New webpage who dis?
Hi, I’m Jake. I would describe myself as a modern creative leader. I get world-class work made on the toughest clients. Currently I’m leading VMLY&R Sydney & Melbourne as Group Executive Creative Director. I joined the agency 12 years ago as an art director, with the simple idea of making the world’s best work. A decade later I’m leading 200+ people across 2 offices, have amassed over 500 awards, including 25 Cannes Lions (7 Gold), have been twice ranked in the Top 20 creatives in the world and am currently ranked 6th ECD in the world by The Drum.
During my tenure VMLY&R has been ranked in the top 5 Australian agencies by Campaign Brief’s The Work – currently APAC Agency of the Year in 2023. We are also LIA’s Global Agency of the Year in 2023, Spikes ASIA Australian Agency of the year in 2024 and were crowned 6th Australia/New Zealand Agency of the Decade by Cannes Lions. Since becoming ECD I’ve also tripled the size of the agency, most notably winning one of Australia’s biggest and most prestigious accounts – Defence Force Recruiting.
During my career I’ve enjoyed creating a global dog adoption movement, having a TVC on display at an art gallery, being a judge at international award shows, launching a feature film, strapping Fit Bits to chickens and having work featured in the book ‘100 ideas that changed advertising’.
Outside of advertising I enjoying saving the galaxy on my Galaga arcade machine and making the best homemade salami in Melbourne – quite possibly the world.
I was once asked by the CEO if I would write an opinion piece for a trade publication on what is my “creative philosophy”. I said “I don’t know, just rock up and do good work”. While that’s still one of my guiding principles, there are many things I’ve developed over the years to make our agency successful.
My creative-style is looking at things in a new way. A new way of looking at a brand, the category, media or customer experience. Creative that comes from this is exciting, drives culture, get’s talked about and always leaves the competition in the dust. This approach paves the way for the brands we work with and the industry itself. I implore the creative department to do the same.
My leadership style is inclusive creativity. What I’ve learnt most over the years, is that it doesn’t matter how many good ideas you have, if they’re not made and out in the world, they don’t count for shit. Making the whole agency care as much about getting great work out into the world as the creative department does has been as much my mission as the work itself. I make the departments equal in the quest for good work and tell every single person who starts here “creativity is our product, it’s up to every department to make sure it happens”.
My creative philosophy(ies)
2021-Present
Group Executive Creative Director, VMLY&R Melbourne & Sydney
Always on the hunt for a new challenge, I was happy to take the reins of our Sydney office, an agency that had been rocked by a big merger and had traditionally struggled to get good work done. Along with a managing parter with the same remit, we ran the Melbourne and Sydney office as one agency. In the first 24 months of the role the creative output has improved to the point that we are Campaign Brief’s Asia Pacific Agency of the Year.
2017-2021
Executive Creative Director, VMLY&R Melbourne
Late 2017/early 2018 was the hardest 12 months of my career. I was made ECD of the agency after our CCO left and various clients moved on. We also had 3 different CEOs, had managing directors depart and were down to about 30 people (from an agency that was around 80 when I joined). Although I had the opportunity to leave, I didn’t want to be the creative at the wheel when an iconic agency rolled over. It was a challenge, but I knew the agency still had the talent to bounce back. I remained resilient, rallied the remaining staff and we turned the tide.
By early 2019 we were back up to 80 staff, were a Cannes Lions Top 5 Australian Agency and were Campaign Briefs 3rd place Agency of the Year. We won Gold Lions in 2018 and again in 2021 and were awarded at D&AD in 2019,20,21.
The greatest achievement of my career happened in early 2019 when we won back the Defence Force Recruiting account – one of the biggest and most prestigious in the country. We were up against 7 of the biggest and best agencies in the country and we took them out.
My work history
2015-2017
Creative Director, George Patterson Y&R
While I knew I could create good work myself, I looked at this period as a challenge to help other creatives succeed. As the only CD at the agency (our ECD at the time was in charge of the whole region), I pretty-quickly realised that the success of the agency was on my shoulders. Each year I was able to help creatives win big at all the international shows, with quite a few winning awards for the first time in their careers. In 2016 we were ranked 4th Best Australian Agency in Campaign Brief’s The Work and had won 7 Lions at Cannes in 2015/16.
2011-2015
Art Director, George Patterson Y&R
When I first joined this agency I was just excited that I’d landed my dream gig at an agency where I knew I could get good work done. George Patterson Y&R was an agency with a deep history of creating famous work. Throughout this period I became their most award creative. I was driven by the idea of being consistent rather than having a singular, flashy piece of work before moving to my next agency. I subsequently had more than 10 campaigns pick up awards over this period. In 2012 I was ranked 9th Art Director Globally at Cannes and in 2013 16th by the Gunn Report. I had won 10 Lions (4 Gold) and won at D&AD 3 years in a row. My work was also featured in the book ‘100 Ideas that Changed Advertising’. To the managing directors delight I also hit a hot streak with pitch wins.
That’s me giving a lecture on outdoor advertising for AWARD School. Outdoors, dressed in a chicken suit of course.
2009-2011
Art Director, JWT & DDB
I cut my teeth at a couple of great agencies in Melbourne. I managed to win a few awards for Direct Marketing campaigns for ANZ and ACMI, including a Gold at Caples.
2007-2009
Art Director, Freelance
I found my true calling when I found myself freelancing in the same office as a senior creative team. The art director went on holidays and the copywriter naturally started bouncing ideas off me. I thought it was insane that we could just sit around coming up with jokes and that was someones actual job. I promptly attended the prestigious Australian Writers and Art Directors School and came 2nd place. I was also Runner-Up Junior of the Year at MADC and Winner of Best New Talent – Creative Raw.
2003-2007, Graphic Designer/Art Director
I value my early years as a designer. I figured out my craft, figured out how the industry works, figured out clients and figured out I didn’t want to be a designer.
