Sam Shepherd is Chief Creative Officer at Uncommon Creative Studio in New York City.
Prior to Uncommon, Sam worked at Leo Burnett Chicago where he was D&AD’s most awarded Executive Creative Director in the world. In just under 2 years, Sam led Leo Burnett to Agency of the Year honors, in addition to landing coveted global account wins with Powerade and Maker’s Mark. A two-time D&AD Black Pencil recipient, Emmy-nominee, and 12-time Grand Prix winner, Sam’s work for Change the Ref, “The Lost Class”, is one of the most awarded ideas of all-time. Throughout his career, Sam has partnered with some of the world’s most innovative companies to build their brands and launch industry first ideas. Fluidly moving across every medium, Sam has pioneered a new creative approach that blends strategy, technology, and data to fearlessly solve his client's toughest challenges.
In 2017, Sam and his partner Frank Cartagena were tasked with building 360i New York into one of the US’s most innovative and integrated agencies. Named as one of Campaign’s Agencies of the Year, Sam was responsible for the first Cannes Grand Prix win in 360i’s history for his work on HBO’s Westworld “The Maze” activation; creating a first-of-its kind immersive gaming experience with Amazon Alexa.
In 2014, Sam joined Deutsch New York, where in just under 3 years he lead the agency to their first ever Cannes Titanium Lion for his work on ‘Krylon’s Pinterest Yardsale’, a project that paved new ground for brand partnerships and emerging platform functionality with the launch of Pinterest’s buyable pin feature. During this time, Sam was named a two-time Business Insider 30-under-30 winner.
Sam started his career at DDB New York, where his work for the charity WaterIsLife helped win the agencies’ first Cannes Lions in over 10 years and his work on ‘The Drinkable Book’ was named to TIME Magazine’s best inventions of the year.
In addition to his love for advertising, Sam shares a passion for helping worthy causes. His work for Change the Ref and Water Is Life has helped propel the issues of gun violence and the world water crisis into the global spotlight, garnering awareness and life-saving donations for two of the most important issues facing the world today.
Prior to starting his career in advertising, Sam attended the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in communications and design. As a two-sport division 1 athlete, Sam was an All-Ivy League recipient in Track and field.
#1 Ranked ECD - Globally - D&AD - 2022
#1 Ranked ECD - Globally - The OneClub for Creativity - 2022
#1 Ranked ECD - Globally - The Drum - 2022
Agency of the Year - Leo Burnett Chicago - D&AD, The Clios, One Show, Art Directors Club - 2022
Business Insider - Rising Stars of Madison Avenue - 2020
Business Insider 30 Under 30 - 2015 & 2016
One Show - Ones to Watch - Winner - 2015
Jury Member - AICP - 2022
Jury Member - London International Awards - 2021
Jury Member - New York Festivals - 2019
Jury Member - The Webbys - 2019
Jury Member - One Show - Young Ones Competition - 2017
Jury Member - Cannes Young Lions - Print - 2016
Speaker - D&AD - 2022
Speaker - ON Strategy Showcase - 2022
Speaker - American Advertising Federation - 2017
Teacher - Miami Ad School NYC - 2015 - 2017
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Uncommon Creative Studio
Chief Creative Officer
New York, NY
2023
Leo Burnett
EVP, Global Executive Creative Director
Chicago, IL
2020 - 2023
360i
Executive Creative Director
New York, NY
2017 - 2020
KBS+
Group Creative Director
New York, NY
2017
DEUTSCH
Creative Director
New York, NY
2014 - 2017
DDB
Associate Creative Director
New York, NY
2011 - 2014
MOTHER
Art Director
New York, NY
2011
OGILVY
Art Director
Sao Paulo, Brazil
2010
SAATCHI & SAATCHI
Art Director
Moscow, Russia
2010
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MIAMI AD SCHOOL
Art Direction
2010-2011
THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Communications, Design
2005-2009
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samk.shepherd@gmail.com