From Super Bowl spots to his upcoming work with Coventry Direct insurance, the chief creative officer of Pinnacle Advertising looks back on his proudest work as part of LBB’s ‘The Work That Made Me’ series.
Jac Mansour is the chief creative officer at Pinnacle Advertising in Schaumburg, IL. For the past 12 years, Jac has overseen Super Bowl commercials for Pinnacle’s largest account, WeatherTech.
He’s also guided the creative department and helped win numerous clients across many categories. Jac started his career in Detroit, where he created campaigns for Ford, Mazda, PNC Bank, Six Flags, ADT and more.
Jac has been written up in Adweek, recognised in Communication Arts, and has won many awards. But his real pride and joy are his two children. When he’s not busy with his kids, Jac pretends he’s a runner, competing in 5K races throughout the year.
Jac sat down with LBB to look back on high school performances inspired by his favourite infomercials and the music videos and art that continue to inspire him.
The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…
a-ha’s ‘Take On Me’. The pencil-sketch animation mixed with live-action film was so breakthrough and way ahead of its time.
The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…
Recreating the Ginsu knife infomercial up on stage in high school. Got a few laughs. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked.
The creative work that I keep revisiting…
The Museum of Modern Art. Every time I’m in New York, I try to visit. It’s very inspiring to see the classics as well as anything new being displayed. A first-class organisation.
My first professional project…
Writing 10-second price-and-item radio inserts for Giant Eagle grocery store.
The piece of work that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…
Nothing comes to mind. I think if I see something I despise, I don’t give it too much space in the grey matter, and it ends up being forgotten forever. Thank goodness!
The piece of work that still makes me jealous…
The Monster.com Super Bowl commercial. ‘When I Grow Up’ shot in black and white with kids talking about all the dead-end jobs that exist. Incredibly emotional, and it still holds up and resonates 20 years after it first aired.
The creative project that changed my career…
A commercial I wrote for Mazda called ‘Cool World’. Mixing animation and live-action, an ‘a-ha Moment’ (Pun intended). Won all kinds of awards and helped change the brand image of Mazda.
The work that I’m proudest of…
The 2025 WeatherTech Super Bowl commercial ‘Whatever Comes Your Way’. After building up the brand for a dozen years, we were able to really evolve the image of the company in order to convert new, younger people into being WeatherTech customers and enthusiasts.
I was involved in this and it makes me cringe…
There was a discount retailer that I was roped into working on early in my career. A poorly run company, with shady practices, that eventually went out of business.
The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…
Creating a new brand icon for Coventry Direct insurance. Currently in the post-production stages right now, but I have a good feeling that it’s going to be a real tasty treat after it comes out of the oven.
