Talking to Ourselves

Jimmy Smith is the Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Amusement Park, the branded content, marketing, and entertainment agency he founded in 2011. Over a nearly four decade career starting in 1985 at Burrell Communications, Jimmy has worked alongside legends like Dan Wieden, David Lubars and Lee Clow. During his time at Wieden, his creations for Nike include "Book of Dimes" starring Lebron James and Bernie Mac; the hip-hop basketball classic, "Nike Freestyle"; and the transformation of Vince Carter into “Dr. Funk.” He also wrote a documentary entitled "Battlegrounds" for Nike, which went on to be the highest rated show in the history of MTV 2. In addition to winning all the big marketing awards like Cannes and One Show, Jimmy’s work has been recognized by the Smithsonian, and won Time Magazine’s “Ad of the Year.” As Group Creative Director on Gatorade, he received an Emmy Nomination for Gatorade Replay. He's also credited with helping develop the storyline and characters for the video game NBA Street. Heʼs written two books, including the 1997 release "Soul of the Game", which was featured at the Chicago Field Museum, The Basketball Hall of Fame, and the International Center of Photography in New York City. In 2016, his newly formed record label Amusement Park music debuted its first single “Bigger Than Us,” featuring Portland Trailblazers point guard Damian Lillard aka Dame Dolla. He has been named to Fast Company’s Creative 100. He is not only an industry icon, but a powerful voice in the fight for racial equality in advertising.

Anselmo Ramos is Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of GUT, the independent agency he built in 2018, with offices in Miami, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires. Over his career, Anselmo has won 195 Cannes Lions, including 7 Grand Prix. He’s been named to AdAge’s “Creativity 50”, Business Insider’s “24 Most Creative People in Advertising,” and Adweek’s “100 Most Creative People.” He first came to prominence as Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy & Mather São Paulo, where he create "Dove Real Beauty Sketches," a film that garnered over 200 million total views online, helping Ogilvy São Paulo win “2013 Agency of The Year” at Cannes. Shortly thereafter, Anselmo co-founded DAVID, the Miami-based offshoot of Ogilvy, where he made some of the most famous work of the past decade for Burger King, including “Proud Whopper,” “Scariest BK,” "Burnings Stores," “Google Home of The Whopper,” and “Whopper Neutrality.” In 2017, DAVID Miami became Ad Age's Agency Innovator of The Year, and Adweek's Breakthrough Agency of The Year. Recently, DAVID and Burger King won the Penta Pencil at The One Show, awarded for a 5-year partnership and winning streak. Today, GUT services clients including Tim Hortons, Dominos, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Popeyes, Stella Artois and Nestlé.

Keith Cartwright is the President and Chief Creative Officer of Cartwright, his newly formed agency backed by WPP. Keith has been named to Adweek’s Top 50 Creatives in the business, and Campaign Magazine’s Top 10 Most Influential People in Advertising. He started his career at Tracey Locke in Dallas, and Ogilvy New York. As a Creative Director at TBWA Chiat Day, he helped Adidas win Advertiser of the year at Cannes. As Global Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy, he helped Jordan Brand push past $1 billion in sales for the first time. He served as SVP Group Creative Director at the Martin Agency. In 2011, Keith co-founded his own shop in San Francisco called Union Made Creative, where he did breakthrough work for Nike, GE and Lego. In 2016 he helped launch Saturday Morning, a collective built on using creativity to shift negative perceptions in the African American community. There he developed “The Look,” the acclaimed film for P&G that took on the unconscious and conscious bias faced by black men in today. At the end of last year, Keith departed 72&Sunny, where he served for two years as Executive Creative Director, winning an Emmy for Treatment Box, an experiential PSA that powerfully took on opioid addiction. Keith is a member of the One Club Board of directors, The Ad Council Board, and is a Member of the Syracuse University Board of Directors.

Sir John Hegarty was the Founder and Worldwide Creative Director of BBH. He is one of the most legendary figures in advertising history. John started his career in 1965 as a junior art director in London. By the late 60s he was a founding partner of Saatchi & Saatchi. In 1973 he co-founded TBWA London. In 1982, John joined forces with partners John Bartle and Nigel Bogle to found BBH, which quickly became one of the most revered global agencies of the three plus decades to follow. BBH won every award and accolade imaginable, including being named the first ever “Agency of the Year” at Cannes in 1993, then again in 1994. Throughout his career, John led paradigm shifting campaigns for clients like Levi’s, Audi, Lynx and Johnnie Walker. Among his many legacies, he helped pioneer the importance of music in commercials, with BBH helping propel nine #1 hits over the years. In 1994, he was awarded the D&AD President’s Award for outstanding achievement. In 2005, he was given the Clio Lifetime Achievement Award, and inducted into the One Club Hall of Fame. In 2008 he was inducted into the Art Director’s Club Hall of Fame. In 2011, he became the first ever recipient of The Lion of St. Mark award at Cannes for lifetime achievement. In 2007, John received a knighthood for services to advertising. Today he leads the Garage Soho, an investment firm and consultancy for early stage consumer brands.

