WHO REALLY WON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY?
The competition on Super Bowl Sunday goes far beyond the football field. Some fans take commercials just as seriously as the game itself. Does the debate on who had the best TV spot ever really end?
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Our agency founder fell for Advertising at the age of 15 and never looked back. From the high school paper, to the Ad School at the University of Illinois, to creating advertising that’s pushed billions of dollars of product off the shelf. Sue believes in finding the simple truth about a product, and she’s brought that truth to life for global brands like Alcon, Medtronic, McKesson, the American Society for Plastic Surgeons, Siemens and more. Her latest truth? Simply adjusting to her newly empty nest.
Brian is a recent arrival to adland having spent 20+ years in corporate marketing roles. A UNC-Chapel Hill Tarheel through and through, Brian’s career includes successful stints at Sprint, EarthLink, Novartis and most recently Capital Group, home of the American Funds mutual fund family. In his 6 years as CMO of The Capital Group, Brian honed his ability to sharpen an insight, build brands and accelerate business growth. You’ll catch him in the garden, on the tennis court or chasing his 3 kids around the country on adventures when he’s not looking for his next real estate side hustle.
Our resident renaissance man has worked in every nook and cranny of the industry: as a creative, a producer, an account person, in media, doing digital…the list goes on. Mark even founded the award-winning Lure Music where he built a client base that included Dove, Johnnie Walker, Miller Coors, and Kellogg’s. Since joining Norton, he’s launched over 15 brands from early commercialization to final campaign execution. The only thing more impressive than Mark’s journey is the one he creates for brands and their consumers.
Shawn brings nearly 20 years of agency experience to his role as VP/ Group Creative Director. During his career, he has developed campaigns and creative for a diverse group of clients. His healthcare work includes brands like Similac® and PediaSure® for Abbott Nutrition, and eye care category defining brands like Systane®, Opti-Free®, Clear Care® and Dailies Total1® for Alcon. He’s worked on massive CPG brands from The Coca Cola Company, Frito-Lay, and Proctor and Gamble and during his time on P&G, he developed multi-brand commercial programs across beauty brands, and led creative teams working on Tampax® and Always. Other past clients include Sprint, McDonald’s, Motorola and GMC. Shawn believes in the power of ideas and their ability to drive consumer behavior and is dedicated to unearthing ideas that help businesses grow.
Some people build skyscrapers. Some build roads. Ever since graduating from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Economics, Kirsten has been busy building strong bridges for major brands that span the globe. She’s been our go-to on clients like Alcon, CIBA VISION, James Hardie Building Products, Mars Botanical and more. In her precious little time off, Kirsten loves to travel—especially to warm, exotic places with limited cell phone access. Luckily for us, cell access is more and more far reaching.
Celebrating 30 years at Norton, Anthony is one of the original members of the Norton family. With a double major in Business and Fine Art, Anthony is well equipped to wear his many hats—from account service to creative. You’ll see his unique imprint on every major account at Norton. He’s also touched the lives of countless talented designers and writers he’s mentored over the years. He’s one of our original members—and also a true original.
Since honing his skills at The American Academy of Art Chicago, Chris has made ads for the likes of Allstate, Amtrak, Cabo Tequila, Nicor Gas and countless others. This Telly award winner grew up in suburban Chicago and now lives in Evanston. Adventurous! When he’s not making brands look beautiful, he’s tearing up the track on local racing circuit. Yes—the man races cars. And plays guitar. And golfs. Plus, he can doodle like nobody’s business. In short: Chris is cooler than you, but way too humble to ever tell you.
Gina knew at age four that she wanted to do two things: work in advertising, and work for Disney. By 22 she was doing both. A New York native, Gina has a big-agency background—working for Young & Rubicam, TBWA\Chat\Day, Ogilvy/Commonhealth and others. She has over a dozen awards as an art director, and a few for her cupcakes. Past brands include The Walt Disney Company, Nivea, Kenneth Cole and Absolut Vodka. Outside of work you can find Gina hanging out with her two teenage girls, playing drums and baking.
Kasey leads quite an exhilarating life. When she’s not exploring the depths of the ocean in scuba gear, you can find her navigating solid ground on horseback – competitively we might add. Her latest adventure? Joining the Norton team as one of our fearless leaders! She comes to us after making her mark at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, KCM Consulting Services Inc., Stika Salmon Shares and others. Kacey also owned a photography company for eight years – watch out, creative team!
