John McFarland's Page

What can you say about John? Alright, what else can you say about him? Well, we can say a lot actually, and almost all of it is good. (But don’t tell him we said that – we don’t want it to go to his head.)

John’s a take-charge kind of guy. You want it, John will get it. Or at least he’ll figure out how to get it. It’s part of his personality to do what it takes to get the job done. That, plus a lot of on-the-job training.

You see, John got his start on the ground floor of this industry. Literally, his first job was on the first floor of the building where he worked, hawking stock photography to unsuspecting advertising art directors and filing the negatives (remember those?) in alphabetical order. After a very short stint in advertising sales, John wised up and worked at a real agency, one that was just starting out (ground floor reference again) but eventually grew into a powerhouse sports and event marketing agency. That’s where he sharpened his customer relations and business developments skills – and we’re forever grateful to them.

But after much introspection, John lit out for greener pastures and began working at an agency where he met – and was unduly influenced by – three guys who had equally big ideas. Together, they went on to form Black Lab Creative, and created a paradigm shift within the advertising industry by establishing an agency that cares about its clients, listens to them, partners with them, and works hard to achieve their objectives. Not ivory tower thinking, ground floor thinking.