Thanks for stopping by. If you poke around here for a bit, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what I do. I’m an advertising creative, musician and music enthusiast who’s also passionate about unlocking the potential of AI. But what do I really want to do?
I want to fight mediocrity
In today’s age of AI and social media, I think we all feel mediocrity creeping into too many aspects of our lives. There are too many shortcuts. Too much artificiality. Too little authenticity. Sometimes it feels like everything is bit by bit getting ever-so-slightly worse. To me it’s disheartening and dehumanizing to think that we’re giving up on pursuit of the sublime and settling for merely so-so.
So I say, let’s kick complacency and mediocrity to the curb. Let’s fight like madmen to find out how good we can actually be. Let’s swing for the fences, shoot for the moon, or whatever other metaphor you can think of that means trying to achieve greatness. no matter how unrealistic it might seem.
In 1966, Brian Wilson could’ve made more of the surf rock that had made him famous. But instead, he set out to make the greatest most innovative album ever recorded. And guess what? He pretty much did.
Now, I’m well aware not everything is going to be Pet Sounds. But to me, it’s not so much greatness, but the pursuit of greatness that means the most. I’m a big fan of John Wooden , who said, “Success is the peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of.” That’s the kind of success I’m after.
I’ll leave you with a quote from another of my musical heroes, a Canadian lyricist of some note…
“if the dream is won, though paradise is lost,
we will pay the price, but we will not count the cost.”
-Neil Peart
ABOUT ME
Gracie
Gus
Award Winning Creative Director Committed to creating bold, inventive, and most of all effective work.
A.I. Enthusiast I find the potential of AI to be invigorating, and I also find it’s potential to create mediocrity terrifying. So I dove in head first and educated myself about it, and I’m currently working on fully AI produced ads at an A.I. driven agency.
Musician Guitarist, vocalist, and auteur of Blueburst, an indie rock project I created with legendary guitarist Marty Willson-Piper.
Where I’ve Worked Full-Time Mad Dogs & Englishmen | Publicis New York | JWT New York | Crispin Porter + Bogusky | VCCP London | Arnold Worldwide | BBDO
Where I’ve Worked Freelance VML | BBH | Lincoln Project | Barton F. Graf | Martin Agency | Arnold Worldwide | Translation | Strawberry Frog | R/GA | CP+B | Johannes Leonardo | Momentum | Leo Burnett | Mekanism | 160over90 | SMUGGLER | Fitzco | Big Spaceship | Majority | Levi Strauss & Co. | HUGE | Ogilvy | Saatchi | Lemon Scented Tea | Gravity Global | Chemistry | Lundberg Rice | GoodDog | Fortnight Collective | Super Nice | Marketing Architects Gravity Global & many more.
Industry Experience Fast Food, Political, Technology, Auto, Travel/Hospitality, Sportswear, Finance, Big Box Retail, Packaged Goods, Sporting Equipment, Alcoholic Beverages, Luxury Products, Pet Care, Beverages, Entertainment, Electronics, you name it.
Shiny Stuff Cannes Lions | D&AD | The One Show | Effies | Clios |New York Festivals | ANDY Awards | Shorty Awards | Radio Mercury Awards | YouTube Ads of the Year | Facebook Awards | Brand Film Festival New York | Global Trend Video Awards | PR Week/Campaign Film Festival | Webby Awards | LIAA Awards | ARF Grand Ogilvy Award | Art Director’s Club |
School
University of Texas McCombs Business School
Post Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning: Business Applications
Berklee School of Music
Currently pursuing certificate in Production & Guitar
Completed 1 year’s worth of college credit coursework
Southern Methodist University
M.A. Clinical/Counseling Psychology
B.A. Psychology
The Creative Circus
Copywriting certificate