OBJECTIVE : Present Fellow Travelers, a political romance set during the time of the Lavender Scare, as an urgent and important love story that is timeless.

STRATEGY :Embrace the tension between sex & state to provoke & unsettle consumers. Although a gay story, we leaned into the universal themes of love to excite people and find those spaces of relatability in stories about vulnerability and falling in love, against all odds.

MY ROLE : I was 360 Senior Creative Director on this project and oversaw all aspects of creative from AV, print, digital OOH, social content as well as innovative marketing tactics and partnerships. I was also the #1 liaison between talent, EPs, and the programming executives from Freemantle Media - pitching and selling ideas & photographers.

Creative : Showtime

Photographer: Kurt Iswarienko

Key Art: Canyon Group

Editorial: Seismic Productions

Social : Showtime/Paramont+

OBJECTIVE : Disrupt the TV conversation & create intrigue for the highly anticipated (and disturbingly bizarre) new show The Curse - a horror-sounding title with reality-tv inspiration, fueled by comedic cultural commentary, and just a glimpse of the supernatural. Easy, right?

STRATEGY : Create a “Hostile Makeover” in the market. Distort the way consumers of think of comedy, of a marketing campaign, of what the show actually is. We continued to subvert expectations in every possible way leaving audiences guessing - “What is The Curse?”

MY ROLE : I was 360 Senior Creative Director on this project and oversaw all aspects of creative from AV, print, digital OOH, social content as well as innovative marketing tactics and partnerships. I was also the #1 liaison between talent, EPs, and the programming executives at A24.

Creative : Showtime

Photographer: Beth Garrabrant

Key Art: Concept Arts

Editorial: Zealot

Social : Watson

OBJECTIVE : Position a polarizing documentary in-market in a way that feels accessible to all, while showcasing its unique perspective - Cosby’s fall from grace and its devastating effect on black culture.

STRATEGY : We never knew Cosby. Playing into the interesting bits of information offered by his victims, his colleagues, and black scholars - we created an urgent cultural conversation around Cosby, while peeling back the veil on the industry who allowed him to perpetrate.

MY ROLE : I was Senior Creative Director on this campaign and was responsible for strategy, pitch, concept, AV trailer & digital assets, as well as key art & various media tactics. I collaborated with AV and design agencies, directed editors and managed internal and external teams to create assets for on-air, out of home, digital and social.

OBJECTIVE : To celebrate a “Decade of Drag” for die hard RuPaul’s Drag Race fans while broadening the audience of the show to attract more mainstream viewers.

STRATEGY : Lean into “10” as much as possible creating a legendary ball that honors our contestants living truly and authentically (10’s across the board) with an underlying universal message that appeals to all - “In a world full of 9’s, be a 10!”

MY ROLE : I was VP/CD on this campaign and was responsible for concept ideation, pitch, strategy, and full execution alongside legendary director, David LaChapelle and his team. Shot on location in California, we were inspired to give the Season 10 ball a neon theme based on atomic number 10 representing the chemical element. We collaborated with studio Rizon Parein for all the animated neon work and digital out of home and created neon based halls for the queens to play in for social & digital content.

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

Director: David LaChapelle (Queens) & Glenn Payne (RuPaul)

Photographer: Tony Kelly (Queens) & Albert Sanchez (RuPaul)

Art Direction: Ryan Bernis

Stylist: Karen Levitt

VFX : EightVFX

OBJECTIVE : Launch the reimagining of a sci-fi classic on Showtime, a brand not known for sci-fi content, in a way that feels human, grounded, and rooted in reality.

STRATEGY : Go big in innovation and placements, but stay small and intimate creatively. We carefully curated a two-pronged campaign that spoke to both sci-fi fans of the original IP as well as die-hard Showtime viewers who are used to dramatic, character driven story telling. Going epic in our approach meant in-world wild postings at SXSW, HD screen trucks through the New Mexico desert, a 3D Times Square Billboard, a Los Angeles bold site, as well as takeovers of digital techie destinations like WeTransfer & Vimeo, all while creatively maintaining a certain level of humanity & intimacy in assets and messaging.

