About me

Ben got into advertising to change advertising. He has a willful imagination, a curiosity for the human experience, and believes that creativity should be a force for good, a force for business, and a force available to anyone willing to try.

He has a strong appreciation for the category of "other." He believes in a broad definition for the word, content. That can be seen in his 2017 work for Northwell Health - The Fin. What was originally briefed as a print ad, became the facilitation of a creative process that will change the lives of thousands of Americans.

He built a platform for Listerine that spanned 86 countries, and was made available to content creators in different cultures, different languages, and appropriated to different parts of their lives.

He created a Dubai Lynx and MENA Effie award-winning campaign for Egyptian tourism. An ecosystem that used Instagram as its hub, but was influenced by a cinematic film that acted as a style guide for the nation, to tell the world about the Real Egypt.

Ben James is the Managing Director of Creative Innovation at J. Walter Thompson New York, and a Global Executive Creative Director overseeing creative on Listerine, Northwell Health, Nestle and various other brands. From 2008 to 2011, he was with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) as a creative director/marketing agent, working for Diageo, Gap, Virgin Australia, and for entertainers such as Miley Cyrus. He began his career at Crispin Porter + Bogusky Miami/Los Angeles. His work has garnered accolades from the advertising and entertainment industries, including Cannes Lions, Clios, the Jay Chiat Awards, Effies, Obies, Adweek's Project Isaacs, D&AD, Sundance Film Festival, MTV Video Music Awards, One Show and ANDYs, a Yahoo Big Idea Chair, a Webby, and many others.