Jae Goodman is founder and CEO of Observatory, named to Fast Company’s 2020 list of World’s Most Innovative Companies. Observatory is an agency spun out of CAA Marketing, where Jae served as Co-Head and Chief Creative Officer since 2006. His Chipotle content “Back to the Start” and “The Scarecrow” combined to earn four Grand Prix victories at Cannes, going down among the all-time great branded entertainment of the past decade. Jae has been named to Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, AdWeek's Creative 100, Ad Age’s Creativity 50, and PR Week’s Hot List. He serves on the Board of Effie Worldwide and is a two-time Cannes Lions Jury President. Under Jae's leadership, Observatory has rapidly grown and expanded over the past 3 years, including global initiatives for Budweiser, Canada Goose and Coca Cola. Prior to joining CAA, Jae worked at Publicis & Hal Riney in San Francisco, and Wieden+Kennedy in Portland.

Wes Wilcox is an analyst for NBA TV, and the former General Manager of the Atlanta Hawks. He has over 15 years of experience inside NBA front offices, including the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets. Promoted by Atlanta in 2015 at the age of 36, Wes was one of the youngest GMs in NBA history. In addition to his on-air role at NBA TV, he is the co-host of "Deals and Dunks," "The Starting Lineup," and "No Look Pass" on SiriusXM.

Joaquin Molla is co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at The Community, which he created in 2000 with his brother, Jose Molla. Today, The Community has offices around the world including Miami, London, New York and Buenos Aires. Their clients have included Verizon, Volkswagen, Apple, Converse, Disney and Google. They’ve made the AdAge “A List” three times, and been named "Multicultural Agency of the Year" by both AdAge and Adweek. The Molla Brothers have been featured in AdWeek’s "Creative 100" list, and Business Insider’s "30 Most Creative People in Advertising." Under Joaquin’s leadership, The Community has won some of the industry’s most prestigious awards, including a Grand Prix at Cannes in 2015, and a total of 10 Grand Prix in Spanish speaking advertising festivals, to go along with dozens of Lions, Clios and Pencils. Joaquin’s greatest victory of all was helping swing Argentina’s presidential election for underdog candidate Mauricio Macri, who Joaquin then continued to serve as Communication Advisor.

Fernando Machado is Global Chief Marketing Officer of Burger King. In just six short years, Fernando has led some of the all-time most famous and awarded campaigns, including 'McWhopper', 'Whopper Neutrality', and most recently 'Whopper Detour', winner of three Grand Prix at Cannes in 2019, including Titanium. Under Fernando’s leadership, Burger King has been honored as Client/Brand of the Year at every major award show. Fernando is the first person ever to be awarded two separate times by Adweek as Grand Brand Genius. He’s been recognized by Business Insider as the #1 Most Innovative CMO, by the Art Directors Club as Marketer of the Year, by AdAge’s Top 50 Most Creative People in Business, and by both Forbes and Fast Company’s Top 100 Most Creative People in Business. Prior to joining Burger King, Fernando worked his way up at Unilever for 18 years, starting as an intern, and culminating with the groundbreaking Dove 'Beauty Sketches', 2013 Titanium Grand Prix winner at Cannes.

Suzanne Powers is Global Chief Strategy Officer of McCann Worldgroup. She was just named by AdAge as the "2019 Chief Strategy Officer of the Year." Under her leadership, McCann was ranked the #1 Most Creatively Effective Global Network by the Effies in 2018 and 2019; they were named the Effies Agency of the Year in 2017 and 2018. Most recently, Suzanne appeared on the cover of AdWeek in recognition of McCann Worldgroup claiming "2019 Global Agency of the Year" for the first time in nearly two decades. Suzanne joined McCann in 2013 from Crispin Porter+Bogusky, where she served as Global Strategy Officer. Before that, she led global brand strategy at TBWA for over a decade. She’s been an industry leader throughout her career, including as a frequent keynote speaker and awards show judge. She is past Chairperson of the AAAA’s Planning Committee. In 2016, she was recognized by Advertising Women of New York with its “Changing the Game” award as one of the industry’s “Catalysts of Innovation.”