A well-rounded academic resume is the foundation of Karl’s Business Management acumen. He holds a Political Science degree from Millikin University, as well as an MBA and a Masters in Marketing from Franklin University. Between degrees, he lived in the Dominican Republic, where he taught English for a time…and appreciated the local selection of Caribbean rum. Perhaps that rum influenced his run of beverage clients—from Bacardi to Grey Goose and Martini & Rossi.
“Strategy is always staying curious about what makes people tick.” That modus operandi has been good to Meredith since she left Tulane, where she played D1 tennis. Since then, she’s stopped at Leo Burnett & Arc to work on MillerCoors, Intel and Serta. Followed by some time at Geometry Global on Unilever. Now a Senior Strategist here at Norton, we’ll be keeping her busy on our vision care brands and more. In her free time that’s not spent playing tennis, Meredith searches for her next good read. She needs plenty of recommendations to keep up her pace of 60 books per year!
Tom knew he loved advertising at a very young age. As the story goes, his mother found him re-enacting pasta cooker commercials to an audience of elderly women at a mall when he was 5 years old. The rest, as they say, is history. Since those days, Tom has been busy. While attending University of Colorado at Boulder, Tom learned even more about his love of advertising through his intense coursework and a prestigious internship. In his free time he loves snowboarding, traveling and cooking. He has a “work hard, play harder” philosophy, and believes that telling meaningful stories can lead to meaningful change.
With a degree in Journalism from the University of Nevada, Michele combined her love for sports and writing as an editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She later earned an MBA from Texas Christian University and made her mark at Alcon, where she worked as an in-house marketer focused on internet retail customer marketing, marketing communications and later contact lens brand management. At Norton, Michele combines all of her varied work experience to manage quality assurance and regulatory compliance on all of our projects.
There’s no one on the Norton payroll with a lower carbon footprint than Amanda Breedlove. Eco-friendly lightbulbs, a vegan diet and a little composting keep her Lakeview apartment green for her and her asthmatic cat, Clyde. Yes, he has his own cat inhaler. When she’s not traveling or volunteering, Amanda does holistic wellness coaching: teaching others how to eliminate toxins and live a more natural lifestyle. At Norton, this small-town Ohioan brings a wealth of account service experience to the table. And that small town’s claim to fame? The power plant. Let’s just say she had glowing reviews from her past employers.
As a Division-1 athlete through all four years at Butler University, Allie has never been one to shy away from a challenge. There, while swimming competitively, she earned dual degrees in Marketing and Management Information Systems. Today, Allie brings a true competitor’s spirit, perseverance and speed to new product launches for global brands—deftly navigating the waters of different consumer markets. Allie may be a fast swimmer, but she’s an even faster learner.
Senior Account Executive AnnMarie Banasik kicked off her career with La Quinta Inns & Suites before moving to Chicago to work for Discover Financial Services. She’s a firm believer in using the products she promotes. Are colored contacts up next for AnnMarie? Only time will tell. A graduate of Mizzou, she loves backpacking, traveling, yoga and a good cup of joe. When Girl Scout Cookie season comes around, AnnMarie can’t turn down Thin Mints. Is it the refreshing taste or the impeccable sales tactics of 9-year-old girls? We’ll never know. The words she lives by come directly from Winnie the Pooh, “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” We’re excited to have such a well-rounded individual on the Norton team. We’re even more excited to have someone with an unlimited stash of Thin Mints around.
In her past lives, Ashley worked on car dealership campaigns (yes, everyone’s favorite ads…), as well as with Discover Financial Services. But now this former D1 tennis star will be serving Norton Agency clients instead. As Senior Account Executive, Ashley will be working with our vision care clients to deliver strong work for multiple brand teams. When she’s not doing that, Ashley can be found crafting with her Cricut, rooting on Alabama football, or caring for her shepherd mix Maya. Or perhaps all three at the same time? She’s a great multi-tasker after all.
