David Lubars, who heads up the entire creative staff at one of the world’s most renowned ad agencies, says that you don’t work to be creative; creativity finds you. “All of the best ideas come when you’re not thinking about it,” explains Lubars, chief creative officer of BBDO Worldwide. “What I do is try to create an environment for people where they can just constantly think and feel. There’s no sparking creativity; it has to always be there.”
Winner of Caples’ 2014 Irving Wunderman award for his remarkable book of creative work, Lubars has come a long way from the 14-year-old whose job was to collect shopping carts in a grocery store parking lot. Diligent at a young age, Lubars described how as a teen he actually lied about his age so that he could work. “There was this store that was like a precursor to what Target is today; it was called Zayre. So for my first job I lied on the application to get a job because you had to be 16,” Lubars reminisced. “But, I’ll be honest; I like what I’m doing now a lot better.”
Although appointed in 2004 as chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO North America, this is Lubars’ second time at the agency; his first was a short stint in the early 1990s as creative director of BBDO’s West Coast office. Since then Lubars has made an indelible mark on the advertising industry with some of his best known work, including popular short Web films at ad agency Fallon in 2001 for BMW. Recently, Lubars has led his team to create inspiring branded content for a robust roster that boasts clients such as Bud Light, GE, Snickers, Lowes, and Visa.
