hilton, Williams-Sonoma, Avon, Ally Bank, Benjamin Moore, Pep Boys, ING
R/GA
Creative Director, Visual Design
Walmart, Unilever
Creative Director, Visual Design
Walmart, Unilever
MRM//McCann
Associate Creative Director, Art
Intel, U.S. Army, General Motors, Nikon, Bertolli, new business
Associate Creative Director, Art
Intel, U.S. Army, General Motors, Nikon, Bertolli, new business
Oasis/Dentsu America
Associate Creative Director, Art
Toyota, Sharp Electronics, JVC, Alitalia Airlines, Canon, NYU Medical Center, India Tourism, Edison Electric Institute, GolfOnline, new business
Associate Creative Director, Art
Toyota, Sharp Electronics, JVC, Alitalia Airlines, Canon, NYU Medical Center, India Tourism, Edison Electric Institute, GolfOnline, new business
Hill Holliday
Art Director
T-Mobile, Southern Comfort, Riggs Bank, new business
Art Director
T-Mobile, Southern Comfort, Riggs Bank, new business
Ogilvy & Mather
Art Director
IBM, Lotus Software, Jaguar, Ford Motor Company
Art Director
IBM, Lotus Software, Jaguar, Ford Motor Company
Freelance
R/GA
BSSP
MRM
KBS+
Mullen
360i
Edelman
Cossette
Publicis
Ogilvy
Arnold
The Bloc
S50
BSSP
MRM
KBS+
Mullen
360i
Edelman
Cossette
Publicis
Ogilvy
Arnold
The Bloc
S50
Education
The Creative Circus
Advertising Art Direction
Advertising Art Direction
The Portfolio Center
Graphic Design, Advertising Art Direction
Graphic Design, Advertising Art Direction
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art Education
Category Experience
Advertising, Automotive, B2B, Beauty, Beer, Beverage, Computer, CPG, Education, Electronics, Energy, Entertainment, Financial Services, Gaming, Government, Health Care, Home Goods, Hospitality, Lifestyle, Luxury, Manufacturing, Mass Media, Music, Non-Profit, Pharmaceutical, Retail, Software, Sports, Startups, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, Wine & Spirits
Brand Experience
Citi, Samsung, Toyota, Heineken, Walmart, Unilever, Hilton Worldwide, General Motors, Verizon, Nikon, Ford Motor Company, Alitalia, Canon, NYU Medical Center, Southern Comfort, Anheuser-Busch, Hyatt, Budweiser, BankBoston, New York Mets, AstraZeneca, Ally Bank, Goldman Sachs, Bayer, SiriusXM, Sharp Electronics, T-Mobile, IBM, AXA, PNC Bank, Williams-Sonoma, Pep Boys, ING, Avon, Benjamin Moore, McGraw Hill, Amtrak, JVC, U.S. Army, Bertolli, Lily, Minolta, Lotus, Nextel, GolfOnline, Sears, J.C. Penney, GSK, India Tourism, Abbott Laboratories, National Center for Family Literacy, Edison Electric Institute, Riggs Bank, Salomon
Skills & Expertise
Advertising, Art Direction, Creative Direction, Visual Design, Presentations, Storytelling, Mentorship, Leadership, Strategy, Copywriting, Conceptual Development, Entertainment, Experiential, Comedy, Integrated Campaigns, Brand Campaigns, New Business, Digital Activations, Team Building, Business Development, Fostering Creative Culture, Interactive Experiences, Mobile Apps, Experiential, Events, Brand Films, Branded Content, Broadcast, Manifestos, Websites, Social Media Content
Awards
"Best Car Design", 1979 Pinewood Derby, Boy Scouts of America, Troop 112
1st Place, 1986 St. Mark's High School Talent Show
Various advertising awards
Pedigree
Godfrey "Don" DeMarco, a great-uncle on my mother’s side, was a Madison Avenue art director back in the 1940s—a full decade before advertising’s fictional poster child Don Draper sold the name “Carousel” to Kodak. As Uncle Don got older, he began dyeing his hair to appear more youthful and continued working until just a few years before he passed away in his late nineties. He was tickled that I followed in his footsteps and shared many stories about the good old days with me. I'll always remember him as the guy who taught me how to draw a TIE fighter in two-point perspective when I was eight.
A Couple of Mad Men: Me & Uncle Don