Meet the Illinois man behind so many memorable Super Bowl ads
Pat Burke, executive creative director of Special Group, led the team that created Lay's 'The Little Farmer' ad for the Super Bowl in 2025. Special Group / Frito-Lay North America
An Illinois man created some of the more memorable Super Bowl commercials of the past 15 years. Pat Burke grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago and attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he received a bachelor’s degree in advertising.
After spending most of his career in Chicago, Burke recently relocated to L.A. to be executive creative director at the ad agency known as Special Group. He’s been a part of making eighteen Super Bowl ads for ten different companies. This week, Burke is back at his alma mater. On Sunday, he’ll be the alumni speaker at the ceremony for those graduating from U. of I. College of Media.
Burke joins the program to discuss his career and significant projects he's worked on.
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Pat Burke
Executive Creative Director, Special Group
