CREATIVE DIRECTOR / COPYWRITER
Despite being born in Inglewood, California, Chad has managed to expand his roots nearly every four years with stops in Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, California, and Oregon.
He and John Hinckley Jr. graduated from Texas Tech University. Hinckley went on to shoot President Reagan. Chad went on to thrive under one of the most awarded copywriters of the times at The Richards Group/Pyro.
Since then, Chad has created influential advertising and design content at some of the hottest creative agencies in the U.S. and Europe, including Wieden+Kennedy (Portland), Mother (London), KesselsKramer (Amsterdam), and 86 the onions, the unconventional agency he founded in Los Angeles.
To date, he’s helped develop more than 180 brands, including Target, Google, Nike, Starbucks, Activision, Mountain Dew, HUMMER, MTV, and ESPN X Games.
His unique problem-solving abilities have earned the top industry accolades, coverage in numerous pop culture publications, and features as leading examples of creativity in more than 16 books. In addition to building brands for others, Chad continues to create several successful brands of his own, including the world’s first interactive art gallery and game app, a zero-budget homeless outreach campaign that spans over 30 countries, and an online community and mentorship program with/for creative advertising and design students.
Chad discovered his love for teaching at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California where he was awarded the Great Teacher Award his very first semester. Today, many of his former students are CDs and ECDs at the world’s top creative agencies. In 2014, Chad joined the University of Texas as a Lecturer where he co-ran the Texas Creative, the world-class advertising portfolio program. He is the recipient of the 2016-2017 Stan Richards Faculty Fellowship in Advertising Creativity Award.
Chad can be found freelancing for leading creative agencies; consulting start-ups, NGO's and Fortune 100 companies, writing and directing video content; playing drums, writing sketch comedy, performing improv and stand up comedy, hugging trees, and hanging out with his dog, Ringo.
SEE THE PORTFOLIO
AWARDS / ACCOLADES
Effie • The One Club • D&AD • NY Art Directors • National Addys • The Creative Circle • British Television • Graphis • Communication Arts • Lurzer’s International Archive • Creativity • Print • ZOO • Creative Review • Shots • Eye • Campaign Screen • Adweek • AdAge • Best Spots on TV
AGENCIES
Full-time: Wieden+Kennedy (Portland), Creative Director, 2008-2009 • 86 the onions (LA), Founder/Creative Director, 2002-2007 • KesselsKramer (Amsterdam), Senior Creative, 2000-2002 • Mother (London), Senior Creative, 1998-2000 • The Richards Group/Pyro (Dallas), Copywriter, 1994-1998
Part-time: Mullen (Boston) • Crispin Porter + Bogusky (LA, Boulder) • david & goliath (LA) • Butler Shine Stern (SF) • Deutsch (LA) • Strawberry Frog (NYC) • StudioLo (Boulder) • Odysseus Arms (SF) • TBWA/Chiat Day (LA) • Saatchi & Saatchi (LA) • The Marketing Arm (Dallas) • enso collaborative (LA) • mono (Minneapolis) • McGarrah Jessee (Austin) • Preacher (Austin) • DIKO (Austin) • The Butler Bros. (Austin) • JDK (Portland, Burlington) • Creature (Seattle) • nemo (Portland) • Capital Goods (Denver) • Mandrake (Prague) • attik (SF) • Factory Labs (Denver) • dw+h (LA) • MEplusYOU (Dallas) • mkg (NYC) • Sedgwick Rd. (Seattle) • sandymontana (Portland) • Climate Reality Project (Boulder) • Curious Beast (Portland) • DoubleStandards (Berlin) •
AS FEATURED IN…
