• by Fern Siegel , December 18, 2025

Blue Chip, a Chicago brand commerce marketing agency, has selected John Maxham as its first Chief Creative Officer.

Maxham brings decades of creative experience as the former CCO of DDB. AOR wins during his tenure included Big Lots, Jeep, Jiffy Lube and Miller Lite. After DDB, he spent two years as CCO of Laughlin Constable. 

His campaign work includes Skittles, Stat Farm, Jeep and Capital One. 

Four years ago, he created October First, a brand consultancy. Earlier in his career he was an executive CD at Cole & Weber.

“I’ve consulted for a lot of agencies that say they want to attract clients with bigger ideas and brand thinking, but Blue Chip was serious about overhauling the creative culture,” said Maxham. “Leadership didn’t ask me to head a creative department; they asked me to help build a new kind of agency. We’ve reconfigured the team and introduced a new process for generating ideas. Now we’re truly changing the face of the business.”

In the past year, Blue Chip won creative AOR assignments from Lamb Weston, Emerald Nuts, Frogtape, La Brea Bakery and Panera at Home.

“We’re fusing brand and commerce thinking,” said Stanton Kawer, CEO at Blue Chip. “We can prevent clients from having to work with a bunch of disconnected agencies because we can put it all together. With John at the helm, we can lead a business through the entire journey to measurable growth, from creative that knocks you off your chair to retail activations that inspire you to reach for the brand.”

Blue Chips roster also includes Bob’s Red Mill, Bosch Power Tools, Red Bull and White Castle.