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I am a creative leader who specializes in modernizing established brands and leading high-performing teams from brief to finished campaigns. From leading Hanes' most successful product launch in its 100-year history—achieving a total Amazon sell-out—to serving as the inaugural Creative Director at Truth Initiative, I excel at navigating high-pressure timelines and complex logistics. Whether I’m collaborating with partner strategists to guiding a nervous Fortune 500 client through a pandemic-era campaign or mentoring a team to pivot toward influencer-led strategies that drive record-breaking enrollment, my focus remains the same: achieving modern relevance and exceptional growth through authentic, bold communication. I'm equally capable of rolling up my sleeves and concepting breakthrough smart award winning creative solutions.…I am a creative leader who specializes in modernizing established brands and leading high-performing teams from brief to finished campaigns. From leading Hanes' most successful product launch in its 100-year history—achieving a total Amazon sell-out—to serving as the inaugural Creative Director at Truth Initiative, I excel at navigating high-pressure timelines and complex logistics. Whether I’m collaborating with partner strategists to guiding a nervous Fortune 500 client through a pandemic-era campaign or mentoring a team to pivot toward influencer-led strategies that drive record-breaking enrollment, my focus remains the same: achieving modern relevance and exceptional growth through authentic, bold communication. I'm equally capable of rolling up my sleeves and concepting breakthrough smart award winning creative solutions.

John Szalay

Creative Director, Art Director, Designer, +2

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I am a creative leader who specializes in modernizing established brands and leading high-performing teams from brief to finished campaigns. From leading Hanes' most successful product launch in its 100-year history—achieving a total Amazon sell-out—to serving as the inaugural Creative Director at Truth Initiative, I excel at navigating high-pressure timelines and complex logistics. Whether I’m collaborating with partner strategists to guiding a nervous Fortune 500 client through a pandemic-era campaign or mentoring a team to pivot toward influencer-led strategies that drive record-breaking enrollment, my focus remains the same: achieving modern relevance and exceptional growth through authentic, bold communication. I'm equally capable of rolling up my sleeves and concepting breakthrough smart award winning creative solutions.…I am a creative leader who specializes in modernizing established brands and leading high-performing teams from brief to finished campaigns. From leading Hanes' most successful product launch in its 100-year history—achieving a total Amazon sell-out—to serving as the inaugural Creative Director at Truth Initiative, I excel at navigating high-pressure timelines and complex logistics. Whether I’m collaborating with partner strategists to guiding a nervous Fortune 500 client through a pandemic-era campaign or mentoring a team to pivot toward influencer-led strategies that drive record-breaking enrollment, my focus remains the same: achieving modern relevance and exceptional growth through authentic, bold communication. I'm equally capable of rolling up my sleeves and concepting breakthrough smart award winning creative solutions.

Available to hire

I am a creative leader who specializes in modernizing established brands and leading high-performing teams from brief to finished campaigns. From leading Hanes’ most successful product launch in its 100-year history—achieving a total Amazon sell-out—to serving as the inaugural Creative Director at Truth Initiative, I excel at navigating high-pressure timelines and complex logistics. Whether I’m collaborating with partner strategists to guiding a nervous Fortune 500 client through a pandemic-era campaign or mentoring a team to pivot toward influencer-led strategies that drive record-breaking enrollment, my focus remains the same: achieving modern relevance and exceptional growth through authentic, bold communication. I’m equally capable of rolling up my sleeves and concepting breakthrough smart award winning creative solutions.

Skills

Copywriting

Presentation Design

Brand Identity

Experience Level

Copywriting

Expert

Presentation Design

Intermediate

Brand Identity

Intermediate

Language

English

Fluent

Work Experience

Freelance Art Director Creative Director at Digitas, Fallon, Siddall Communications

January 31, 2024 - Present

Digitas Chicago: Brought in to help win an Otterbox pitch, we won it; Halo Top ice cream, won every activation & PR project on 3 jump-ball briefs against incumbent PR Agency. Fallon: Developed Arby’s TV, PR, activations prior to account review. Created Ving Rhames contingency work that could replace the “We Have the Meats” campaign. Siddall Communications: Built VA Cannabis Control Authority “Safe Driving” ecosystem & campaign, and Quit Now VA teen vaping/smoking cessation social, digital and collateral.

VP Creative Director at Truth Initiative

May 30, 2023 - June 28, 2024

Led in-house non-profit creative team through the complexities of a regulated tobacco cessation environment. Partnered with Mojo Supermarket to give mission-driven health goals must-watch cultural relevance for a jaded 13-21 year old audience.

Creatiev Director / Art Director at Martin*

December 31, 2009 - July 31, 2021

Worked on a massive portfolio of iconic brands, from the humor of GEICO to the scale of Walmart and Pizza Hut. Enabled legacy brands to enter the of-the-moment media landscapes to help them connect with audiences and thrive in new ways. Ran the Hanes and tic tac accounts.

Associate Creative Director / Art Director at Lowe Worldwide

June 16, 1999 - May 15, 2009

Cut my teeth on some of the world’s most recognizable brands. Grew from Art Director to Creative Director, overseeing Unilever and XM Satellite Radio.

Education

BFA Visual communication Design at California State University Long Beach

September 7, 1989 - June 30, 1998

Qualifications

Cannes Lions, The One Show, D&AD, AICP, FWA Site of the Day, Reggie Awards, Communication Arts, Campaign Magazine US, Fast Company, The New York Times, USA Today.

June 16, 1999 - June 16, 2026