John Emmerling

In college John Emmerling studied architecture, drew cartoons for the campus humor magazine, and sold freelance gag lines to Hallmark. This odd mix of skills led to advertising, where he became an award-winning copywriter at Young & Rubicam. He moved on to be a creative director, then founded his own ad agency. Today, John—always a student of the elusive creative process—is an innovation and branding consultant, author, cartoonist, actor, and speaker. IBM borrowed his longtime mantra, “Innovation is creativity with a job to do,” for an IBM THINK poster—and Advertising Age picked John as a representative “Real Mad Man” for an online video profile. In conclusion, John’s dog Max begs you to check out his master’s latest book, WoofiLeaks—Your Dog’s Secrets Revealed. (Max is coauthor.) John lives in Manhattan.