Associate Creative Directors Justin Miller and Mike Pearson Join John McNeil Studio

Creative and strategic brand firm John McNeil Studio (JMS) is excited to announce two new additions to its world class creative department - associate creative directors Justin Miller and Mike Pearson. Both formerly of FCB Chicago, Miller and Pearson are longtime collaborators whose experience across a variety of sectors will help JMS broaden its approach, foster collaboration across disciplines and allow clients to engage more deeply in working with the studio to address their business challenges.

As seasoned industry leaders, Miller and Pearson have worked as a team with countless brands in a host of different industries over their careers, leading creative duties on Craftsman, Kenmore and Sanofi Genzyme while pushing creative capabilities across others from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Michelob Ultra, Rocket Mortgage and more. 

Miller is a writer whose creative flexibility has allowed him to consistently straddle the line between rigorously strategic and creatively off-kilter. Having built his skillset at a variety of great Chicago shops like Leo Burnett, Havas, FCB and more, Miller became a deft storyteller and craftsman working for Cracker Barrel, HP and others, favoring new ideas and unexpected solutions.  

“Coming to JMS is the perfect chance to branch out into even more new categories alongside a tight, creatively driven team,” says Miller. “I hope to inspire brand clients to embrace non-traditional thinking that can help them step outside category expectations and create really impactful work.”

Meanwhile, Pearson is a designer and art director whose experience in the creative industry goes back over a decade, similarly working with some of the largest agencies across a wide range of brands and categories – from Dish to Citibank. A true jack-of-all-trades with skills in design, photography, videography and animation, he has a strong work ethic and excels at hands-on creative craft, never hesitating to apply a maker’s mind to understanding and fulfilling a brand’s needs. 

“What excites me the most about joining JMS is working in a highly collaborative environment where smart thinking and creative excellence can thrive,” explains Pearson.  “Not only that, but having the opportunity to work across a range of projects in new categories is something I really look forward to.”

Working remotely from Chicago as the firm embraces a fully distributed workforce, Miller and Pearson have already made their mark at JMS, having hit the ground running with work on a new identity and campaign for communications platform Intercom.

“These are two pretty amazing people and creatives who know how to come up with smart, strategic and daring ideas that help brands stand out,” says studio Founder/CEO, John McNeil. “They are also egoless, solely concerned about bringing the best out of each other and their teams. They’ve already made great contributions to JMS’s work and I know their influence will continue to help us reach even greater creative heights for our clients.”