A CMO once kicked off a creative presentation by telling me he had an idea for an ad agency. It’s called “Wallpaper.” Because that’s what the majority of advertising is. Work that’s safe. Blends in. Mostly forgettable. Often invisible. With zero talk value. Then he asked to see the ideas we had brought him.
Hi, I’m Dave Metcalf
I don’t make Wallpaper
I make 50th Anniversary Hijackings. The World’s Slowest Pizza Delivery. Baby Making Stations. Glass Cleaner Trophies. Cover Crop Whiskey. The Campaign for Real Beauty. Hemingway in 15 Seconds. Michael Phelps Training for 2032. Neil Patrick Harris surviving the holidays. Sausage Scented Wrapping Paper. Mosquito Repelling Diapers. Vials of melted NHL Stanley Cup championship ice. And a way for heart transplant waiting list patients to get more hearts. See work
I am a writer and
Executive Creative Director
who relentlessly avoids
ideas that blend in
I’ve created transformative work for iconic brands, including Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty and the first Cannes Lion wins for Huggies, Jimmy Dean and Sargento cheese. My ideas have generated billions of earned media impressions and have been talked about everywhere from Good Morning America to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I’ve received every major industry award – Cannes, One Show, CA, Effies. But my favorite trophy is the Stanley Cup, which I helped the Chicago Blackhawks hoist three times with a two-word campaign: “One Goal.”
What drives me can also be summed up in two words: Think Biggerer.
No, that’s not a typo. I put an extra “er” on there to emphasize this point. Because as technology gets tech-ier, data gets data-ier, and AI gets more mind blowingly AI-ier, the only thing we’ll have left is big ideas. Ones that rise above all the noise, connect on an emotional level, and resonate deeply with actual human beings. I’ve been making this kind of work all my career alongside some incredibly talented people at the best agencies in the world. See my full resume at LinkedIn.