Paul Brourman

While the advertising industry struggled with perhaps its most turbulent identity crisis in decades, Paul Brourman took action in 2007 and launched a new agency model called Sponge. Without a single client, the visionary founder believed the only way to push brands to their fullest potential was to create a more experimental “lab for new thinking.” In just four years, Sponge has partnered with companies like Sears Optical, AutoZone, Penguin Publishing and others to peel back the veneer and deliver deeper, more meaningful connections between brands and their customers stating, “If it isn’t raw humanity at its core, it’s not real. We have a zero tolerance policy for the superficial.”

Prior to Sponge, Paul’s role as SVP, Group Creative Director at DDB Chicago was instrumental in reviving the tired retailer JCPenney back from the brink from a brand described as “vanilla and outdated” to BrandWeek’s Marketer of the Year in 2005 and the Retail Conference’s Multimedia Gold award for two consecutive years. He also led creative efforts for Unilever, McDonald’s, Energizer, Discover Card and Luxottica Retail among many others. For over two decades during his tenure at DDB and now at Sponge, Paul’s philosophies and creative leadership have led to a vast array of award-winning and highly effective solutions for his clients. “We’re not just about famous work, but work that’s famously effective,” he quips.