MY ROLE : I was Senior Creative Director on this campaign and was responsible for strategy, concept, AV trailers & digital assets, as well as key art & various media tactics. Key art & cast interviews were shot on location in Oxfordshire, UK. I collaborated with AV & design agencies, directed editors and photographers, and managed internal and external teams to create assets for on-air, out of home, digital and social.

OBJECTIVE : Serve Drag Race to the superfans with a star-studded All Star season that could rival any major sporting event. Own the social conversation around “the Gay Superbowl.”

STRATEGY : Go for the Gold with the “Olympics of Drag.” With research showing that fans were watching Drag Race communally - much like major sporting events, we positioned RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars as the “Olympics of Drag” - aligning with the timing of the Olympics in Pyeongchang.

MY ROLE : I was VP/CD on this campaign and was responsible for concept ideation, pitch, strategy, and full execution alongside legendary director, David LaChappelle and his team. Shot on location in California, we positioned our queens as the “Gold Standard of Drag” who are “going for the gold”, competing for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar. This was our first season after winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program so the gold was also representative of this monumental achievement and was used in future FYC campaigns.

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

Director: David LaChapelle (Queens) & Glenn Payne (RuPaul)

Photographer: Tony Kelly (Queens) & Albert Sanchez (RuPaul)

Art Direction: Ryan Bernis

Stylist: Karen Levitt

VFX : EightVFX

Audience Insight : Fans want more. More queens, more twists, more shade, more drag, more Ru. The bigger, the better!

Strategy : Highlight the superpowers of our queens with big props, big hair, bold colors, and a “Ru-persized” season featuring 15 queens.

Execution : Go Wig Or Go Home! With a campaign that used every color in the crayon box, we showcased the immense talents of our queens with immense props highlighting all the things that people love about drag race. It’s not just a drag show. It’s a fashion show, a design show, a make-up show, a singing show, a talent show, a comedy show & more! And Season 11 is “Ru-persized” with Ru-persized talents and a Ru-persized cast. These queens will need to GO WIG, OR GO HOME!

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

Director : Lacey

Art Direction: Ryan Bernis

Audience Insight : Drag Race fans are politically minded & 2020 is the most important election of their lifetime.

Strategy : Embrace the Red, White & Ru with an important call to action for our audience - Pledge Allegiance to the Drag!

Execution : A vibrant red, white & blue campaign positioning our Season 12 queens as candidates vying for title of AMERICA’S Next Drag Superstar. Set to America, The Beautiful we created a playful campaign reminding audiences what they love about America & Drag Race. This color palate worked beautifully for all ancillary voting spots across MTV and strategic media placements were made positioning the show as a Presidential campaign with Ru, the Queen of all Queens, running for President of the RU.S.A.

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

Director : Glenn Payne & Anthony Gelsomino

Art Direction: Ryan Bernis

Set Design : Betil Dagdelen

OBJECTIVE : Coming off a dark season centered around police brutality, our goal was to reintroduce The Chi to fans as a soapy, love-filled fan favorite they could escape to for friendship, happiness, and all the drama that comes with that.

STRATEGY : Black Love transcends all. We partnered with Broadie, a black artist known for his vivid use of colors, textures, and patterns and depictions of powerful black leaders and made sure his aesthetic was present in all aspects of the campaign, from key art to packaging, to set builds for digital content.

MY ROLE : I was Senior Creative Director on this campaign and was responsible for strategy, pitch, concept, artist vetting, AV trailer & digital assets, as well as key art & various media tactics. Participated heavily in artist recruiting with Lena Waithe before landing on Broadie, then collaborated with him and his team every step of the way to create assets for out of home, on-air, digital and social. Shot on location in Chicago, I interviewed all series talent for editorial content and directed them on green screen for digital out of home.

