Gerry Graf

Lexington, Massachusetts is where the American Revolution began. It is also where Gerry Graf grew up. This might explain his problem with the status quo, authority, and the British.

Gerry’s writing career began at the University of Notre Dame as a staff writer and producer for the Keenan Revue, an infamous campus comedy revue.

After graduation, Gerry made a brief detour into the world of finance. He earned his Series 7 broker’s license and worked for Fidelity Investments before launching his advertising career.

In 1995 Gerry joined BBDO/NY and quickly rose to creative director on the Snickers account. His work was honored as Campaign of the Year by Adweek and Commercial of the Year by AdAge. In 1997, BBDO was named Agency of the Year at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.

In 1998, Gerry moved to San Francisco to become a creative director at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners. AdAge named Goodby Agency of the Year in both 1999 and 2000. Gerry was named one of the Most Influential People in the Internet Economy by Industry Standard Magazine for his work on E*Trade. The E*Trade commercial “Monkey” has since been named one of the Top 5 Super Bowl Ads of All Time by USA Today. Adage will go on to name three of Gerry’s commercials to their list of the 20 Best Super Bowl Ads of All Time.

In 2001, New York called Gerry back home and he returned to BBDO as their youngest Executive Creative Director. AdAge’s Creativity magazine named BBDO/NY Agency of the Year in 2001. After 9/11, Mayor Giuliani named Gerry to his marketing team to bring tourism back to NYC. This was without a doubt, Gerry’s proudest moment as an advertising executive.

In 2004, Lee Clow asked Gerry to run the New York office of TBWA/Chiat/Day. In 2006, AdAge named Gerry one of the 50 “biggest and best thinkers and doers from 20 years of advertising and consumer culture” in their inaugural Creativity 50 issue. He went on to be named to their annual list of the “50 most influential, and creative thinkers and doers” in 2008, 2009, and 2013. Not to stop the fun, in 2007, AdAge named TBWA/NY the Most Awarded Agency and Gerry the Most Awarded Creative Director in the World.

Then, Saatchi came calling. In 2008, Gerry was named Chief Creative Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi NY and member of the Worldwide Executive Board. While guiding JC Penney through the recession, Saatchi NY was awarded the World Retail Award in 2009 for Best Digital Retail Advertising Campaign. Gerry helped win General Mills its first ever Gold Lion at Cannes. AdAge named Saatchi NY the 3rd Most Awarded Agency and Gerry the 3rd Most Awarded Creative Director in the World. To round out the year, the Gunn Report named Saatchi’s Crest campaign The Most Awarded Campaign in the World.

However, tired of growing other people’s companies, Gerry decided to start his own agency. In 2010, Barton F. Graf 9000 was launched in New York City. A lot has happened in a short amount of time. The agency was named Top Agency To Watch by AdAge in 2011 and named to the AdAge Agency A-List in 2012. Barton was a 4A’s O’Toole Awards finalist for Best Midsize Agency. That’s Midsized. Business Insider named Gerry The Most Creative Man In Advertising. Gotham Magazine named him one of New York City’s Brand Guru’s. Newsweek featured him in a story on the New Don Drapers. And PBS featured the agency as an example of the new, innovative shops in the documentary “The Real Mad Men of Madison Ave.” Barton is now the fastest growing independent agency in America.

Gerry lives in Manhattan with his wife, three kids, a dog he likes and a cat he doesn’t.