The Work That Made Me: Scott Harkey

Scott Harkey’s agency is turning the heads of brands and holding companies alike with its passionate, agile work, focused strategy, innovative analytics and an unmatched company culture. Under Scott's leadership, OH Partners has become one of the largest, most-decorated agencies in the southwest - expanding alongside its award-winning sister companies, digital agency Nomadic and production company Matter Films. OH Partners has consistently been ranked one of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing private companies, and Adweek lists the agency as one of the fastest-growing on the planet. OH has led marketing and digital campaigns for clients including Walt Disney, National Geographic, and AirBnB, Virgin Hotels, and Wynn Resorts to name a few. 

1. The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me...

Beastie Boys, Sabotage. It’s all of these guys dressed as '70s cops, running around busting people. At the time of its release, nobody had seen a music video like that. It was so creative; it was hilarious. 

2. The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry... 

I was working for CBS Radio, and when Spotify came out it completely blew everything out of the water. It set a new precedent, and I knew that the music business was changing forever. You never want to be on the side of a historic media driven solution. You want to be on the side of innovation. As a music fan, Spotify was that. 

3. The creative work (film/album/game/ad/book/poem/etc) that I keep revisiting…

A documentary called ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’. The film is about street art, its complexity, and the players involved. How the documentary came to life still makes me think to this day. You have Mr. Nice Guy, who has made a documentary about Banksy. They’re both creating culturally relevant illegal art that changed the art business. The film changed how people thought about street art. Honestly, Banksy should go down as one of the most creative people of our generation. His art is illegal, and he’s a wanted person all over the world, and yet he was highlighting social injustice before social injustice was talked about on a wide scale. He understood how to make work viral before that was even a thing, and he’s one of the most brilliant marketers of all time.  

4. My first professional project...

My first professional project was to help rebrand the Arena Football League after it went bankrupt, which screwed ticket holders out of thousands of dollars. Immediately following that, I was brought on to produce their broadcast and negotiate all of their deals. 

5. The piece of work (ad/music video/platform) that still makes me jealous...

It may be cliche, but The Fearless Girl campaign makes me jealous. I have a daughter. There have been tons of different takes on it, and it’s an iconic campaign. I also like the Wendy’s 'Where’s the Beef?' campaign. It’s so authentic, and the brand had to read into consumer brand dissatisfaction to create it. You also really saw business wars start to come into play then.

6. The creative project that changed my career...

Launching Virgin Hotels in the United States. It’s such an iconic brand, lead by Richard Branson, who has been behind so many different projects. As an independent boutique in the US, to be in charge of launching that kind of brand here was pretty insane. It changed what we thought was possible as an agency. 

7. The work that I'm proudest of...

Most recently, I’m incredibly proud of our anti-nicotine work for the Arizona Department of Health Services. With these films, we aimed to provide encouragement, visibility, and support to the people who are on the journey to become nicotine free. That work actually won two Rocky Mountain Emmys this year, which speaks to our team’s commitment to creating groundbreaking work in healthcare communications.

8. The recent project I was in that excited me the most....

The recent work that our digital agency Nomadic did for National Geographic. We also had our film company, Matter Films, involved. To see both companies work with a brand like Nat Geo, and to have that team be impressed with the work that they produced - there is no higher compliment. That was pretty exciting.

9. I was involved in this and it makes me cringe...

Some of the automotive work I did in the beginning of my career was pretty cringey. It was the cliche car ad - we had the running car footage, an aggressive male narrator, and the big bold white letters highlighting special offers.