HI ANNA,

In the Fall of 1952 my grandfather left his job as a copywriter in Chicago to move his wife and six boys to Rochester, MN. Their destination was the Mayo Clinic. His youngest son had just been born with Esophageal Atresia. The Mayo Clinic was one of the few places in the world that could perform the surgery and treatment necessary to keep him alive. Leaving his job in Chicago meant that he no longer had the means to comfortably support his large family. Luckily, my grandfather had a magnetic personality that always seemed to land him on the right side of fate. He was lucky enough to meet Dr. Charles William Mayo. Dr. Chuck took a liking to my grandfather and set him up with a job at the local radio station where he soon hosted his own morning show and called some games for the Rochester Red Wings baseball team.

My grandfather was a brilliant storyteller – a journalist, a published novelist, a radio personality and a copywriter who worked up and down Michigan Avenue. But one of his favorite stories was the recounting of a conversation he had with Dr. Chuck about Lou Gehrig. He referred to him fondly as “one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived… and an even better patient.” Of my grandfather’s hundreds of stories, it’s always been one that stuck with me.

Three years later, my grandparents moved the family back to Chicago and my grandfather took a job at Leo Burnett. Growing up I always wanted to be an advertising copywriter just like him. After all, he wrote the first TV spot that used Tony the Tiger’s famous words “They’re Grrreat.” What job could possibly be cooler than that? I finished college at the University of Kansas as a journalism and advertising major, headed to Chicago, and found a jr. copywriter job at a small B-to-B agency.

Fast-forward several chapters and now I’m in California with a young son of my own. Having worked my way up through various agencies along the typical path of copywriter to sr. copywriter to ACD to Creative Director, advertising has been my life and identity. While I’ve loved the agency families I’ve worked with along the way, the onset of a global pandemic has reinforced that the family I enjoy “circling back with” the most is the one I live with. So I decided to take a minute away from the ad game. I wrote a children’s book, worked on freelance projects remotely and spent a lot of time shuffling around on the floor yelling “Choo Choo!!”

Like so many people right now looking for their “next thing” I read a lot of job descriptions. But as is hopefully evident by the paragraphs above, the Creative Director/Copy job you posted hit me a bit. As you mention in your profile “Sometimes an opportunity comes along that completely detours all those best-laid plans.” Amidst the predictable flow of packaged goods, apparel, sporting goods, tourism and telecomm, and high-profile clients like The North Face, Dell, State Farm, Oakley and Red Bull, the most satisfying opportunities I’ve had were projects that actually made a difference – like an autism awareness campaign to help Easter Seals build a dedicated school for children on the spectrum in inner-city Chicago, or campaigns for The Children’s Hospital in Denver aimed at brightening the experience for children diagnosed with cancer.

I’ve managed teams as large as 20 people but more than anything love getting my hands dirty. I love selling but not manipulating. I love collaborating but not dictating. I love pressure but not ego. I just get a feeling from the job description and reading several of your creative team’s profiles that those are shared perspectives.

Please take a look at my work and reach out if you feel any synergy. I’d love to chat.

Thanks Anna,

Jeff