I don’t believe corporations are people.

 

I do believe people are people.  And I help brands have conversations with them.  

 

While doing that I’ve been lucky to encounter the rare white rhino of advertising:  working on brands

I love at agencies I love, namely DDB and Y&R Chicago.

 

Call it planned luck. I’ve always sought out others who believe in putting humans first — in the brief and in the work.  

 

My first big assignment for Y&R was to help pitch and win back all Sears brand work including Craftsman, Kenmore and Diehard. We did it by remembering something Sears had forgotten: its customers. We went on to produce Cannes-winning integrated media and radio plus Cannes shortlisted TV.

 

Not long after, I represented Y&R North America in the global pitch for Bacardi, working with RKYR London as one of two creative leads.  We won that, too.

 

At DDB I pitched and won Energizer, Van Kampen Funds, Jones Lang Lasalle, and the Purina global business, once again, working out of London and New York.

 

In recent months I led Y&R Chicago’s wins on Famous Footwear, Hampton Hotels, Einstein Bros. Bagels,

Butterball and Danze. I was also instrumental in the pitch that landed

our largest current account, BMO Harris Bank.

 

In each case, we showed clients how to win with humanity. That gets

my heart beating. And if your heart’s not beating how the hell can you

get anyone else's blood pumping?

 

Keith Reinhard once told me that even though people buy houses

for what they think are practical reasons, what really closes the sale

is when they walk in and can instantly picture where the Christmas

tree will go.

 

That’s what I want with every new relationship.

 

I want you to see the tree.