Blake Winfree of The Martin Agency on Bringing Cool to the Room

And his lauded work for American Greetings

Blake is a group creative director at The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va. Earlier, he held roles at Fallon, DDB, Mullen, Havas and David and Goliath. He is perhaps best known for American Greetings’ “World’s Toughest Job” campaign. Other client experience includes Skittles, Obama For America, Hyatt, Royal Caribbean, Facebook, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Google.

We spent two minutes with Blake to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired. 

Blake, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up in Lynchburg, Va. I now live in Illinois—about 20 minutes outside of Chicago.

How did you first realize you were creative?

I have always been enamored of the poetry of life. Creativity, for me, has always emanated from that poetry. Words, pictures, colors, textures, nature, history, truth and lies, people and personalities. Since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I’ve been a sucker for all of that.

A person you idolized creatively early on.

Richard Pryor. When I was in my early teens, I found a stack of vinyl in a box in the storage closet of our basement. Richard Pryor’s “…Is It Something I Said?” was one of the albums in that box. I dusted it off and took it for a spin on my dad’s old Marantz turntable. The material was raw, provocative, unadulterated, poignant, honest, well-crafted and laugh-out-loud funny. It is all the things great creative can and should be.

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

The first was being introduced to Adobe Photoshop as a junior in college. It might sound silly, but in many ways it changed the trajectory of my life. The other was meeting Pat Burnham as a first-year grad student. He taught me 75 percent of everything I know about this business. I’d been an underachieving young man running at half-speed until then. He was the first teacher to put his arm around me and say, “Son, I see something in you. And if you put it all together, I think you have the opportunity to be special in this business.” I’ve been working my ass off ever since to prove him right.

A visual artist or band/musician you admire.

Louis Armstrong is the G.O.A.T. To be born Black in 1901, in abject poverty in the deep American South, and to become a global icon and an enduring symbol of peace—that’s unreal. He did it with a smile on his face and an unwavering authenticity. His virtuosity is unmatched. His contributions to the foundations of popular music are without parallel. “KKing of The Zulus” is one of my favorite pop tunes. It’s dripping with the blues. His version of “Black and Blue” is hauntingly beautiful.

A book, movie, TV show, or podcast you recently found inspiring.

Game Of Thrones. The books and the show were incredible.

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.

American Greetings’ “World’s Toughest Job.” It was a special moment for all the incredible people who poured into it.

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A recent project your’e proud of. 

I had the privilege of working on a music video for Google Chrome. It starred Maluma, and a dope collaboration with McLaren F1. Shout-out to my entire team and a very special shout-out to the Chrome team.

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Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago. 

Oliviero Toscani’s groundbreaking work on the original Benetton “All the Colors of the World” campaign remains one of the most profound examples of impactful advertising. Its powerful imagery left a lasting impression on me. It demonstrated the immense potential of communications and the transformative power of a brand’s platform when used as a force for good.

Someone else’s work you admired lately. 

Kim Gehrig. She’s crafted one of the most impressive commercial reels I’ve seen in a very long time. “Life Needs Truth” represent idea and execution at their finest. “Viva La Vulva” was provocative, artful and exquisite. Same with “Periodsomnia.” Apple’s “The Greatest” and her film for the Sydney Opera house are next-level good. Shout-out to all the agencies and teams behind the work—but her magic touch is the common thread. A huge shout-out to the Brooklyn art collective MSCHF, too—cultural provocation through commercial art at its absolute finest.

Your main strength as a creative person.

A creative director once said, “We need to have Blake in these pitch meetings because he brings cool to the room and we need some of that.” I was tickled to hear it. My family nicknamed me “Cool Breeze” when I was growing up, so it was kind of a full-circle moment. So yeah. Cool. I’d like to believe that’s a strength. 

Your biggest weakness.

There are folks in our business who can put their personal feelings aside and present, with full conviction, work they don’t love or believe in. There’s a small part of me that admires those people. It’s the professional thing to do, I suppose. However, to convince someone to believe in something, I have to believe in it too. I really struggle if I don’t. 

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

Pat Burnham, as I mentioned earlier. John Norman is another. I love him dearly and am grateful for him. Kirk Souder is another. An exceptional human being who means a lot to me. There are a handful of others as well—this certainly hasn’t been a road I’ve traveled alone. 

How you’re paying it forward with the next generation of creatives.

A small collective of us started a program in Boston a few years ago which is probably the most robust thing I’ve been a part of in that regard. We collaborated with a fine arts high school to introduce minority students to what we do. We were attempting to treat creative communications like STEM. It was an amazing and eye-opening journey. I’m still connected to a handful of those students. At Martin, we work hard to fight invisibility and bring up the next generation of diverse talent.