Ogilvy Names Gerard Caputo as Group Executive Creative Director for North America
Ogilvy has announced that Gerard Caputo has been named group executive creative director for North America. Gerard, who joins from Wieden + Kennedy, will serve as the creative lead for Verizon Consumer Group and Verizon Business. In this role, Gerard will be responsible for helping shape and drive the creative vision for one of America’s most iconic brands. Gerard will report to Rafael Rizuto, chief creative officer of Ogilvy North America.
Rafael said, “Gerard is someone I’ve always followed closely and admired – an extraordinary talent who also happens to be one of the humblest people I’ve ever met. He's that kind of creative – curious first, challenge-driven, brave in his ideas – and the perfect match for our work with Verizon, as a brand with big ambitions. I am so happy to join forces with Gerard here at Ogilvy, and to see how he will help us break more new ground in the category, in creativity and in culture.”
Gerard said, “I believe the two things that matter most are the opportunity to work on brands deeply embedded in people’s lives and doing it with good, talented people. The more I learned about the role at Ogilvy, it was clear those things exist here. I’m really excited to have the chance to work alongside Liz, Rafa and so many others for a brand with such great ambitions.”
Gerard takes the creative lead as Verizon and Ogilvy continue an ambitious partnership to break the marketing mold within the telecommunications industry and beyond. In the past year, the agency produced such award-winning, culture-grabbing work as ‘Can’t B Broken’ with Beyonce for Super Bowl LVIII, the Verizon Barbie StreamHouse, and Verizon FanFest experience for Super Bowl LIX, and supported the brand through strategic shifts including its 2024 brand refresh and launch of new customer-first programs and benefits, and most recently, the company’s industry-leading three-year price lock and free phone guarantee alongside the humorously straightforward promotional campaign fronted by Pete Davidson. As the agency-brand partnership deepens, earlier this year, WPP also announced the arrival of Lyndsey Corona as global growth lead, responsible in part for driving the agency’s relationship with Verizon.
Gerard joins Ogilvy from Wieden + Kennedy, where he served as group creative director, and prior to that, he served as chief creative officer of BBH New York. He also previously held roles at BBDO, Fallon, Mullen and CP+B. His body of work has been repeatedly recognized by every major award show, including a Cannes Grand Prix for Netflix as well as an Emmy for PBS. His client experience includes brands such as PlayStation, Bud Light, American Express, BMW, FedEx and FanDuel.
Gerard’s arrival comes at a powerful moment for Ogilvy, an agency consistently recognised for its ability to drive creative impact. Recent industry accolades include being named the World’s Most Creative & Most Effective Network by WARC for the unprecedented third consecutive year, alongside Agency Network of the Year recognition from Ad Age and top honors in The Drum’s World Creative Rankings.
