Radio Mercury Awards Final Round Judge

Ben Pfutzenreuter

ECD, BarkleyOKRP, Chicago

Ben Pfutzenreuter is a writer and executive creative director based in Chicago, Illinois. He's worked at agencies large and small, independent and publicly held. He currently oversees the creative department of BarkleyOKRP's Chicago office with his partner Matt McNulty.

He prides himself on being a good learner, a hard worker, and an emotionally available leader. He sees creativity as eccentric helping, and doesn't take this career too seriously - though he did learn that the hard way.

He's been lucky enough to create multiple lasting campaigns; numerous Super Bowl spots; and pioneering applications of technology, social media, and artificial intelligence to advertising, but writing is always the medium where his thinking begins.

His work is often defined by loud, obtrusive creative, the craft of which is rarely expressed through subtlety. Some of his most successful writing includes "Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty" and "Whopper, Whopper, Whopper, Whopper." However, he also write sentences with multiple different words, too.

Though having won virtually every major international award in advertising, the Radio Mercury awards remain an elusive unicorn, a high water mark for writers he's yet to achieve.