The Work That Made Me: Josh Simpson
Josh joined Intermark in 2013 after 20 years of Minneapolis agency experience in senior strategic roles with Carmichael Lynch and BBDO. His major brand experience includes Delta Airlines, Harley-Davidson, U.S. Bank, Walgreens, Hormel Foods, Jennie-O, Target, OfficeMax, Caribou Coffee and Blue Cross.
He’s always considered himself a creative groupie and a student of the business, spending his early career in account management and business development roles. At Intermark, Josh leads strategic planning and a team of behavioural psychologists across all clients including Physicians Mutual, Alabama Tourism, Troy University and others.
LBB> The ad from my childhood that stays with me.
Josh> I watched a ton of TV growing up in suburban Detroit in the 80s. The first campaign I recall looking forward to seeing the newest spot was for a local appliance store called Highland Appliance. This one made cereal milk come out of my nose – my personal humour KPI.
LBB> The ad that made me want to get into the industry.
Josh> I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I signed up to major in advertising at Michigan State University. The 101 class taught the basics but also showed cool commercials. During one lecture, this Sony was shown, and I became smitten with the allure of “the idea”.
LBB> My first professional project.
Josh> If you loved creative advertising in the 90s, Minneapolis was a magnet. I moved there to work on Harley-Davidson at Carmichael Lynch, first as an AE, then as a strategic planner. Looking back, I think I should’ve paid them for that gig. Award-winning spread ads were king until this Gold Lion was born from the mind of Jim Nelson. I didn’t even know where Cannes was, let alone how to pronounce it.
LBB> The piece of work that still makes me jealous.
Josh> I reckon for ad geeks like me when Crispin unleashed “Subservient Chicken” it was like Dylan plugging in his electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Internet advertising sucked. But this didn’t. It wasn’t advertising. What the hell is it? I can’t stop playing with it.
Next thing I knew, I spent hours upon hours engaging with a chicken sandwich digital experience from a burger chain.
LBB> The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most.
Josh> I joined Alabama-based agency, Intermark Group, in 2013. My wife had 20 Minnesota winters too many and the agency’s focus on leveraging psychological insights was captivating. A few years later we, won the Alabama Tourism Department business. Over the last eight years, we’ve lifted tourist spending and lodging revenue by over 80%. We like to present Alabama’s unexpected offerings in unexpected ways. Our recent “Mind Trip” platform is a great example.
