Writer.
Verified Guy.
Multi-Millionaire of Streams & Views Haver.
Stuff Doer.
Intro
What up doe. My name is John Johnson Jr. (Jay² or Jay Squared), and I’ve started my journey at Wieden+Kennedy with an apprenticeship called “The Kennedys” where I’ve learned the ins and outs of the advertising ecosystem. I got hired, and got to werk. (I spelled it like that on purpose)
Agency Work
Starting with a music background and a fanbase from content creation, I gained a lot of interest in learning how advertising works in a modern form, strategy, ad campaigns, and how society (people on social media) interacts with advertising in general.
(Ask me about ‘em)
01
“Listen”
| Views: 200K+ | Likes: 14.7K+ | Comments 2K+ |
Problem: I didn’t have strong music industry connections to hear me out.
Solution: Make a bunch of content talking to people in music.
The “Listen” campaign was a personal project that I wanted to test to build my music brand. It is my catchphrase in Detroit now lol. The hook was to tell “listeners” motivational statements with a comical undertone toward content creators and musical folks in the age range of 18-38. I’ve managed to stay consistent with my view count, amassing over 200K views on Instagram Reels, and have interacted with many influential people in content creation & music. Such as Amber Grimes, former SVP of Capitol Records and current EVP/GM at Love Renaissance (LVRN), Kat MacLean Daley, current VP & Head of Publishing at Death Row Records, and many other cool folks in music. I send them good memes from time to time, too.
02
“In A Nutshell”
| Views: 4.4M+ | Likes: 993.5K+ | Comments: 10K
Problem: It’s pretty tough to explain simple/complex concepts in engaging ways.
Solution: Make a bunch of content where you explain things in a nutshell.
“In A Nutshell” was something I wanted to do to build my comedic voice with my brand. These are some of my favourite pieces of content. My goal was to take simple or complex topics and concepts and try to sum them up in a funny way. I was targeting folks in the 18-55 age range who love comedy and stand-up and just need a laugh. My view count exceeded my goals and expectations of just getting to 100K. I accumulated over 4M views on TikTok and engaged with one of the Kings of Comedy himself, Steve Harvey, for my “Family Feud In A Nutshell” videos. I’m still trippin’ about this. I used a bag of Taki’s as a microphone.
03
“Jabria, Can You…”
| Views: 11.5M+ | Likes: 2.9M+ | Comments: 24.7K+ |
Problem: I didn’t have a fanbase on TikTok.
Solution: Make a bunch of content to get the attention of a content creator with a fanbase.
Okay, this campaign is just hilarious to me. So, the very successful content creator La’ron Hines (@laronhinesofficial) has a segment on his TikTok channel where he asks kids at his sister’s preschool if they are smart, followed by a question that might be pretty difficult for a pre-schooler to answer correctly. His sister, Jabria, and the rest of the children in the pre-school would give hilarious answers, and that would be the segment ending every video with an “Alright, Good job!” assuring the children for trying to answer. (It Gave “Kids Say The Darndest Things” energy) I enjoyed watching these videos for their wholesome undertones. (I have so many puppy vids and wholesome vids saved on my phone it’s wild. Lol) So, I decided to jokingly make a campaign where I’d take the same setup as La’ron Hines and have “Jabria” or whomever I chose of the children to say very intellectual and scientific responses (with my best Neil Degrasse Tyson impression). My target was La’Ron Hines, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and NASA, so people aged around 25-65. My first video in doing that reached over 3.3M views and almost 1M likes. I connected with some mighty minds in NASA & STEM to follow me. I was also the number 3 trending video on the #startalk hashtag (Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s “Star Talk” show where they discuss everything about the Cosmos.)
Noticing all of this traffic and attention I was getting, I wanted to circle this energy toward my music brand. So I similarly made another campaign just with the statement change of “Jabria, Can You Rap?” taking the song (and voice) by The Notorious B.I.G’s “Juicy” and changing all of the lyrics to pre-school friendly targeting an extensive age range of 18-65. My most viral video with this shift hit over 4.9M views and over 1.3M Likes, around 10K comments, and interactions from very pivotal Hip Hop news sources in culture today, such as RapTV, TheShadeRoom, HotNewHipHop, and other music publications. I grew over 170K followers on TikTok overnight and my phone was physically heavier from the notifications.
03
My CL
Regarding social & creative campaigns, I’m intertwined with how creatives think to make the process easier for teams to do their thing. I call bullsh*t often and always love assisting and helping folks in a team for the most optimal work. I’m continually growing, learning, and thriving to excel in my field.
In addition, I’ve written short stories, video and content treatments, scripts for feature films & TV series, song lyrics, and many other creative writing mediums. I curate playlists for my community, The Atwater Company, where music artists find solace & music lovers find their flow.
I’m based in Detroit but available to travel for longer consulting engagements. Call/email/carrier pigeon me if you want to see some W+K ad campaigns I’ve worked on & been apart of.