Senior Creative (AD Level) - Sports & Pop Culture

Burson•New York City, NY

About The Position

Burson Creative: You’ll be joining a creative team that’s been recognized with Cannes Lions, Clios, One Show, New York Festivals, SABER, and PRWeek awards, but more importantly, a team that’s curious, collaborative, and constantly pushing each other to do work that earns attention. The Creative team works across the full Burson client roster to ideate, develop, and produce earned-first campaigns, building original ideas that cut through culture not just the noise. Our work connects people and brands by digging deeper, imagining more, and creating campaigns and content designed to live anywhere and travel everywhere. We’ve intentionally brought together a mix of designers, writers, producers, and creators from different backgrounds, cultures, and points of view, because better work comes from diverse voices challenging each other. We’re looking for people who love what they do, value different perspectives, and are excited to roll up their sleeves to help push our creative even further. Check out our latest work here. https://www.bursonglobal.com/locations/us/creative-careers-at-burson-us Senior Creative, Sports & Pop Culture Location: US East Coast Time We’re looking for a Senior Creative who lives in the overlap of sport and culture —someone who refreshes Versus, Hypebeast, House of Highlights and SLAM like its email. You’re a sports mad tastemaker : obsessed with the NBA, NFL, MLB and soccer—especially the way the game moves from stadiums to the streets through kits, tunnel fits, collabs and drops. You don’t just clock trends, you see them coming and know exactly how to hijack a moment and turn it into work the people actually care about. Crucially, you’re earned first . You think in headlines, hooks and moments that earn coverage and conversation before anything else. You know how to turn cultural tension into an angle, a stunt, a social series or a brand act that gets picked up by press, creators and fans— not just pushed out as an ad. You’re equally dangerous as an art director and a writer . You can build a world, name it, script it, and see how it shows up as a post, a kit launch, a tunnel moment, an IRL stunt and a Cannes case. If you live for big games, big drops, big stories and big ideas, this is your lane.

Requirements

5+ years in the game Experience in a creative role at an agency or in‑house, with a portfolio that proves you can think and execute at a high level across both art direction and copy .
Sports obsessed culture head A deep, demonstrable obsession with the intersection of sport, entertainment and culture.
You understand fan psychology, live for big moments, and can translate the evolving zeitgeist and athletic narratives into sharp, brandright ideas.
Dual threat portfolio Work that shows you can do both: Visual craft: design, photography direction, film, social/digital experiences. Word craft: headlines, scripts, social content, concept lines and platform thinking.
Ideally with multiple pieces sitting at the crossroads of sport and culture.
Earned first mindset: Examples of ideas built to earn—PR stunts, cultural activations, social moments, partnerships or drops that generated real coverage, conversation and fan engagement.
Time zone fit: Based on the US East Coast Time
Conceptual Thinker: Proven ability to develop sophisticated, strategic, and innovative concepts that not only solve complex business challenges but specifically leverage and reflect the dynamic relationship between sports and wider pop culture trends.
Communication Master: Excellent presentation, communication, and interpersonal skills, capable of articulating a creative vision to diverse audiences.
Production Savvy: Experience guiding projects through all phases of production, understanding the nuances of visual and written content creation.
Team Player: A collaborative spirit with the ability to work effectively across disciplines and inspire those around you.

Responsibilities

Concept & Craft Build big, integrated, earned first ideas
Create campaign platforms, activations and content series that connect sport and culture—on field, in arena and online—with visuals and narratives that feel native to fans and newsworthy to editors.
Drive stories in earned and social Start with the question: what’s the headline, what’s the clip, what’s the moment people will share?
Develop ideas designed to travel through PR, creators, fan pages and social feeds, not just paid media.
Own the story and the look Define the creative world for our clients: tone of voice, visual language, references, and how it flexes across social, digital, PR, broadcast, OOH and experiential.
You know what will actually move fans , not just tick boxes.
Trendjack with taste Spot cultural tensions, narratives and live moments in sport and wider culture where brands can genuinely show up—and turn them into sharp, timely concepts and executions.
Pitch like you mean it Sell ideas in a way that gets clients hyped: sharp decks, strong rationale, clear links to fandom, culture and earned impact.
You can talk kit culture, collabs, drops and highlight reels with equal confidence.
Ship with taste and precision Drive work from sketch to launch—across film, design, social and experiential—protecting the idea, the craft and the details (copy, visuals, rights, legal) all the way through.
Chase work that wins Lead at least two standout, award‑worthy projects end‑to-end, turning raw fan insight and cultural tension into ideas that blow up in culture and land on juries’ shortlists.
Sport, Culture & Influence Be the in-house sport & culture brain
Bring a deep understanding of US sports, global soccer and the way fans actually behave—on social, in group chats, in bars, at games.
You’re the one who knows what’s next, not just what’s now.
Live the feeds Constantly mine platforms like Versus, Hypebeast, Complex, Bleacher Report, Reddit, TikTok and IG fan pages for signals, storylines and opportunities for brands to plug into.
Leadership & Mentorship Be a true creative partner
Act as a key creative lead on one or more accounts, plugged into client challenges, fan behavior and the sport and culture landscape—helping shape briefs, not just answer them.
Help grow the agency Bring the same energy to pitches and organic growth that you bring to campaigns: spot opportunities, jump on them, and help win new work with ideas that feel right for fans and right for the brand.
Raise the creative bar Lead initiatives that level up the agency’s creative reputation—sharing references, pushing craft, and championing ideas that belong in culture, not just in decks.
Inspire the room Bring energy, taste and a positive, no ego attitude that lifts teammates, collaborators and clients.
You make the work better and the process more fun.
Develop the squad Manage and mentor junior creatives and freelancers, giving clear direction and useful feedback.
Work tightly with strategy, account and production to land joined up, earned ready, impossible to ignore ideas.