OBJECTIVE : Combat research and audience opinion that of all the Love & Hip Hops, Hollywood was the one fans deemed the “most fake & scripted.”

STRATEGY : Think it’s fake? Don’t watch. We flipped that notion on its head and shot a semi-unpolished, mixed media campaign with the feel of a seedy Hollywood hotel, a first for the series, as I pried into cast members’ deepest, darkest, issues - catching them off guard and creating a raw campaign that enticed audiences and showed them a side of Hollywood they had never seen before.

MY ROLE : I was VP/CD on this campaign and was responsible for concept ideation, pitch, strategy, and full execution from holding an iphone as a camera to interviewing talent on location in Los Angeles. I collaborated with AV and design agencies, photographer, DP, directed editors, and managed internal and external teams to create assets for on-air, out of home, digital and social.

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

Director/Interviewer : Glenn Payne

Art Direction: Jesse Raker

Set Design : Betil Dagdelen

VFX : Hey Beautiful Jerk

OBJECTIVE : Showcase the revelatory Showtime documentary UFO in a way that feels explosive and cuts through a crowded market of extraterrestrial documentaries at the time.

STRATEGY : Boldly go where no UFO doc has gone before. Offering testimonies from government officials and documented proof of extraterrestrials for the first time, plus the coveted marketing name gold of executive producer J.J. Abrams, we positioned a doc that was compelling for its participants and storytelling, resulting in record breaking ratings numbers for the brand.

MY ROLE : I was Senior Creative Director on this campaign and was responsible for concept ideation, pitch, strategy, AV edits and key art development. I collaborated with AV and design agencies, directed editors, and managed internal and external teams to create assets for on-air, out of home, digital and social.

MTV & Logo Documentary Films are both Oscar Nominated & Emmy Award winning docs that showcase topical social issues and illuminate untold stories of African American & LGBTQ+ individuals overcoming incredible odds, facing adversity, and sharing their incredible legacies.

Creative: MTV & Logo Creative Teams

Audience Insight : Ghost was the highest rated movie on VH1 in 2017 and audiences loved repeat viewings for the chemistry between the leads.

Strategy : In order to highlight the chemistry between another of VH1’s two leads, we leaned into the immense popularity of the iconic Ghost ceramic scene with a parody spot that got a ton of earned media coverage.

Execution : With Snoop as Sam & Martha as Molly, the stage was set for an epically funny spot, shot to highlight the incredible kinetic energy between these two unlikely hosts.

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

Director: Micah Perta

Audience Insight : Fans return to the Basketball Wives season after season for the drama & conflict between the women.

Strategy : Highlight the conflict head first using dramatic bites from the wives contrasted against a glossy image campaign.

Execution : This season, as the ball spins, so does the drama, the stories and the feuds between the Basketball Wives. They’re back - and in Season 7 we watch the chaos spin and unravel as tensions flareup and the ladies take sides. This campaign utilizes motion and patterns to tell the stories of the wives and hint at narratives to come in the new season.

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

Photographer: Sebastian Kim

Art Direction: Ryan Bernis

Stylist: Linda Belkebir

The RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars are shining brighter than ever, with a new season set to air during the winter. To celebrate, we winterized our All Stars by making them Winterglam queens. This seasonal nod to winter showcased that they are each unique snowflakes with their own talents and personality and fanbase. We did a shoot with the queens on a winter wonderland-inspired set, with glittering snow falling on screen as each queen poses on our snowy crystallized stage. Holographic, iridescent styling helped bring the winter palette to life in a totally new look for Drag Race.

Creative: VH1 Creative Team

Photographer: Albert Sanchez (RuPaul) & Benjamin Lennox

Art Direction: Ryan Bernis

Stylist: Anastasia Marano

Audience Insight : After the massive success of Get Out & Us, audiences can’t get enough of black horror.

Strategy : Scream is back & Scream is black. We played heavily into the three-night horror event by featuring the all black cast with a bumping hip hop track, giving this Scream a whole new refresh & unique feel of its own.

