Doug Kagan

I grew  up in Brooklyn, way before it was cool. I studied pre-med in college, but quickly discovered I was more interested in dissecting screenplays than lab specimens.

 

I found my way to advertising, where I could tell stories, make people laugh or cry and, in the end, have them feel good about buying stuff.

 

I also discovered the best way to do that: You tell the truth. No matter what the product is, I believe there's an insight—tapping into an emotional benefit—that will resonate with consumers in an honest, 'yeah, that's me' way.

 

My first job was at BBDO, where I went Everywhere You Want To Be with Visa, revived the No One Can Eat Just One campaign for Lay’s and brought Mountain Dew out of the country and into urban cool.  I was also lucky enough to indulge my passion for photography with work for Polaroid and later, after moving to Grey, Canon.  

 

At GREY, I fulfilled another lifelong dream by working on Topps Baseball cards, trying to keep an analog brand relevant in a digital world. Subsequently, I did work for Parker Brothers, Nerf and Smucker’s,  and helped pitch and win the Red Lobster, National Parks Service and AARP accounts. Then I moved on to the OTC world, as creative lead on Advil Congestion Relief, and AdvilPM in addition to the  14+ brands that make up 3M.

 

And now, my career has truly come full circle, as I transitioned into the DTC and HCP health care spaces, satisfying both my science-y left brain with my creative right brain. From CDM, and Wunderman Health, to McCann Health, I have created OTC campaigns for Theraflu, Flonase,  parodontax,  as well as DTC and HCP work for Entresto, Enfamil, and Bayer, among others.

 

Over the years, I’ve won Clio, ADDY, One Show and EFFIE, and London International awards.

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I live in New York City with my wife, 2 daughters and a rambunctious Portuguese Water dog. My secret passion is to raise heirloom tomatoes, admittedly a difficult task in NYC. I also bike to work everyday, despite what my wife says.