Early on in my advertising career, I made it my goal to be a Creative Director.
From the starting position of Associate Copywriter or Associate Art Director, you have to move up 4 levels to become a Creative Director. There are two levels above Creative Director (Group Creative Director that manage several Creative Directors, and an Executive Creative Director that leads the entire department.) So I wasn't aiming at the highest possible position. I set my sights on the position that would give me the chance to lead my own team of creatives and have control over the work. If you've ever seen Mad Men, Don Draper was a Creative Director.
The other thing to know, is its not simply a stick around long enough and you'll make it there thing. Depending on the agency, there's one Creative Director for every 5-7 young creatives. So for every 5 people at the lower levels, only one gets to grow up and be a CD. There are lots of people that have the experience but stay on as a pure writer or art director, at the senior level for many years. There are lots of people that end up leaving.
I started my career in January 2006.
I got my third promotion, up to Associate Creative Director (always called ACD) in November 2016. I was turning 33 that month.
Just one promotion away from Creative Director. Right around then I made it my goal to get to Creative Director by 40.
By November 2018, I was unemployed. The agency that gave me the ACD title was falling apart and letting go of lots of people.
I was able to get another job in February of 2019...but not at the ACD level. I was back to being a senior copywriter. Pretty humbling.
It took me over two years to get back to ACD, June 2021. I was five months away from turning 38. Creative Director by 40 seemed unlikely.
My 40th birthday arrived in November 2023. At least part of the reason I was pretty mopey was the fact that I didn't reach my goal of becoming a Creative Director by 40.
But I did think of a loophole. It's not that different to move the goalposts to Creative Director at 40. That would buy me another year.
Plus, I did the whole acceptance thing of realizing that whether it happens at 40 or 41 or 42, that I'm on track to make it happen and it doesn't really matter what age I am, it will still be achieving my life-long career goal, etc. You know, the healthy way of processing feelings, blah blah blah.
But really I had 364 more days where I would be 40.
This month, my managers made the call.
As of today, I am now a Creative Director.
There are two ways to summarize my entire career in a few lines of text:
Way #1
Associate Copywriter - January 2006
Copywriter - December 2007
Senior Copywriter - July 2014
ACD - November 2016
Creative Director - May 2024
Way #2
Associate Copywriter - January 2006
Copywriter - December 2007
Senior Copywriter - July 2014
ACD - November 2016
Senior Copywriter - February 2019
ACD - June 2021
Creative Director - May 2024
Way #1 is every new level I've achieved. The four times I advanced up the ladder.
But Way #2 is the truth. It includes a comeback attempt that turned into a redemption arc.
The fact that I got here at 40 is a little icing on the cake. But really it's getting here at all that is the fulfilling part.
I now have my own team of creatives to lead and the power to really guide the work to the highest level I can make it. Hopefully this is just the beginning of Act Two in a successful career.
