Jon Paul-Jacques (JPJ) is an advertising veteran whose journey from web design to Executive Creative Director has spanned some of the biggest agencies and brands in the world.

For the past nine years JPJ has been the Executive Creative Director on the Ford account, leading large scale campaigns that have shaped the brand’s creative direction across the region.

Starting out in the early days of digital, JPJ cut his teeth at TBWA Sydney before moving through the WPP network, leading creative teams across Australia and Asia. Over the years, he’s seen how the creative process in advertising has become more templated and structured. Not just in digital but across large scale campaigns where efficiency and production constraints now play a bigger role than ever.

In this episode we break down his career trajectory, how creative thinking has evolved in an era of automation and data, and what it takes to bring ideas to life beyond the page. We talk about the differences between markets like Sydney, Melbourne, and Shanghai, the balance between art and commerce and why choosing the right producer is just as crucial as selecting the right director.