My name is David McMillan. I am an Executive Creative Director, writer, mentor and team leader. I use observation, experiences, empathy and wit (dry) to tell stories that resonate and evoke response. I use the same twenty-six letters that every writer uses. I simply try to put them in a different order.
I’m open to the right opportunity. And willing to commute to NYC on a part-time basis.
I’m based in Philadelphia, having recently moved from Brooklyn, NY after 20 years. I’m open to full-time or hybrid work in the Tri-state area.
I’ve served as Global Creative Director for DuPont, empowering teams from London to Frankfurt, New Delhi, to Beijing, helping transform a eentury-old chemical company into a modern-world science “collaboratory.” I take pride in complex businesses that see measurable results with simple solutions. Healthcare, financial and investment, insurance, complex categories in which I’ve made an impact.
For three years I was Executive Creative Director at NBC News/MSNBC during the most chaotic news cycle in a generation. I took the position at the start of the 2016 Primaries. That experience changed my life.
Now working corporate-side, I’m spearheading Purpose, ESG and sustainability content for the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry. Working for an organization with Purpose helps give me purpose. And we all need that.
My work has been honored at Cannes, Clios, London International Awards and more. A commercial I wrote and co-produced is part of a permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art and listed as one of “America’s Funniest Commercials.” And yet, I think I am more of a writer’s writer than a comedic one.
Awards & Recognitions
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Campaign for NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, “The Truth,Told Nightly.”
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Out-of-home/experiential campaign for The Christoper and Dana Reeve Foundation for research and treatment of spinal cord injuries.
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Radio campaign for Jiffy Lube featuring a comedian randomly calling car phones
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Commercial for Accu-serve copy machines. Also honored in several other shows.
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Top honor received for PSA that featured real “stray” bullet fragments that killed innocent bystanders in Baltimore.
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Campaign for DuPont where we created the first Augmented Reality ad for Fortune magazine
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Association of Independent Commercial Producers named the Accu-Serve commercial as one of the year’s best. The award automatically made the commercial a permanent induction into the Museum of Modern Art.
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Sony commercial featuring a boy discovering an endless field of pinwheels resting idly until a Sony flatscreen is turned on featuring a windmill. Instantly hundreds of pinwheels come to life and a kite takes flight. A Bjork song was used as the score.
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Campaign of the Year in two separate categories: Financial and Investment for Thrivent Financial
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Since Signet launched its Purpose and new Employee Engagement, it has received certification for three consecutive years.
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On the heels of Great Place to Work, Signet landed at #12 on 50 list of retailers. Until 2023, Signet never made the top 50.
Brands —
luxury retail, automotive, complex financial and healthcare, science and agriculture, packaged goods, professional sports, beer, snack food and network news media. B2B, B2C, B2B2C
Jared Jewelers
DuPont
The task was to transform a 100-year old chemical company into a modern science company and attract a new generation of scientists and engineers to help the solve the world’s food, energy and protection needs for a growing population.
The task was to transform a 100-year old chemical company into a modern science company and attract a new generation of scientists and engineers to help the solve the world’s food, energy and protection needs for a growing population.
Mercedes
From Super Bowl ads to the manuals in glove compartments, writers for this brand do it all. It’s what I loved about being a creative director for one of the finest engineered automobiles on the planet.
Signet Jewelers
The parent company no one has ever heard of is, in fact, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry — and the world’s leader in responsibly sourced gemstones and precious metals. The challenge was to let the world know it.
NBC News
My job started with the Bernie and Hillary Primaries and climaxed with Trump attacking the credibility of America’s #1 news organization daily . The work was nonstop and truly changed the lens through which I see things.
FM Global
The world’s largest commercial property insurer is also the thought leader on supply chain resiliency. I used sports metaphors shot in hyper dramatic fashion to depict the vitalness of resiliency in order for companies to stay in the fight.
Dave&Buster’s
A new-business win for Merkley+Partners — one of their biggest — and a story of David and Goliath. We were David. The premise: Everyone has a Fun, and that Fun needs to eat. We pitched the “your fun” personified as a mini-you.
Bud Light
This was a commercial I had written on “spec.” A production company made the spot pro bono and we pitched it to Auggie Busch Jr. He saw the spot, pulled the seheduled-to-air spot from DDB (his agency) and aired “Deserted Island” instead.
Thrivent Financial
This $35M multi-platform campaign was awarded two Gold American Marketing Awards and named “Campaign of the Year” in two separate categories. Not bad for a Fortune 100 company that you haven’t heard of. Yet.
Bank of America
I served as Creative Director for this $250M business at BBDO/NY. The bank needed a new branding campaign as they looked to expand their consumer product lines. Bank of Opportunity became the mantra.
Sony
A $2M campaign for Sony’s new line of hi-def TVs. The biggest commercial shoot I’ve been a part of — three weeks in London and Spain, a Bjork song, a Boy George cameo and 450 pinwheels planted around a 17th century castle.
A list of other brands I have worked on in my career not highlighted above: 7UP, Ashland Chemical, AT&T, Carhartt, Dr Pepper, GE Capital, GE Healthcare, Harrah’s Casinos, Jell-O, Jiffy Lube, Johnson&Johnson, KFC, Kraft Foods, Lays, M&M’s, Madison Square Garden, Miller Lite, NFL, NYU Langone, NYU Stern Business School, Pella, Pizza Hut, QVC, Texaco, Toys R Us, USC School of Law, United Airlines, Visa, Vlasic, Today Show, Meet the Press, Morning Joe, The Megyn Kelly Show, The Rachel Maddow Show. Not all the brands I’ve highlighted are featured on this site. For more of the creative work and metrics, please email me.