Jerome Austria Brings America to German Carmaker
After spending a good portion of 2011 freelancing at Deutsch LA, Jerome Austria has officially been appointed as EVP, group digital creative director on the Volkswagen account. Most recently, Austria served as the creative force behind the teaser for the automaker’s Super Bowl follow-up to last year’s “The Force” called “The Bark Side,” which continued with the Star Wars theme and featured pooches barking “The Imperial March.”
You might remember Austria from his days at W+K New York, where he spent nearly three years and last served as ECD on accounts including Brand Jordan (such as the “Dominate Another Day” campaign starring Dwyane Wade) and ESPN before parting ways with the agency a year ago. Austria and co-ECD Kevin Proudfoot were subsequently replaced by Scott Vitrone and Ian Reichenthal, who returned to W+K after several years.
Anyhow, back to Austria. Though he initially planned on a temporary stay at Deutsch LA while testing out other local agencies, the success of campaigns like “The Bark Side” convinced him to stay put according to the agency, which currently houses 450+ staffers.
Before joining the advertising world, Jerome Austria worked the night shift as a security guard, drove a gas truck and fueled planes at an airport, and collected carts in a Costco parking lot. He has since directed an interactive Nike commercial featuring Rihanna; spearheaded Volkswagen’s online Super Bowl teaser, “The Bark Side”; and amassed more than 50 international awards for his work. Earlier in his career, Austria spent nearly three years at Wieden & Kennedy New York, where clients included Coca-Cola, Nike, and ESPN. He enjoys checking out the latest “curated craziness” by Humberto Leon and Carol Lim at Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles. And how does he characterize his style? “Teenage grown-up.”
Leveraging a diverse background in the visual arts, engineering, writing, and filmmaking, Jerome Austria has quickly established himself as a pioneer in interactive advertising. Most recently named EVP Digital Group Creative Director at Deutsch LA, Jerome’s career client list includes some of the world’s most recognizable brands such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Volkswagen, and ESPN. Jerome has collected over fifty international awards from some of the most prestigious competitions, including Cannes Lions, One Show Interactive, the London International Advertising Awards, and the Clios. Jerome has also been named one of fifty winners of the coveted ADC Young Guns 6 award, honoring the world’s next generation of extraordinary creative talent in visual media and design. His work has been featured in Creative Review, iD Magazine, Fast Company, SHOOT, Creativity, Adweek, Communication Arts, HOW magazine, and international design publications in Italy, China, and Denmark.
His career has many milestones including working on the pitch team that brought the Nike Digital Agency of Record business to R/GA, helping jump-start the newest AKQA office in NY with award-winning work for Coca-Cola, and spending three years building a 20+ interactive team from scratch at Wieden+Kennedy NY and then eventually running the agency as co-executive creative director in 2010.
Jerome has also directed an interactive Nike commercial featuring Def Jam recording artist Rihanna. In 2004, his directing debut at the Asian American International Film Festival garnered him the Best Director Jury Prize in the 72 Hour Shorts Program for his 6-minute short entitled “No Regrets.” His current short film entitled “Blush” will be playing at over 5 major festivals around the country.
Jerome is currently living, working, and surfing out of Los Angeles, California.
Creative Director
Wieden + Kennedy
Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry
June 2008 – May 2010 (2 years)
Providing general creative direction with a focus on interactive.
Creative Director
AKQA
Privately Held; 501-1000 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry
June 2006 – June 2008 (2 years 1 month)
Providing general creative direction for both global and US-based accounts including Coca-Cola, Motorola, Wrigley’s, Deloitte and Touche Consulting, DoubleClick, Vivendi Games, and American Eagle Outfitters.
Associate Creative Director
R/GA
Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; IPG; Marketing and Advertising industry
October 2000 – June 2006 (5 years 9 months)
Providing general creative/art direction on multiple Nike categories. Previously held senior art director, art director, senior designer, and designer positions at R/GA.
Associate Designer
Razorfish
Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; pub; Marketing and Advertising industry
September 1999 – September 2000 (1 year 1 month)
Entry level design position.
Education
University of California, Davis
B.S., Design, Visual Communication
1994 – 1999
Studied lower division Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and then changed to Design after 3rd year in Engineering to pursue the Visual Arts.