Pete Johnson is the Executive Creative Director of Nickelodeon Creative Advertising (NCA). Prior to creating NCA, Pete was the Group Creative Director on the General Mills Youth business for Saatchi & Saatchi. And before that, he was the Creative Director of the On-Air department for Cartoon Network. Pete got his start as an NBC Page at 30 Rock. Pete and his siblings own a dairy farm called Hacienda La Chima in the Andes of Ecuador. It’s been in his family for over 100 years. Pete lives in Brooklyn with his wife and 3 children.
questionnaire
What was your very first job?
I worked at McDonald’s for 5 weeks.
Please describe, in your own words, what your job is and what work it entails.
I am the ECD of Nickelodeon Creative Advertising. I guide and direct a team of incredibly talented creative people.
How did you discover that the creative world was right for you? Was there a time in your life that you credit to this discovery? What was there train of events that brought you to where you are today?
I always wanted to work in the creative world in some capacity. A creative writing class in high school was the first time I thought to myself, “This is what I want to do.”
In your constantly growing and expanding industry, how do you find inspiration to keep your work fresh, innovative and relevant?
I am inspired by my team every day and by the fact that I get to create for a living.
If you had to pick one piece of work or project that you are most proud of, more for the creative work and innovation it required, rather than its recognition or industry “success,” what would it be?
Even though “I have to pick one piece work” I simply can’t. I am very lucky to work on such a wide of variety of projects for a diverse list of clients it’s impossible to pick just one. For me, every brief is an opportunity to do amazing work.