Instructors Spotlight:
Bringing our Students Top Canadian Talent
The real value of mentorship is immeasurable. Finding someone who is invested in helping you grow as a creative can be difficult to achieve. MAD Toronto has been spoiled with the choice of some of Canada’s top talent. Our students have benefitted from the privilege of their guidance, and have built some kick ass portfolios because of it.
We are extremely grateful to all of our instructors, who’s passion and dedication have been a catalyst in all of our art direction and copywriting students being hired full time. Currently MAD Toronto holds a 100% hired rate for all of our full time graduates.
Here are some of the amazing instructors we have hosted under our roof…..drumroll please:
Mike Dubrick

Managing Partner, Executive Creative Director @ Rethink

Digital Campaigns, Interactive Concepting
Awards Won:
Pretty hard to list all of them, but a pretty unique award is earning a Guinness World Record, not once but twice.
Major clients:
Heinz Ketchup, Greenpeace, Molson Coors, IKEA
Mike Dubrick
“My first class was with Mike Dubrick “Interactive Concepting”. It helped me land my very first piece, which went on to do quite well in award shows. It was the way he taught, and his strategies on how to come up with ideas.”
-Rachel LeBlanc, Art Director @ Rethink
Check out his work with Molson, on developing a beer fridge that only opens with a Canadian passport
Why do they work with M.AD?
“When I hear MAD Toronto I get excited about it. The school’s been here since 2016 I believe, and I think we needed it. We needed that global perspective on the industry, and I think MAD brings that to Toronto. It’s so important that we give these students access to the global environment of advertising. Not just Toronto, not just Canada, but really give them access to the world. I think it’s really exciting to have that school here in Toronto now to get that depth of knowledge”
Mooren Bofill

Title Partner, Creative Director, Design @ One Twenty Three West (123W)

Branding, Tools
Awards Won:
Her work has also been awarded and recognized internationally by D&AD, How Design Awards, Cannes Lions, Luerzer’s Archive, Communication Arts, The Advertising & Design Club of Canada, Applied Arts, Marketing Magazine, among others.
Major clients:
No Frills, Bell, President’s Choice, Shoppers Drug Mart, Koodo, KFC, Coca-Cola.
Mooren Bofill
Why do they work with M.AD?
“One of the reasons why I love teaching and mentoring at MAD is that after every class, I always come away super inspired. I’m a big believer in surrounding yourself with people who think differently than you and those who look at the world differently than you. MAD students come with a world view and generational view that is so different than mine, and I learn so much from their perspectives. Why I also love being a part of MAD is that it feels like a family, a super tight community that truly supports each and brings people up.
It’s been great to be a part of MAD all these years.”
Denise Cole

Co-founder, Creative Director / Head of Art @ Juliet Creative

Everything is Media, Ideas First
Awards Won:
Denise has earned several awards and recognitions from Cannes, The One Show, ADCC, Bessies, Webby awards, D&AD, and London International Award, just to name a few, the list goes on.
Clients work with:
Coca-Cola, Hotels.com, SickKids, Tim Hortons, Walmart, Air Canada, Ray-Ban, Disney, Nike
Denise Cole
Why do they work with M.AD?
“I had a fantastic experience as a student at the school…I went to school through the US… so starting in Miami but also doing programs in Minneapolis, Chicago, San Francisco, and I feel like just having the ability to learn from so many instructors, from so many fantastic ad cities and just the quality of the instruction there I knew I was getting something I wasn’t going to get anywhere else. So when I was approached by Stephen (The MAD Toronto Dean) to be an instructor I was definitely interested in continuing that for other students.”
Ian Mackenzie

Chief Creative Officer @ FCB/SIX

Storytelling
Awards Won:
Over 375 awards, yep, our jaw dropped too.
Major Clients:
Honda, AB/InBev, Cadbury, Johnson & Johnson, Taco Bell, McDonald’s and BMW.
Ian Mackenzie
Watch a video case study made with Black and Abroad, to redefine travel for the modern black traveller. It won a Grand Prix in Creative Data at Cannes.
Why do they work with M.AD?
“Two great things happen when you teach at M.AD School of Ideas. First is you have to stop for a minute, think about your practice, pull together some unifying theories, then structure and execute a course that might somehow be useful to a group of smart and diverse emerging talent. Second, you get to see all those theories and ideas played back, tested and sometimes blown up by that same smart and diverse emerging talent. It’s a joy, an honor and privileged to be part of it.”
Jordan Doucette

Partner and President @ No Fixed Address

Tonality
Awards Won:
Cannes Lions, The One Show, The Clio Awards, etc, etc—if it’s shiny and sets off a metal detector, she’s probably won it.
Major Clients:
Canadian Tire, Pfizer, Telus, Kraft & Dairy Farmers of Canada.
Jordan Doucette
Check out a commercial made with TAXI for Koodo mobile.
Kyle Lamb

Creative Director @ Cossette

Portfolio Development, Digital Campaigns
Awards Won:
Kyle has been awarded in all major shows including Cannes, OneShow, D&AD, ANDYS, Communications Arts, and the Webby’s, as well as named one of Marketing Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30.
Major Clients:
Doritos, Mitsubishi, Tetley, KOBO, World Wildlife Fund, Golden State Warriors, President’s Choice, Tangerine, SpongeTowels, Scotties
Kyle Lamb
Why do they work with M.AD?
“The original attraction to teaching was I always liked the idea of mentorship, of mentoring students throughout my career, I’ve just been doing that more and more, and it’s always something that’s interested me, so when I was approached to actually teach and do that for real I said yes. Here at MAD you get a lot of 1-on-1 time with instructors which is great for developing awesome ideas and a great portfolio.“
Jonathan Daly

Global Group Planning Director @ Ogilvy

Creative Strategy Class, Pitching New Business (as well as weekly pitch instructor for our Professional Development Bootcamps)
Clients:
Instagram, Hershey, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), Budweiser, Spotify, Rethink Breast Cancer, San Pellegrino, Converse, Kraft
Jonathan Daly
Jonathan Daly is a seasoned strategic lead with a uniquely multidisciplinary approach to problem solving; blending rigour with creativity to unpack, interrogate, or reframe challenges and find solutions. Jon’s charisma is off the charts, and he is guaranteed to have you laughing in the first few minutes of meeting him.
Why do they work with M.AD?
“He might say Chelsea Thompson O’Brien, former Strategy and Planning bootcamp director, made him do it, but truly it’s the advertising thought leadership. MAD TO did a really good job of establishing itself as a place where ad professionals, young and old, could come and talk about advertising in an open forum. In addition, he saw a diverse classroom, beyond just maintaining that commitment to harvesting the best talent from wherever they are, and putting them through the paces that turn them into potentially really good advertising professionals.“
For those who have been in the industry for more than a minute you know how incredibly important it is to find a mentor and surround yourself with inspirational people. For those who might be new, let me just say it’s very hard to succeed alone. At M.AD Toronto you won’t have too, you will always have a crew of like minded individuals who want to see you achieve your goals.
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