Execution : Worked with MobScene & The Shop to create horrific spots touting the return of Scream, using sound ups in spots to play on black horror tropes (in signature Scream fashion) and let our audience know that where there is black horror, there are black heroes.

Creative : VH1 Creative Team, MobScene, The Shop

Audience Insight : Fans were lukewarm to season 1 of LHH Miami so in order to get them back for season 2, we needed to turn up the heat.

Strategy : Lean into the hottest names in the South Florida music scene with a campaign that is pure fire.

Execution : In order to represent the Love & Hip Hop Miami cast, who are so hot that they ooze authentic gritty sexiness, this campaign featured ultra artistic representations of Miami-related objects that just can’t withstand the heat this cast is bringing.

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

3D Animation: ManvsMachine

Photographer: Daniel Sannwald

Art Direction: Ryan Bernis

Stylist: Eric Archibald

Audience Insight : Audiences are over The Real World but will show up if it really goes there.

Strategy : After over 33 seasons of The Real World, we knew there was audience fatigue, so we revamped the show for the social generation as an All New Reality Experience via Facebook Watch with a cast that hits below the belt on all topical issues, which we highlighted heavily in this campaign.

Execution : Compelling trailers, a :30 & a :15 that hit on teen pregnancy, gay issues, immigration, race relations, and a Syrian refugee cast member to entice viewers to tune in on Facebook Watch and keep up with the content offerings daily. This trailer model was tested extensively with focus groups at Facebook as well as becoming the basis to brief the Thailand & Mexico City iterations.

Creative : MTV Creative Team & Facebook Studios

Audience Insight : Everyone loves a comeback story.

Strategy : We played heavily on the media attention surrounding Lindsay that led to her to step away from Hollywood to position our show as the exclusive look into what she’s up to now - boss of a Mykonos beach resort. We also enticed viewers with tropical locales in the dead of winter & promised that a New Year means a New Lindsay aligning with the January premiere.

Execution : Shot on location in Mykonos, the campaign featured Lindsay as a Grecian goddess and her staff as her humble mortals, catering to her every need as boss bitch of her beach club. We set the entire campaign to Lindsay’s iconic track Bossy because well, we just had to!

Creative : MTV Creative Team

Director: Jesse Raker & Glenn Payne

Photographer: Sebastian Kim

Art Direction: Bennett Williams

Audience Insight : Every Diet Coke drinker is unique and the It's Mine program was a continued celebration of fans' unique, steadfast love for the delicious taste of Diet Coke

Strategy : Through a robust, integrated national program, we invited fans to choose from millions of unique Diet Coke designs, selecting the one they feel is uniquely their own & partnered with media heavy hitters & influencers to get the word out about the program.

Execution : With creative from Droga 5, bottles from CMA design, UM worked with NBC Universal and talent partner WhoSay to promote the program to Diet Coke loyalists on E!’s red carpet, & custom vignettes featuring Marc Consuelos, Kristen Davis, Molly Ringwald, & Brad Goreski.

Creative : UM, Droga 5, CMA Design, NBC Universal

Director & Production: NBCU/E!, WhoSay

Creative Director for UM : Glenn Payne

Audience Insight : Audiences love Mondays on VH1 for the drama but could really use a dose of happiness & loving family life.

Strategy : Launched at the height of the #MeToo movement when news cycles were bombarded with stories about men behaving disrespectfully towards women, we decided to pitch Teyana & Iman as the wholesome, relatable, non-drama family that the world really needs right now.

Execution : Shot by famed photographer Ellen Von Unwerth, we took a casual stripped down approach to Teyana & Iman to focus on the incredible chemistry between them. Set to Andra Day’s rendition of What The World Needs Now Is Love, these beautiful spots reminded audiences that these newlyweds truly were “A Match Made for Mondays.”

