I hate writing about myself, so I decided to let my 8-year-old son do the intros.

My mom has fluffy hair, and she makes really good quesadillas. She is always on calls. My mom is a good sledder, she walks very fast and has taught me a lot of good things. She loves when I play guitar. She reads with me. She is a good talker.  

OK…maybe little more relevant info:

Susan is an Executive Creative Director, who joined VML in January of 2022 to run all things Unilever. Since her arrival VML has more than doubled their Unilever client roster, across all divisions from ice cream to beauty. And increased the quality of the creative output. Most recently, Susan led the Hellmann’s Super Bowl effort with Kate McKinnon and a fluffy feline we lovingly refer to as Mayo Cat, which, to quote Fast Company, will forever change what people hear, every time their cat meows. 

Since joining VML she has also won the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, in a very competitive pitch. Jews make up 2.4 of the US population, yet they receive 68% of all hate crimes. Using media in an innovative and award-winning way, the campaign launched the blue square as a symbol of this discrepancy and a call for allies, everywhere. The campaign went on to model the behavior the foundation is hoping their allies will adopt, with emotional stories like “Tony,”, a man who helps a neighbor when a swastika is painted on her garage and “Truck,” the story of a father who intervenes before his son’s on-line behavior goes any further. 

This fall the Foundation joined forces with every major sports league to call a timeout against the rising hate in this country. Owning time out moments in stadiums and broadcasts, the campaign urged the country to pause and regroup and stand up to the rise in hate to when they see it. 

Susan has been doing the creative stuff for over 25 years, don’t do the math. She is responsible for transforming the Campbells business from a montage of smiling faces, into an honest portrayal of families, women and modern life. The campaign received a lot of press (and a fair share of awards) for its honesty and its rejection of a Pinterest perfect version of life. The company saw a spike in sales after years of steady decline. 

Her work on American Family Insurance, a regional, mid-western Insurance company, out spent by everyone, separated the brand from the tropes of the category. Positioning themselves as a partner protecting the dreams of their customers, because dreams are the most valuable thing anyone can own. An insight that resonated with their customers to the tune of a significant increase in quotes and conversion. Not to mention a Webby finalist, Cannes lion and other medals.

While at BBDO Susan also ran the woman’s Gillette business, changing the work from just beauty to stories of substance, stories with humor, stories that resonate with women today.

She’s won a bunch of awards, in every major show, across her body of work and from her son for best quesadilla.