Predictible is Invisible

If there’s anything I’ve learned since starting my career in advertising over 15 years ago (how can that be??), it’s that. Predictable is safe. It doesn’t rock boats. It doesn’t register in a world of constant stimulation. It’s a waste of time and money.

After growing up in Burlington, I moved to Ottawa and became addicted to learning new things at university. I have a joint Journalism/English BA, a BA in Psychology and a post-grad in Copywriting. Whew. Not only did my 9 years of post-secondary education leave me broke, it made me uniquely qualified to understand humans and devise ways to eloquently compel.

Copywriter. Associate Creative Director. Creative Director. Problem Solver. Idea Machine. Concept Salesman. Brand Money Maker. I really don’t care what I’m called professionally. I just love what I do because every day is different. Every brief is a fresh possibility to create something new.

In a sea of predictable, I like to think I add a bit of art, quirk and the unexpected to the table. A good idea is a good idea. Whether it appears on an Instagram feed, a theatre screen, a page, an outdoor ad or an experience on the street. I’ve worked with big budgets and I’ve stretched little budgets to seem like big budgets. From Nova Scotia tourism to British Columbia tourism. The AGO to the Royal Ontario Museum. Tim Hortons to McDonalds. And Mazda to Porsche.

I’ve named hotels, restaurants and a Toronto mayor’s proposed commuter rail line, given away a mountain, turned a building into a volcano, convinced creatives to pose nude, placed a crate with a dinosaur on the street and created a risqué colouring book that’s not safe for kids. What other job allows you to do all that and more?

I love my job. I can’t wait to see what I’ll do next…