Creative : VH1 Creative Team

Director: Glenn Payne & Jesse Raker

Photographer: Ellen Von Unwerth

Art Direction: Bennett Williams

Company: VH1 (Viacom)

Director: Ellen Von Unwerth

Vice President, Creative Director, Writer - VH1

     - Video 

     - OOH

     - Print

     - Digital Banners

     - Rich Media

     - Event signage

     - Social 

     - VOD

Vice President, Creative Director, Writer - VH1

     - Video 

     - OOH

     - Print

     - Digital Banners

Vice President, Director, Co-Writer - VH1

     - Video 

     - OOH

     - Print

     - Digital Banners

     - Rich Media

     - Event signage

     - Social 

     - VOD

Vice President, Creative Director, Writer - VH1

     - Video 

     - OOH

     - Print

     - Digital Banners

     - Rich Media

     - Event signage

     - Social 

     - VOD

Writer, Producer

On-air campaign creative for Season 6 of Logo's #1 hit show, RuPaul's Drag Race. Wrote and produced all clip spots, cross-channel and multi-platform media buy spots, fan engagement spots, and pre-cut weekly episodic promos.

Motion graphics by Logo Creative

Audio mixes by Northern Lights and Explosion Robinson

Creative Director, UM

Oversaw creation of a music video with director ScottDW for Fanta’s Bring The Bold campaign. Created 4, :30s commercials from video to run as YouTube preroll specifically targeted to “Bold Beginners” - Fanta’s multicultural core customer.

Directed & Original Music by ScottDW

Creative Director, UM

Oversaw 360 brand integration of Coke Red into Fox’s live broadcast of Grease Live. Launched multiple spots within show as well as in-show integrations, influencer content, and digital extensions surrounding Fox’s player.

Directed by Fox Television Network

Director, Writer, Producer - Viacom Velocity 

Clients: Papa John's, NFL, & Pepsi

Created a 30 second commercial for Papa John's integrating them seamlessly into VH1's Super Bowl Blitz, a concert with Fall Out Boy & Charli XCX. Wrote script, casted all actors, & directed talent on set.

DP: Jimi Jones
Line Producer: Molly McMillen
Editor: Wayne Robinson
Motion GFX : Eyeball on the Floor
Audio Mix: Super Exploder

Starring: Katie Iacona, Dave Coleman, Isaiah Stewart, Terry Merry, Andy Davies, & Bandit the Dog

Creative Director, Writer/Producer - Viacom Velocity 

Created 8, 60 second commercials for SONIC, America's drive through, to promote summer music festival coverage on MTV, VH1, & CMT.  Led entire creative team and crews in five cities over the course of two months. Festivals covered included Governor's Ball, Lollapalooza, Mysteryland and Bonnaroo. Oversaw post production of all spots and creative direction for three distinct Viacom music networks.

Director: Russell Costanzo

DP: Chris Cannuciari
Line Producer: Amy Vadnais
Editors: Brad Gallant & Max Weisman
Motion GFX : Bread & Butter Post
Audio Mix: Bread & Butter Post
Starring: David Ebert & Fahim Anwar

Creative Director - Universal McCann

Collaborated with digital partner Refinery29's Brawler channel to create engaging preroll and integration into Bend It Like Beka fitness videos to promote smartwater's alignment to female health enthusiasts. 

Director & Production: Refinery29
Line Producer: Alicia Calderon

Writer, Producer, Director

Re-launched LogoTV's App with a vibrant and inventive song about the features of the app. Used brand ID footage that we conceptualized collaboratively to highlight the many features of the app. Directed voiceover talent Frangela in the box to sing an original song I wrote to a licensed track.

Music by Extreme Music

Motion Graphics by Logo Creative

Audio Mix by Super Exploder

Writer/Producer - Logo

Wrote & produced a Gilead commercial for an integration with Broadway Musical, Avenue Q. Commercial was one of 4 in a series

Director: Gigi Nicolas

DP: Chris Cannuciari

Line Producer: Yasmin Kendall

Editors: Brad Coffman

Motion GFX : Bread & Butter Post

Audio Mix: Bread & Butter Post

Starring: The Cast Of Avenue Q

Creative Director - Universal McCann

Worked with talent partner WhoSay to create a smartwater sponsored video with fashion model Joan Smalls exploring her life on the road during fashion week. Successfully laddered up to smartwater's "Drop of Ingenuity" strategy, illustrating Joan's example of ingenuity in the piece. Launched during NYFW 2016 from Joan's Facebook page and Instagram handles, the video received over 1M views in under a week and 100% positive feedback from fans and followers. 

