Joe Burke New MARC USA ECD
May 24, 2012 by Screenmag
Veteran Chicago creative executive Joe Burke, best known for the award winning “is it in you” campaign for Gatorade,is joining MARC USA’s Chicago office as SVP/Executive Creative Director, according to agency President and CEO Michele Fabrizi.
Burke replaces John Immesoete, who left the agency earlier this month with its Chicago president Mark Modesto to join the Ryan Partnership. Jean McLaren will resume her duties as Chicago president.
“MARC USA puts a premium on entrepreneurialism and independence,” says Burke. “These are the critical factors in stimulating great work across the marketing landscape and what every creative director dreams of being able to do. I am looking forward to moving the creative bar high and removing all boundaries.”
Previously at DDB Chicago, Burke was one of the founding partners of Element 79 where he and his partner created some of the most memorable advertising for Gatorade including “Be Like Mike II”, “The Origin of Gatorade” and “Michael Jordan vs. Mia Hamm.” In addition to Gatorade, Burke has garnered numerous creative awards as well as Effies for a wide range of brands including Coors Light, Capitol One Bank, Frito Lay, Quaker Oats, American Family Insurance, Motorola, Evinrude and “Pork. The Other White Meat” campaign.
“Joe’s creative reputation is as stellar as they get and demonstrates our commitment to elevate our creative work,” says Jean McLaren, President of MARC USA’s Chicago Office and CMO of MARC USA. “Central to getting great work today is collaboration across all channels, something Burke has excelled at throughout his award-winning career. We are so excited to have him lead our creative teams.”
Burke ’s advertising career has been spent in some of Chicago’s most storied agencies including Tatham, Laird and Kudner – now Tatham Euro RSCG, Bozell, J. Walter Thompson Chicago, Foote, Cone and Belding– now Draftfcb as well as Element 79, and DDB Chicago. He has been working freelance since leaving DDB in 2011.
Burke will fill the shoes left vacant when the immediate past ECD, John Immesoete left MARC USA to join it’s former president, Mark Modesto, at the Ryan Partnership, an integrated marketing agency with offices in Chicago, Columbus, OH, Wilton, CT and San Francisco.