John ‘JP’ Petty
Philadelphia native, John “JP” Petty III is Executive Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy
Portland, where he helps lead that office alongside MD Jess Monsey and creative partners Ana
and Hermeti Balarin, overseeing all creative output for brand partners, including Nike, Old
Spice, Visa, Fisher Price, HP, and Samsung to name a few.
Prior to his elevation to ECD, JP was head of social at WKNY, where he led a team of 15 social
strategists working across Anheuser-Busch InBev, Ford, McDonald’s, Kraft-Heinz, vitaminwater,
HBO, Sprite, Jordan Brand, and Lyft.
During his time in the New York office, JP helped launch WKNY’s Bodega — an internal
social-first creative group that aims to ignite conversation and advocacy by working cultural
moments into brand storytelling, versus trying to push brand storytelling onto culture.
JP was also on the team behind the explosive McDonald’s “Famous Orders” partnerships with
Travis Scott, J. Balvin, BTS, Saweetie and others, leading to the creation of numerous TikTok
trends and an ingredient shortage around the country. He also helped launch the highly
anticipated Ford Bronco after COVID cancelled automotive shows, pivoting to an entirely
organic digital and social push, leading to sold out pre-orders in under 24 hours and becoming
the #1 trending Twitter topic ––all without any paid social media.
He’s shaped culture-defining campaigns for brands by putting social at the center of creative
work. In doing that, JP transformed Wieden + Kennedy’s creative output for a new media
landscape, while shaping trends for the type of work that will guide the next generation of
advertisers. He’s also championed an inclusive recruitment approach that is welcoming a new,
diverse group of creative talent into the industry.
Formerly, as the Director of Social at Translation, he spearheaded the development of
engagement strategies for the likes of State Farm, NBA, HBO, Champs Sports, Budweiser
Made In America, NFL, and the Brooklyn Nets. While there, he worked closely with music and
advertising industry veteran, Steve Stoute to launch the artist services company, UnitedMasters,
and was instrumental in the development of their 2018 NBA sync deal. Before joining
Translation in 2013, JP served as a Social Strategist and Columnist at Raine Magazine.
In 2009, he received his Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration from the
nation’s first HBCU, Lincoln University, and in 2012, a Masters of Science in Project
Management from Drexel University. JP is a hip-hop and Philly sports fanatic, whose motto is
“Get On. Put On.” and dedicates all of his past and future work to his late mother, Wanda.