Jonathan Horner
Creative Director / Writer

THE ME

Born in Auckland • New Zealand in the 80s looked a lot like the rest of the world in the 70s • Locked myself in a toilet •.Won a Sega • Became a national sausage judge • Became a journalist • And a court registrar • Filled out bail terms for Upper Hutt criminals • Tried to restore cars • One car caught fire while driving on the highway • Stopped restoring cars • Got into advertising on a bet • Became an Art Director • Moved countries • Started an ad agency • Won shiny things • Closed down the ad agency • Moved to Kenya • Made friends with the Nairobi national park • Learned how to walk again • Moved to the Middle East • Shot with soccer stars and found out Rinaldo has a body double • Moved to London • Didn’t meet the Queen • Switched to being a writer • Seized green card • Pond hopped to New York • Became a Madison Avenue fixture • Owner of a US passport • Ran accounts • Saved accounts • Ordered food in the evenings • Saw my name mispelled in various festivals and publications, including Cannes, One Show, Ad Age, The Drum, DMAs, Campaign, The Work, Ad Stars, Lurzer’s, and CA • Good at manifestos • Better at looking beyond them • Can replace a boiler.

 

Jonathan Horner is a creative director, a writer and, in one of life’s less glamorous appointments, president of his Park Slope condo board.

Known for work spanning five continents, Asia, Africa, Oceania, Europe, and North America, Jonathan has built a career on adaptability. He has launched brand campaigns across categories ranging from face moisturizer to financial literacy, and is known by CMOs and brand managers as someone who can translate brand thinking into clear, compelling campaign platforms.

When not talking about himself in the third person, he’s no stranger to startup culture. He co-founded an agency and helped grow it across two countries, working with clients including Mountain Dew, Olympus, and Amnesty International.

New York is now home. In his time here, Jonathan has led brand creative across accounts ranging from The Wall Street Journal to BlackRock. He takes cultural cues and turns them into actionable work, helping agencies and brands express their philosophies with work that stands out and enters culture.

His Madison Avenue experience has seen him lead teams ranging from one (himself) to 25. And he has mentored Miami Ad School students, led teams at every level, and understands when to be scrappy to get the work out and when to slow down and sweat the craft.

Brooklyn by day, Silver Lake on some weekends, he is open to working wherever E Pluribus Unum still means something.

2026 will change brand behavior… and Jonathan Horner’s here for it.

 

RECOGNITION

CANNES LIONS / ONE SHOW / ANDY AWARDS / SHOTS SHOWCASE / WPP ANNUAL SHOWCASE / LÜRZER’S ARCHIVE / DMA / ADMA / EFFIES / THE WORK / AWARD / AXIS / (A FEW OTHERS I CAN’T REMEMBER, BUT IF YOU SHOWED ME THE TROPHY IN A LINE UP I MAY BE ABLE TO GET THERE WITH A “THAT’S IT”)

RECENT AGENCIES I’VE FREELANCED WITH

DROGA5 NYC / MCCANN NYC / FCB NYC / VML NYC / ADAM&EVE DDB NYC / HUGE NYC /

ACCENTURE SONG NYC / PUBLICIS NYC / FIG NYC / MRM NYC / THE COMMUNITY NYC

EMAIL

jonathan.horner@gmail.com

RESUME

See here

Creative director who is open to chats

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Creative director who is open to chats 🫦

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