Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’, Honda, and Jazz: The Work That Made Nathan Crow

Nathan Crow is senior vice president and group creative director at RPA. With 24 years of experience, he’s created iconic work for Honda, and co-led breakthrough campaigns for brands like AMPM, Arco, QuickBooks, Pocky, La-Z-Boy, the LA Clippers, Dole, Halo Pet Food, Southwest Airlines, and Spectrum Business.

Passionate about giving back, Nathan has also spent 20 years teaching at the Bookshop Portfolio School, helping aspiring creatives enter the industry. Outside of work, he enjoys gardening, spending time with his son, supporting his wife’s studies, and drawing ‘#Crowtoons’.

Nathan chatted with LBB about exactly where he was when first watching Michael Jackson’s iconic ‘Thrillier’ music video, the college professor that inspired him to get into advertising, and when his life long love for jazz began.

The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…

Nathan> It was long before the internet came creeping into our lives. December 2nd, 1983, to be precise. There I sat, at the age of six, watching MTV with my older brothers, when Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ made its debut.

The mesmerising music, the well-choreographed dancing, the campy storytelling, the elaborate costumes and incredible transformation left a lasting creative impression.

The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…

Nathan> After realising my parents’ dream of me becoming a pediatrician wasn’t in the cards (a midterm 1.5 GPA being the clear indication), I found myself swapping my degree into communication with an emphasis on advertising, and thus changed the course of my life.

The thing, or more important, the person who inspired me to get into advertising was Dan Petek, a college professor with the energy of 1,000 men. His passion lit a fuse that illuminated the path of desire to enter the world of advertising, and I never looked back.

The creative work that I keep revisiting…

Nathan> Back in junior high, the entire school drudgingly made its way into the cafeteria for an assembly where the high school jazz band performed. It was the first time I experienced shivers along my spine, and hence, the birth of my love for jazz.

I played through college, and while I’ve expanded my musical taste into other genres, I always seem drawn to my first love. It’s the epitome of creativity. Improvisation, where it seems like musicians have complete freedom to play, continues to amaze me. Whether it’s two musicians or 10, they work together as a team to create something beautiful. Kind of like advertising.

My first professional project…

Nathan> During my first year of being a copy-typist in the proofreading department, I was asked to help come up with ideas to launch Honda’s newest vehicle, the oddly-shaped ‘Element’. The senior team liked some of the things we presented, and so did the client. It just happened to be my first location shoot in Colorado and Utah, which was an exciting start to my career.

The piece of work that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…

Nathan> Those Quiznos ‘Spongmonkeys’ still give me nightmares.

The piece of work that still makes me jealous…

Nathan> That’s an extensive list, but probably a print campaign (of all mediums) from Lego that was so simple and strategic, and said so much about the product and, more importantly, the power and potential of a brick combined with the wild imagination of a child.

The creative project that changed my career…

Nathan> I think every project I’m involved in changes my career in one way or another. One non-client-related project was creating the branding for RPA, which involved a giant wallscape in the courtyard. That was cool.

The work that I’m proudest of…

Nathan> Without a doubt the ‘Small Business Big Game’ campaign we did for Intuit/QuickBooks. We turned a Super Bowl spot into a year-long social platform that educated tens of thousands of small businesses, created massive, earned attention for QuickBooks, and gave GoldieBlox – a real small business – its very own Super Bowl commercial. It was so successful, the team did it again.

I was involved in this, and it makes me cringe…

Nathan> I like to think most of my work steers clear of cringe. But one campaign raised a few eyebrows. It was for a dog food brand touting digestive health, which inspired a quirky character named Poopsie. The idea felt a bit risky at first, but after testing, Poopsie came out the clear winner, and the campaign delivered. Cringe? Possibly. But when the weird idea wins, you call it creative.

The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…

Nathan> Forming a content creator team to handle social for our clients and adapting AI into our creative process gets me thinking about where advertising is heading... and that gets me excited!