Our clients are lucky to have a Senior Account Executive like Alyssa fighting for them. Sorry, had to do it. This young talent joins our team after a 4-year stint at Ogilvy on Tyson Foods. Plus some pro bono work for the Chicago International Film Festival. Before that, she was an Ad student at the University of Georgia, much to the chagrin of her Mizzou colleagues. In her spare time, Alyssa enjoys intramural sports and soaking up summertime Chi—however fleeting. But no matter the weather, her quest for the best white queso in town presses on. And no, queso fundido does not count.
Maida believes that we can accomplish anything, at any point in our lives, as long as we set our hearts and minds to it. For the past 7 years of her marketing career, she’s thrived by those words. Moving from a boutique NYC agency to TPN to TracyLocke, and touching big-name brands like Hershey, Kellogg’s and MarketWired along the way. Originally from Bosnia, Maida (who goes by Maja) moved stateside at the age of 18 as part of an exchange program. A graduate of Montclair State, she’s also an avid baker and weight trainer. A dangerous combo of power and precision, and one she taps into for effective client service.
A talented up-and-comer out of Omaha, Elizabeth brings energy and expertise to the Norton Account Team. After graduating from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations, she helped launch startups with the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. Elizabeth is well-versed in executing brand strategies for the digital and social media realms across a host of industries. Including higher education, pharma, retail and nonprofit. Outside of work, Elizabeth loves to foster dogs and go running. The latter of which she lovingly calls: ‘my hobby and my hell.’
Morgen is from Cleveland, lives in D.C., and is moving to Chicago. But no matter where she is, she’s hard at work. After studying communication for undergrad at Ohio University, she earned her Master’s in strategic communication from American University. Not too shabby. When she’s not serving our clients with a smile on her face, she loves to cook, dog sit, and catch the latest concert. Morgen’s mantra? “Falling down is part of life, getting back up is living.”
When former Norton intern Caitlin Blum decided to join us full-time as an Account Executive, we were beyond thrilled. Our excitement might have had something to do with her experience in healthcare marketing, or her degree in Business Administration…or maybe we were just hoping to get ahold of her family’s world-famous meat sauce recipe. We’ll never tell. Originally from Elmhurst, Caitlin has been living in the city since 2019, and she spends her newly-found city life volunteering at PAWS Chicago, rooting for the Cubs and running. Did we mention she was a top 7 DIII varsity cross country runner? Talk about the total package.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Brenden joined the Field Marketing Team at LEARFIELD to develop objective-focused solutions that integrate storytelling for collegiate athletic sponsors into the unrivaled pageantry of college sports. Now, he strives to leverage that competitive spirit to expertly service our clients, becoming a passionate steward of your brand. What fuels Brenden? Taking his BMW for a spin on his way to a new restaurant. Don’t lunch with Brenden unless you can follow his #1 rule: phone eats first.
Erin may hail from a small town in Upstate New York, but she brings larger-than-life ideas to the Norton Agency. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Elmhurst College, she’s created powerful designs for clients like Ray-Ban, Alcon, Kraft, James Hardie, FreshLook and Causegear. And her creative eye even extends beyond the office—after hours, you’ll often find her immersed in her latest drawing or snapping photos with her husband, Thang, and her Pitbull-Lab mix, Miles.
Nobody has ever referred to Justin as the Tarantino of marketing writers, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Drawing on a lifetime of far-flung influences, this University of Illinois grad—English major, so you know he’s for real—has written pharma campaigns for the likes of Genzyme, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. Justin’s healthcare expertise knows no bounds, with years of specialized experience in biotech, medical devices and marketing therapies for rare diseases. He really wanted to end his bio with a Pulp Fiction quote, but the profanity-free lines proved rarest of all.
Brian’s often referred to as “Dr. Quinn” by our clients. With 20 years’ experience at Norton alone writing highly technical medical copy, he deserves the honorary degree. His deep understanding of science and human physiology has lent itself to countless agency projects, for clients like Alcon, Philips, Abbott and Siemens Nuclear Medicine Group. As a Marquette University grad with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, he’s well-versed in bringing any brand to life with the written word.
Whether she’s scouting a shoot location or reviewing directors’ reels, it’s no surprise Julie is always able to connect Norton with just the right resources to perfect any project. It’s what she’s done her entire career. A veteran of Schawk (Retail Marketing Division), Gaston Advertising and Ambrosi & Associates, Julie has a history of picture-picture results for clients ranging from Sears Holdings to Ulta Beauty to Citi Financial Services.
