David Lubars to Retire

David Lubars, chief creative officer of BBDO Worldwide, has announced that, after 20 years in the role, he will retire at the end of this year. 

Recognised by Forbes as one of the top 10 creative directors of all time, David’s work has always surprised, always been crafted to perfection, and has always revealed, as he would say, “the brand’s true magic.” From “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” for Snickers, to HBO Voyeur and the groundbreaking BMW Films. 

His legacy is a matter of public record. 

Under David’s leadership, BBDO was named “Network of the Year” at Cannes Lions a record-setting seven times and, in 2020, Network of the Decade. He has been inducted to The One Club Creative Hall of Fame, and was honoured by the Clios with a Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Andrew Robertson, president and CEO of BBDO Worldwide, who persuaded David to rejoin the agency in 2004, said, “There’s no question that David is one of the world’s most talented writers, but his real gifts are his ability to catch ideas and see the potential in other people’s work, then to help them take it from good to great. That’s why so many amazingly talented people have wanted to work with him, both in New York and across our network.” 

One of these is Chris Beresford-Hill, who was named chief creative officer of BBDO The Americas in December of last year, and will succeed David as chief creative officer for BBDO Worldwide. 

“Based on the work alone, David has a place on advertising’s Mount Rushmore. If you’ve been fortunate enough to work with him, you’d probably also consider him the most reductive, decisive and supportive creative leader in the world,” said Chris. “If it weren’t for David’s leadership, I wouldn’t be here.” 

Born in Brooklyn, David found his interest and talent for advertising early on. His father, Walter Lubars, worked at DDB and JW Thompson, was Dean of the College of Communications at Boston University, and founded the BU AdLab. 

David started his career in 1982 as a copywriter at Leonard Monahan Saabye before moving to Chiat/Day LA as a writer for Apple. In 1988, he came back to Leonard Monahan, this time as a partner to build Leonard Monahan Lubars before moving on to lead BBDO West as CEO and CCO. In 1998, he took the top creative job at Fallon in Minneapolis where he made some of his best-known work, including BMW Films which broke so much new ground they had to create a new category for it at Cannes, the Titanium Lion.

David has personally won over 600 Cannes Lions, 700 One Show pencils, and seven Emmy awards. 

Endlessly restless, curious and experimental, David has said, “That’s my job, I keep stirring the concrete. Never let it harden.” 

On his decision to retire, David commented, “It’s been a 100-metre sprint over a marathon course. My knees are sore, so I'm ready to walk now. Anyone who has worked in advertising knows this is not a walking industry.”