Director & Production: WhoSay
Line Producer: Alicia Calderon

Creative Director - Universal McCann

Co-created a 5-episode, Odwalla sponsored, digital series with AOL/HuffPo entitled "Up Close & Purposeful" featuring celebrities' downtime passions and inspiration pursuits.  Strategically aligned all content aspects to our overall "Life-Fuller" target and creative campaign. Launched weekly, the segments were featured as part of HuffPo Rise, AOL's morning content programming.

Director & Production: AOL/HuffPo

Creative Director - Universal McCann

Collaborated with digital partner Bustle to create two smartwater sponsored videos entitled "What Moves Me" about unique workout inspirations in NYC.  Successfully laddered up to the "Drop of Ingenuity" creative strategy employing examples of ingenuity in each piece.  The videos were a sponsored content success for Bustle and showed record click and play through results for the media property.  

Director & Production: Bustle Studios
Line Producer: Alicia Calderon

Director, Writer, Producer- Viacom Velocity 

Created a 35 second commercial for Burger King's Buffalo Chicken Fries and VH1's Big Music in 2015 Concert.  Shot on location at NY's historic jazz club BB King's, this spot ran as part of VH1's lead up promotional campaign for their live event. 

DP: Milos Jacimovic
Line Producer: Noorhayati Said
Editor: Louis Marciano
Motion GFX : VH1 Creative
Audio Mix: Super Exploder
Starring: Anthony McCall, Mischa Dani Goodman, Jacob Berger

Creative Director - Universal McCann

Led creative on a partnership with the United States Postal Service and The Rachael Ray Show for the 2015 holiday season campaign. Oversaw all live in-show integrations for the brand and creatively directed all pre-produced field packages. 

Director, Writer, Producer

Directed BTS centered video content for an Ultimate Fan Experience with Five Seconds of Summer, Fifth Harmony, Ed Sheeran, & Nick Jonas for Applebee’s. Seamlessly integrated Applebee’s summer lunch selection into video pieces and social content with media surrounding videos on hub.  
 

Director, Writer, Producer

Directed a multi-episode socially backed digital series for CMT's Next Women of Country tour featuring up-and-coming singer Kelsey Ballerini sponsored by CoverGirl. Seamlessly integrated cosmetics in all pieces of content and wove the #covermoment strategy device throughout the series. The videos received a record number of engagements for CMT.  
 

Creative Director

     - Video 

     - OOH

     - Print

     - SNL Press Video 

     - Digital Banners

     - Rich Media

     - Event signage

     - Social 

     - VOD

     - Episodics

Creative Director

     - Video 

     - OOH

     - Print

     - Digital Banners

     - Rich Media

     - Pride Float 

     - Social 

     - VOD

Creative Director - Universal McCann

Digital & Social Content Series with Conde Nast 

    - Vanity Fair

    - Glamour 

    - Self

    - Bon Appetit 

Director, Writer, Producer

Entitled "Life. As We Know It", this multi-platform campaign for OraQuick In-Home HIV Tests was done with LogoTV to raise awareness about the importance of knowing your HIV status.  After a campaign kick-off with HIV+ drag queen Ongina, we followed up with very frank, tell-it-like-it-is spots using various RuPaul's Drag Race queens as they ask people on the streets of NYC questions around OraQuick's specific brand positioning. This concept resulted in beautiful and compelling pieces that launched in various iterations across all platform and struck a chord in the viewer while proving to be a huge social and financial win for the client.

Motion graphics by Logo Creative

Audio mixes by Northern Lights