With a last name pronounced like “bear” it’s only fitting that Ryan is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan. As a senior production artist and supervisor, Ryan has managed teams of PAs and refined campaigns for clients ranging from Kraft and Corona to Motorola and SC Johnson. After rounding the bases at 141 Worldwide, Ogilvy and RPM Advertising, Ryan came home to Norton, ready to swing for the fences on every campaign.
Silvia brings a wealth of international agency experience to her work at Norton. Previously, as a Design Specialist at Panasonic, she worked directly with their China team to ensure consistency with global brand standards. Tradeshow design and new product logo development were also among Silvia’s specialties there. Prior roles in publishing garnered Silvia multiple industry awards for graphic design, and her work is prominently displayed at her alma mater’s Media Arts and Graphic Design Museum. From construction to technology to healthcare and beyond, Silvia’s vast experience empowers every brand entrusted to the Norton Agency.
In the words of Amy Reger Jacobs: “creativity is about making a sensory connection with the viewer of the work. Through that connection, we have the power to provoke feelings, memories and realizations.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, so we hired Amy. A Senior Art Director with over 15 years of experience, she’s worked on big brands like Capital One, LensCrafters, Fannie Mae, Constellation Wines and Volvo. Amy is a Rochester native and graduate of Anderson University of Indiana’s Graphic Arts program. That’s a little bit of her identity, but her real passion is establishing identities for brands. That, and getting off the grid in the Adirondacks.
This Naperville native and Michigan State alum brings a wealth of writing experience to the Norton creative team. Experience on big-name brands like Sony, Beam, McDonalds, Harley-Davidson, Sears and Verizon. Erin’s hobbies include writing (duh) and whiskey (also duh). And just to add one more copywriter stereotype, she’s got a pile of unfinished sci-fi novels on her desk. Which leads us to Erin’s words to live by: “read a goddamned book. Any book, it doesn’t even matter.” Who knows? Someday, that book just might be hers.
The fact is, nobody wears as many hats for Norton as PJ does, whose full first name is…(sorry, we promised not to tell). He’s worked on countless big-name brands in his career, including Kraft, Motorola and ESPN in his days at Ogilvy. All with an unparalleled level of tact and tenacity that always produces great work. As might be expected from a multi-tasker, PJ has multiple interests as well, including fine art, photography and playing the blues guitar. Howlin’ Wolf, preferred.
With a successful artist for a father, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Scott’s early creativity developed into a passion for photography, which he studied, along with Design, at Columbia College in Chicago. He freelanced as a photographer before honing his design skills and finding his niche in high-end retouching at leading production studios around the city. For years, Scott enhanced the image of advertisers like P&G, Miller/Coors and Kraft. Today, he brings all of his skills to all our clients at Norton.
In short, Molly was made for this. A Florida State Digital Media Production major with a penchant for storytelling, our Video Production Assistant is no stranger to creating captivating work. Her budding career most notably includes in-house videography for a non-profit in Brooklyn. Not bad for a kid from the tiny beach town of Englewood, Florida. When it comes to creativity outside of the 9-to-5, Molly works on her own passion projects in film photography, as well as some embroidery and gardening. Both of which give way to even more opportunities for—you guessed it—photography.
Tony might be based in Chicago, but he’s got wanderlust in his blood. Name a country and he’s probably been there… more than once. His client and vendor work, including Tampico, Savory Spice and Lamaze, has taken him to over 50 countries. Outside of advertising, Tony has managed a toy store, Wrigley Field concessions and more. His claim to fame? Throwing out the first pitch at a Cubs game. He just might be the most interesting man at Norton.
Sam is a true jack-of-all-trades. From performing in a touring band to pursuing a career as a professional chef, he’s done it all. Nowadays his creative outlet is designing eye-catching art for brands like Nike, Pyrex, Kenmore and Corelle to name a few. He’s also the host of the Chicago Cookbook Club and an avid homebrewer… so let’s just say we’re looking forward to happy hours with Sam.
Visit our careers page to view all our open positions.
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The competition on Super Bowl Sunday goes far beyond the football field. Some fans take commercials just as seriously as the game itself. Does the debate on who had the best TV spot ever really end?
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