Scott Donaton is Head of Creative at Hulu. He assumes this new role after five years as Global Chief Creative and Content Officer at Digitas. Scott began his career in journalism, becoming the editor and eventual publisher of Ad Age for over a decade. He then spent a year as the publisher of Entertainment Weekly. In 2005 he authored “Madison & Vine,” a book that prophesied the convergence of entertainment and advertising. In 2009 he became Global Chief Content Officer at Interpublic Group’s UM, where he led a team of award-winning content strategists and producers around the globe for clients like Chrysler, Coca-Cola, J&J, BMW and Sony. While at Digitas, he spearheaded the Digitas NewFront, a conference-style event that became a flagship of the annual pitches to digital ad buyers in New York. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement, and honored as one of the “21 Most Intriguing People in Media.” He’s twice served as President of the Branded Content & Entertainment jury at Cannes. His thought-leadership has been published in Fast Company, Adweek, Huffington Post and Business Insider.

PJ Pereira is Founder and Creative Chairman at Pereira & O'Dell. PJ is an advertising pioneer, and one of the world's most influential creatives. He was named the Top CCO in Adweek's "Creative 100." He was recognized by "Creativity 50," and 4A's "100 People Who Make Advertising Great." In 2016, Pereira & O'Dell was behind the rare participation of a brand in the prestigious “Official Selection” of Sundance Film Festival with NETSCOUT and Werner Herzog's "Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World", named in Esquire Magazine’s Top 10 Best Non-Fiction Films of 2016. His agency is credited with the creation of the first-ever social film, “The Inside Experience”, for Intel and Toshiba in 2011. Its follow-up, “The Beauty Inside”, was a triple Cannes Grand Prix winner, and the first branded content to win an Emmy against regular TV programming. He’s served on 6 Cannes Lions juries, including two jury presidencies. He also serves on the boards of the AdCouncil and The One Club. Beyond advertising, the Brazilian-born native is a best-selling novelist. In 2015, his book trilogy "Gods of Both Worlds" spent a month as the #1 novel in Brazil.

Scott Bell is Executive Creative Director at Droga5. Since joining the agency in 2009, Scott has become a core fixture of the agency's creative culture, helping Droga5 achieve world domination. He’s racked up every major industry award and accolade for campaigns including Newcastle’s “If We Made it,” the hysterical Super Bowl hijack that took home Adweek’s Top Ad of 2014. He invented the infamous "Pie Tops" sneakers for Pizza Hut. He turned IHOP into IHOB. He is currently helping Dos Equis "Keep It Interesante."

Geoff Cottrill is Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company, leading integrated marketing strategy across creative content, media planning, entertainment, and more for a portfolio of billion dollar brands and emerging products under the Coca-Cola umbrella. Geoff started his career at Procter & Gamble. He spent three years at Starbucks as VP of Product Development & Marketing for Starbucks Entertainment. Geoff went on to become Chief Marketing Officer at Converse for nearly a decade, where he helped the Chuck Taylor All-Star become the #1 selling sneaker in the world. This is Geoff’s second term at Coca-Cola; he first worked for the company from 1996 to 2005 as Group Director, Entertainment Marketing. He rejoins Coke after most recently serving as President of MullenLowe in Boston.

Ari Halper is Chief Creative Officer at FCB New York. Prior to that, Ari spent 13 years at Grey New York. Over the past two decades, Ari has made some of the most memorable and iconic work in our industry, culminating in his most recent and greatest career success: Burger King's Whopper Detour, Cannes winner of the Titanium Grand Prix, Mobile Grand Prix and Direct Grand Prix, along with a litany of gold, silver and bronze Lions, becoming a new creative beacon for agencies and brands around the world.

Spencer Kramer is CEO of J. Walter Thompson Atlanta. Spence has an incredible and storied career across both the client and agency side. He was a VP of Marketing, first at ESPN, then at Virgin America. In 2007 he joined Wieden Kennedy Portland as Global Account Director of Nike, overseeing teams across seven offices on the brand’s legendary "Just Do It" campaign. Wieden then promoted him to run the global Coca-Cola business. Spence left Wieden in 2014 to become Crispin Porter+Bogusky's first ever Global Managing Director. After spending a year there contributing to the winning pitch for the Infiniti account, he relocated to Atlanta, where he worked as a freelance consultant before JWT named him CEO in 2016.