I'm Jack. As a senior copywriter I've concepted, developed and executed full-service campaigns for pharmaceutical, health care, finance, tech, and retail clients.
Over my career I've contributed to a client list that includes Staples, Bank of America, Liberty Mutual, Project RED, Everest Poker, Novartis, Janssen, and Celgene (select drug brands include: Afinitor, Alcon, Gleevec, Diovan, Exelon Patch, Exforge/Exforge HCT, and Myfortic).
As an editor and writer I've been published by Gizmodo, McSweeney's, GamePro, TechTarget, and PC World.
Thanks for taking the time to explore my site. Much appreciated.
My humor writing is published at McSweeney's, Thought Catalog and the Morning News. It includes essays about light beer commercials, tiny birds, an unfortunate editing of an online dating profile and other things people - mostly my parents - find funny.
Read: McSweeney's
Read: Thought Catalog
Read: The Morning News
Read: Everything else (more humor)
Some of the most rewarding work I've been a part of was to help promote organ donation for Novartis and the Transplant Games of America.
This work included a documentary short about a double living donation recipient named Ryleigh (please see clips on this page), and the creation of a "We Are Transplant" brand that soon came to define the Novartis presence at this inspirational event.
Ryleigh's family had an incredible living donation story to tell, so we went to Tucson to capture it. This trailer screened at Fenway Park on Organ Donation Awareness Day. The full version is below.
Ryleigh was given two new chances at life thanks to living kidney donations from her mother and half-sister. This is her story.
As a Contributing Editor for Gizmodo, I published topical news and long form features on consumer tech, design, space exploration, and biotech. I was based in Boston, which gave me special access to MIT, the MIT Media Lab, and Harvard University. In addition, my tech writing experience includes GamePro magazine and PC World.
Read: Gizmodo articles
Read: GamePro/PC World
Read: Everything else
From 2007 through 2012, I was a Contributing Editor at Gizmodo. I worked with some brilliant minds, learned a lot about the industry, and was able to thrive in a fast-paced, high intensity editorial environment. The article above is my feature about the MIT Media Lab extension, which opened in 2010.
One of my first full-length features at Gizmodo was a profile of the eccentric and utterly fascinating Joe Davis. He was trying to harness lightning, concentrate it into a laser, and use that energy to move a sail-powered ship in space.
OK, so I was a bit early with this one. Apple wasn't quite ready for gaming in 2008, but I'd argue the release of the latest Apple TV controller, things are looking good for my future as a forecaster. Yes, that was sarcasm.
A selection of Dunkin Donuts print created with Mike Mancuso for Super Bowl XLVIII and ESPN Magazine.
I've always loved sketching and cartooning, but never really took the time to hone the craft. So I bought some books, blew some money on an iPad Pro, and here we are. The New Yorker loves rejecting these almost as much as I enjoy making them. Please scroll down to see more.
Our content strategy group helped expand the Puma lifestyle brand with a series of This Is My Night docu-style films featuring fixie cyclists, parkour artists and others in well-known European cities.
The Chicago Marathon is one of Bank of America's biggest sponsorship opportunities each year. I worked with the Bank team at Hill Holliday to produce illustrations and copy for an ambitious Facebook Canvas experience covering this storied annual event.
At Hill Holliday our team designed and implemented a proven Loss of Exclusivity (LoE) retention platform for our clients. LoE occurs when a branded medication patent expires, and the generic equivalent enters the market. Marketing in this environment requires an extensive knowledge of the FDA regulatory landscape, claims, and patience, to say the least.
During the ramp up to LoE, we partner with a client to provide their patients and HCPs with exclusive support programs, co-pay cards, resource kits, tips, financial tools, and other resources.
Also on this page are a few examples of other Novartis brands that we have successfully supported with our LoE strategy.
In 2001, TIME magazine declared, "There is new ammunition against cancer, and these are the bullets." Gleevec's signature orange pills were arranged on the cover like spent shells. Gleevec was a targeted cancer therapy—the first of its kind—and it literally transformed one type of blood cancer from a death sentence into a manageable disease.
So when Gleevec approached LoE in February 2016, we were ready with a proper send off: Generation GLEEVEC. At the heart of this campaign was a full-service patient resource program called Gleevec Patient Support, and with it we offered on-call counselors, co-pay programs, and premium patient kits that included tools, tips and assistance for our patients.
When Exforge went LoE, we provided our patients with a confident reason to stay on brand using a combination of co-pay card assistance, patient support programs, and content executions that aligned with our audience needs.
This approach included on-site content such as a light-intensity workout program presented in an easy-to-read infographic form, healthy recipes created by America's Test Kitchen, and healthy living tips researched from independent third party experts.
Exelon Patch is unique in that there are no other Alzheimer's medications applied via an adhesive epidermal patch. When this medication went LoE, our approach was to speak to the ease of use that this product provides caregivers. We would grant them the peace of mind that "one less unknown" provides.
The Everest Poker marketing team, based in Cambridge, managed social media, SEO, and event installations (today the brand is a division of Paris-based BetClic Everest). At the time, Everest was the 6th-largest online poker room in the world.
Our team followed around a selection of sponsored French players as they competed at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Staples asked our content strategy team to create pieces that stood out from a flooded IT and tech support landscape.
Driven by a desire to create content that people choose to search out and engage with, our team produced a series of videos, infographics, and even a "green computing" ebook to help Staples rise above the competition.
Our Novartis client asked us to help grow their 25-year partnership with the Transplant Games of America. On this page, you'll see a sample of the conceptual work that marked our early thinking. Art direction: Mike Mancuso
These are select examples from a campaign concept development exercise with Celgene. Treatment for MM has progressed immensely over the years, and today can be considered manageable for some patients. Art direction: Mike Mancuso
While at Hill Holliday, I completed a number of rewarding pro bono projects for the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, Citizens United for Research In Epilepsy (CURE), and the Massachusetts Commission on LGBT Youth.
We travelled to three local Boston schools to interview students, teachers and administrators about the the Inner-City Scholarship Fund and the impact it has on students like the ICSF Gala featured speaker, Jasselis.
Short introductory video for the keynote speakers at the annual CURE gala.
Cook's Illustrated is an iconic Boston brand. When we heard they were searching for a new, modern identity, we set to work creating a few spec content executions that expanded their respected, meticulous approach to cooking into new areas.
Art direction: Carolyn Spinney
In 2016, Partners HealthCare wanted to refresh and modernize its influencer platform, Connect with Partners. A multidisciplinary team at Hill Holliday worked collaboratively to recreate the backend CMS, establish a new voice, and redesign the legacy site using a fresh, responsive approach.
As the sole editor and content creator for this site, I conducted weekly interviews with sources, wrote articles, and worked directly with the client to identify stories and opportunities that demonstrate why Partners is the health care leader in Massachusetts.
Is this a blood thinner or me desperately reliving my Film Noir 101 days back in college? Maybe a little of both. Senior Art Director Mike Mancuso and I thought it'd be interesting to take a serious drug and give it a serious Hollywood treatment to help it stand out from a crowded field. Also, the world could always use a few more Chinatown references.