Advertising Today / Punk Marketing: Get Off Your Ass And Join The Revolution / I Like It. What Is It? / Advertising Graphics With Impact / Consumer Behavior: Buyer, Having, Being (7th Edition) / A Hundred And One Things To Do / 200% Cotton: New T-Shirt Graphics / Touch This: Graphic Design That Feels Good / Dos Logos / Introducing: Designs For Making A First Impression / 2 Kilo Of KesselsKramer / World Business Cards Today / Letterhead & Logo Design 9 / All Access: The Making Of Thirty Extraordinary Graphic Designers / Sustainable Graphic Design: Tools, Systems And Strategies For Innovative Print Design / Shovel It: Kick-Ass Advice To Turn Life’s Crap Into The Peace And Happiness You Deserve
BRANDS/CLIENTS
20TH CENTURY FOX
50 BLEU VODKA
55DSL
AIRTABLE
ACTIVISION
ACURA
ADIDAS
ALMAXX
AMERICAN EXPRESS
AMERICAN STANDARD
ASPEN HEIGHTS PARTNERS
AQUAFINA
ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN
BACARDI
BAREFOOT WINES
BEATS BY DR. DRE
BEAUTIFUL / DECAY
BEEFEATER RESTAURANTS
BEINGWELL
BEN / T-MOBILE
BEN & JERRY'S
BIG MAGAZINE
BIG FUTURE
BLIK WALL GRAPHICS
BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS VODKA
BOOKING.COM
BORDERS
BRAVO TV UK
BTC ELEMENTS
BUCA DI BEPPO
CALLAWAY GOLF
CANVAS
CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT
COCA-COLA
COLT 45
COMPAQ
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES
CORONA
CHRYSLER
CURRENT TV
D&AD
DAIHATSU
DAZED & CONFUSED
DIESEL
DO
DOCKERS
DODGE
DOVE
DR. MARTENS
DREAMWORKS INTERACTIVE
DRINKS THAT WORK
DUFFS
DUTCH MAGAZINE
EAST SIDE MARIO’S
EIDOS ENTERTAINMENT
ESPN X GAMES
ESSENTIAL LIVING FOODS
ETHOS WATER
ETNIES
EVO.COM
EYEMASTERS
FASTLY
FIAT
FIELD DAY
FOOTLOCKER
FUEL TV
GETTY IMAGES
G.O.D. GAMES
G4 TV
GAMECOCK MEDIA
GLOBAL INHERITANCE
GOOGLE
GOTHAM GAMES
GU ENERGY GEL
GT INTERACTIVE
HANS BRINKER BUDGET HOTEL
HARVEY NICHOLS
HESSENMOB SKATEBOARDING
HET PAROOL
HIGH WEST WHISKEY
HOME DEPOT
HOTEL TONIGHT
HOUSE OF MARLEY
HUM MUSIC
HUMMER
ID SOFTWARE
ION STORM
ITKO SOFTWARE
JACKSONS STORES
JEEP
KISS FM
KPMG
LAKE TRUST CREDIT UNION
LE ECO
LEMISHINE
LIGHTNING AUDIO
LIVE EARTH
LOWE’S
LULULEMON
MALIBU GRAND PRIX
MARMALADE
MERVYN'S
MIDNIGHT OIL GROUP
MIDWAY GAMES
MITSUBISHI
MOPAR
MOTEL 6
MOTOROLA
MOUNTAIN DEW
MOUNTAIN HEALTH COOP
MSNBC
MTV UK
MTV SWITCH.ORG
MURATEC
DALLAS MAVERICKS
NEC JAPAN
NESTLE WATERS
NEW BELGIUM BREWING
NIKE
NINTENDO
NISSAN
NUDE BEER
OAKLEY
OMIDYAR NETWORK
OXFAM
OXYGEN INLINE SKATES
PARTNERSHIP FOR A DRUG-FREE AMERICA
PEPSI-CO
PIPERLIME.COM
PLAYING FOR CHANGE
PUTMAN REDESIGN
RADIOACTIVE CLOWN
RADIOSHACK
REMY COINTREAU
RES MEDIA GROUP
ROCKFORD FOSGATE
ROCKSTAR GAMES
ROLAND MUSIC INSTRUMENTS
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
RUMPL
SAMSUNG
SCHLAFLY BEER
SCION
SEGA
SIERRA MIST
SILVERCAR
SMITHSONIAN BIRD FRIENDLY
SOAPNET
SOBE BEVERAGES
SONY CRACKLE
SPIKE TV
SPYDER
ST. LOUIS MICROBREW AND BLUES FESTIVAL
SEATTLE’S BEST COFFEE
STARBUCKS
SYLVIE & J
T-POST
TACO BELL
TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
TARGET
THE ALLIANCE FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION
THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
TED BAKER
TERVIS
TONEEL GROEP AMSTERDAM
TONY CHACHERE'S FAMOUS CREOLE SEASONING
TOYOTA
TREBOR BASSETT MIGHTY MINTS
TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLES
TRUECAR
TURKCELL
UBISOFT ENTERTAINMENT
USA FILM FESTIVAL
VESTAS
VHI
VIRGIN INTERACTIVE
VIRGIN RECORDS
WESTFIELD CORPORATION
WHITBREAD BEER COMPANY
WHATABURGER
WINCHESTER
WIBV 1260
WORLD VISION INTERNATIONAL
NICE THINGS THEY’VE SAID
“Working with Chad is a spiritual experience. He is a shaman who guides us through the creative process that clients will euphorically pay for.”— Kiyoshi Kodama, Liquid Air Entertainment
“I can only recommend a handful of like-minded marketing partners that consistently push the limits of smart, accessible design and innovation, and Chad is certainly one of them.”— Simon Campbell, Target
