Tim Hawkey

In healthcare advertising, Tim Hawkey is known as many things—creative innovator, raconteur, relentless optimist, and just plain relentless (to name a few). And while no one person can be all things to all people, everyone who knows Tim can agree on one thing—there’s no one quite like him.

Co-leading AREA 23 since 2011 and AREA 23 on Hudson since 2018, Tim’s commitment to innovation and ingenuity to transform pharmaceutical advertising has pushed the agency to crazy places—and paid off. In 2018, AREA 23 was recognized as the #1 Health Agency in the World, following other recognitions as Med Ad News Most Creative Agency for the third year running and Cannes Lions Health Agency of the Year in 2017.

"Do what scares you," Tim espouses to his creative teams. He believes that a great creative idea should challenge the customer and clients alike, even if that means implementing a little shock and awe from time to time. "If they don't stop and notice you, then everything you're doing is just a waste of time."

What’s it all add up to? Results. Across all categories and audiences, the work that happens on Tim’s watch helps create brands that perform in the market. This includes some of the most notable launches of all time—Stelara, Shingrix, Jardiance—as well as the many challenger and specialty brands punching above their weight.

Before it all, Tim was an aspiring scientist, earning a BS in biology/organic chemistry from Skidmore College, where he graduated magna cum laude. The years that followed were spent on the bench—the lab bench—aiding in the preclinical investigation of the genetic etiology of breast cancer (p53 and BRCA1) at New York’s Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Taken altogether, it’s a lot. But when asked, Tim isn’t shy about letting it be known that when it comes to healthcare advertising, so much more is possible.