Havana Central, a popular Cuban restaurant in Times Square wanted to market to a new consumer segment – midtown’s huge tourist population – and increase sales with a 30-second commercial spot on a tight budget.

‘Select Restaurants’ was the ad agency’s top client for 25 years. ‘Select’ had invested a bundle into a new venture: a posh club and steakhouse in a lighthouse atop one of its biggest seafood restaurants and revenue producers on a stunning southern California pier.

The ad agency chose Jay for his unique, directorial command and ability to capture a combination of luxury and comfort. Jay’s vision was apparently just what the client ordered.

Upon seeing the first cut of the 30 & 60-second spots, the ‘Select’ chief told the ad agency, “Do not change a frame. This is perfection.”

Emily Haggman, President, Haggman Inc., Advertising Agency
“Jay is a problem-solving genius and a virtuoso at his craft. We tasked Jay with directing and producing our most valued client’s commercial spots. He enhanced our relationship and blew away their expectations.”

The Palm, one of the nation’s most famous and beloved steak and seafood restaurants, hired Jay to direct a 30-second spot for their London establishment. To save time and costs Jay needed to shoot it at The Palm’s theater district venue in Manhattan.

The Palm relied on Jay’s directorial skillset – and background living in London – to direct a spot that highlighted the famous brand while appealing to Londoners not accustomed – nor inclined – to eating at an American establishment.

• The spot ran on some 15,000 London taxicab monitors, boosting revenue by 20% in six short weeks.

Bruce Bozzi, The Palm, Executive V.P., Marketing
“Jay directed a beautiful commercial for our London restaurant. His insight into the London restaurant scene was invaluable and he created a luxurious but accessible feel; perfect for our brand and the London market.”

Around the early 2,000’s, America’s newest medical school graduates made a beeline for the highest-paid specialties, abandoning the venerable role of ‘primary care physician’ in droves.

But with an average student debt-load approaching $300,000, the newly minted med school grads attraction to the more lucrative specialties was understandable. The migration resulted in a devastating shortage of primary care doctors across the country.

The market finally began to respond and some of the shuttered three-year residencies for ‘primary care’ doctors began to reopen. For the first time in 15 years, New York State opened its first startup ‘family medicine’ residency program.

Jay ran the entire branding, advertising and recruitment effort.

• The freshman class of this three-year residency had six spots available. Jay’s marketing/branding effort generated more than 2,000 applications for this rather obscure startup.

The French Culinary Institute sought a comprehensive rebranding to match its ambitious and expensive expansion. After firing its first four writers, the Institute finally found in Jay the writer who could achieve what others could not – a singular, aspirational voice that captured the remarkable story of one of the world’s most respected culinary schools.

Jay wrote all the advertising and marketing materials, from headline ads to direct mail, including its most important recruiting publication, its course guide and brochure. The work, according to Jim Mullen, the advertising legend and founder of Mullen, Inc. — and #1 Trustee – was, well, perfect.