Creative Direction
Harry Potter Times Square Takeover
To launch its new global campaign, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child needed a major event to recapture the imagination of Potter fans around the world. So we went as huge as Hogwarts and made magic real with a groundbreaking immersive experience in Times Square. Nearly 360 degrees of custom content. 51 perfectly synched screens. Four city blocks. 1.6 billion impressions. As Experience Director on the project, I wrote the treatment, presented the vision at a global summit of stakeholders, and partnered with our ECD and Director of Content to oversee every aspect of the creative execution.
National ADDY Silver Award. AdWeek Experiential Award. The One Show Shortlist. AdWeek’s Top Stunts and Innovations. Inc.’s Top Marketing Stunts. Agency: AKA
Tina Turner musical campaign brings the fire
TINA - The Tina Turner Musical was in need of a global campaign that would capture the spotlight—and spark more sales—ahead of a deluge of new competition entering the market. I wanted to capture Tina’s iconic fire for today and promise the audience that seeing this show would ignite a fire inside of them too. From conception to selling the vision to the client to finding the perfect photographer in Pari Dukovic to leading the photo & video shoots and post-production, this project had me firing on all cylinders. Having the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll herself be the first to debut it and seeing all the fire emojis in the comments from her biggest fans…there’s no better seal of approval.
Agency: AKA
A Harry Potter trailer for all the (wizarding) world
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child had a major challenge—many vocal Potter fans didn’t recognize it as canon to the beloved series that proceeded it. I had an idea to create an anthem that could speak directly to the heart of fans who longed to know “what happened next?” We welcomed a generation home to Hogwarts with a new trailer that integrated content from the films, books, and stage production for the very first time. I penned the script and treatment, presented the concept at a global stakeholders summit, and creative directed it all. This massive undertaking involved custom animation, a new onstage shoot that brought audiences into the action, and a coordinated global release uniting all facets of the Wizarding World franchise. And we saw a dramatic shift in fans finally celebrating the show as canon. Writing Harry Potter fanfic as a kid finally paid off.
Agency: AKA
Cheat on your neighborhood at The Market Line
The Market Line was primed to become NYC’s next big foodie destination—but first they needed a brand campaign for their grand opening timed with the city’s post-pandemic reawakening. We knew we needed to educate New Yorkers, and stand out from the glut of great food offerings, but the biggest challenge was: how do you get people to go out again? After over a year of being cooped up in tiny apartments and a handful of blocks, the moment was right to seduce New Yorkers with an invitation to get out of their box (literally in most cases) and try something new in the Lower East Side. “Cheat on your neighborhood” was born. I created all the messaging, including coining “NYC’s Underground Market,” as well as the visual concept of using The Market Line’s LES-shaped logo as a portal for the many diverse faces and stories of its vendors.
Agency: AKA
Thinking outside the frame for Superblue Miami
With fully immersive experiences around the world from some of the most innovative artists, Superblue is the museum for people who hate museums. But Miami audiences thought their advertising was too stuffy. So Superblue came to us with a super short brief: create something fun, something flexible enough to target a range of key audiences, and something that spoke to Miamians. When I discovered that “super” just happened to be the single most important adjective for Miamians in everyday conversation, it all clicked. And so did audiences.
Agency: AKA
From chorus line to picket line: The Prom
Before it became a Netflix hit starring Meryl Streep, The Prom was a totally unknown, new, original musical in need of a brand (and fanbase) that could help it take center stage amongst the oversaturated Broadway landscape of long-running hits, jukebox musicals, and movie adaptations. The Prom also had a misleading title that made you think the show was a simple high school romance with no stakes. But it is so much more! Big Broadway personalities hilariously invade a small town to fight injustice and help a student who just wants to dance with her girlfriend at prom. I had an idea for the key art and copy that could razzle-dazzle Broadway fans. Both a love letter to the Golden Age of musical comedy and a sign (or two) of the times. Let’s call it The Music Man meets The Women’s March.
Agency: AKA
How we made peace in the Middle East happen: The Band’s Visit
The Band’s Visit was in need of an awards campaign for a new musical that didn’t sound or act like any other. We dared audiences to “feel something different.” I crafted the strategy and messaging, passionately won the client over, and creative directed every element of this 360 campaign. And even though this seductively subtle show about a lost Egyptian band finding harmony in a sleepy Israeli town was not an obvious hit for Broadway, The Band’s Visit went on to win 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical—becoming the third most Tony-winning production in history.
Gold Davey Award. Clio Shortlist. Agency: AKA