“Chad is a dream to work with. He is driven to be unique and uber out-of-the-box in his creative. That kind of talent does not grow on trees but if it did, Chad’s tree would be the best one by a long shot.”— Stacy Conde, Virgin Records
“On more than one occasion, Chad has delivered beyond our creative expectations. Every opportunity that I have to hire someone from the creative world, he is the person that I go to first and the one that brings something entirely new to the table.”— Ian Votteri, ESPN X Games
“Chad is both a creative genius and strategic thinker. He has the business acumen, integrity and talent that we all look for in people — and rarely find. He’s great to work with and does what he says he’s going to do.”— Jake Munsey, FUEL TV / FOX Cable Networks
“I trust Chad to come up with an approach that works and gets attention. I can only afford to pay for results and I wouldn’t be using him if the results didn’t follow.”— Brian Lovejoy, Drinks That Work / Upshot
“Chad made me proud to go to work every day. And he made customers drop by in droves. Our sales nearly tripled. We got the biggest bang for any buck I ever spent. ”— Jed Cohen, Sylvie & J
“Unexpected, innovative, compelling, and effective. If you want breakout creative with a purpose, call Chad.”— C.J. Olivares, FUEL TV / FOX Cable Networks
“Chad can translate the perennial unseen idiosyncrasies of every day living into simple yet really, really effective communication with us normal(ish) human beings.”— Don Brown, Etnies footwear and apparel
“Chad is at the top of my creative list because his out-of-the-box thinking can be applied to everything from advertising to the concept, design, and branding of an entire 27-acre shopping village.”— Todd Putman, Westfield Corp.“
Chad is what the future of creative communications are all about: strategically-driven; idea-centric; creatively fresh; all media approach; truly collaborative; and getting rid of all the layers and getting down to what matters - creating powerful ideas that connect with consumers and move brands.”— Jeff Cha, Redscout
“Not only did they continue to surprise us with the number and variety of creative approaches and solutions, they were extremely professional, reliable, and great to deal with. They were tenacious under pressure and obviously driven to satisfy us as a client.”— Allen Adler, Ubisoft Entertainment
“More than any other agency I’ve worked with, they are incredibly creative with a solid understanding and appreciation for the marketing side of things. They always blow me away with their strategic and tactical ideas, and never once have they disappointed me.”— Jim Bloom, Radioactive Clown
“We were looking for a fun, creative approach to consumer promotion, and Chad provided us with a unique concept that broke through the clutter in an innovative way.”— Mike Joyce, SOBE beverages / Pepsico
“Chad showed tremendous versatility by looking at a market he knew little about. Their ideas were fresh and created buzz within a traditionally dry product space. You cannot ask for a better combination of fun with professional results.”— Ruston Vickers, ITKO Software
“Within minutes, Chad completely understood who we were, where we should head and soon after developed product concepts and a tagline that summed up our essence perfectly. They blew us away. A brand new product and he got it right out of the gate. We wouldn’t trust our brand to anyone else.”— Scott Flora, blik
“It is rare that someone somewhat professionally detached from the sport can create something that could just as well have come from a skateboarder. Chad gets it. What more could you ask for?”— Christian Roth, Hessenmob skateboarding