Filmmaker, Creative Strategist
Kaz and team create lasting impressions.
About Kasunic
A willing collaborator and respected
bi-coastal creative, Jon "Kaz" Kasunic cut his teeth on 35mm motion film productions, made a feature film and dozens of shorts as he continued his rise in corporate communications, founding three agencies and two production companies. Today, he runs Crows Run Pictures and contributes to several agencies, production companies and corporate clients, while always searching for new opportunities to collaborate.
A Man of Many Hats
Kaz's diverse career includes stints as copywriter, creative director, playwright, producer, speechwriter, and filmmaker.
Getting his start at Ketchum Advertising, Kaz created commercials with Monty Python’s Graham Chapman, SNL’s Bill Pardo and produced spots in NYC, LA and London by the age of 25.
He co-founded the Midwest’s first 100% digital ad agency, SunKing, in 2003, produced a feature film comedy, “Sonny Days”, in 2012, and has written and produced many corporate docs over the years, including a fundraising film titled “A Place In History” featuring noted historian David McCullough. His comedy commercials included Jim Gaffigan, Estelle Harris, and Jon Stewart. Other noted performers include Jerome Bettis, Wiz Khalifa, Fred Rogers and Sid Crosby.
Clients have included Coca-Cola, the NFL, Mandalay Bay Resorts, Lands’ End, Abercrombie & Fitch, Anheuser-Busch, Heinz, AEO, Lowe’s, Bulova, Alcoa, Koppers, The Institute for Transfusion Medicine, Millennium Partners, Lowe's and more.
Current work includes creative on several branding campaigns and video production in Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco and Houston.
Something to Crow About
Kasunic has won clients in every corner of the U.S.
WRITER'S PORTFOLIO
Open pdf to view my writing samples. It's a 20mb file that I can get to you if you fear opening this pdf. Naturally there's more, so if you'd like to see some particular style or tone or media, just let me know. Thanks.
A Few Case Studies
RE-BRANDING AN ICONIC WATCH BRAND:
"A History of Modern"
Kaz led a rebranding effort and, with his team, created digital ads, video content, social post templates, scripts and storyboards for various media, and developed presentation materials for Baselworld. We helped orchestrate the PR for the move to their new HQ in the Empire State Building. We also created a national tv campaign.
NEW BEGINNING FOR LAND'S END
The historic Wisconsin clothier, Land's End, needed to transition their business from catalog to online, without losing their traditional customer base. As a strategic/creative partner, we focused on the value of heritage, speaking with different voices to multiple generations. Highlights included award-winning animations, docu-style videos, commercials and more.
ON CAMPUS WITH
COCA-COLA
For five years, Kaz was the lead writer/producer on high-level projects for the Coca-Cola Company, including the launch of Coke Bläk in France, videos touting the company’s global recycling initiative, another heralding the “Fountain of the Future” and a collaborative effort on a proprietary initiative, “The Design Machine” - in partnership with HP and the Coca-Cola marketing team.
Writing Sample from Feature Film "Sonny Days",
Winner of Best Comedy Feature Film, New Hope Film Festival
MAYOR WHITE
I was attacked in 1971. I tried crossing the Silver Bridge and a bunch of rednecks were standing there with guns. Damned if that scared me. I was a kid trying to get home from work. So I ran right through the gauntlet and those cowards hit me with all they had. 82 stiches. KKK was big around here in the 1920’s. Yeah, boy. And some of those rednecks I know had to be descendants. No white hoods -- but same white faces with same red necks.
I’m the one still standing. I run this town now, dammit.
Writing Sample
Press Release: The Move to Uptown
(Kaz' studio from 2004 - 2016)
When we purchased a building in the Uptown section of Pittsburgh six years ago, we were called pioneers. To be frank, there were more prostitutes than trees. Well-tended homes of long-time residents weary of battling the pervasive elements of crime sat uncomfortably next to abandoned buildings. Meth labs invited the occasional armed police invasion, but few others visited this once proud, but forgotten, decaying neighborhood.
As Mark Belko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote: “Tens of thousands of people
go through Uptown each day on their way to somewhere else.”
Yet there remained enough good in Uptown to make it worthy of restoration. Historic buildings, to be sure. Wonderful residents who just needed some prodding to come out into the light. And a location that made it a desirable place to live and work 100 years ago and make it a smart place to be today. As the corridor between downtown Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle and Oakland, the heart of Pittsburgh’s internationally renowned educational and medical community,
you can stand at the old Fifth Avenue High School and see both neighborhoods.
And so, we bought our little piece of Uptown and went to work. We renovated our 8,000 square foot building and won a Cool Space Award. We joined Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh to work with businesses and residents to rebuild the community. We made friends with neighbors like nationally renowned sculptor, James Simon, legendary barber and Epiphany Fish Fry volunteer, Harry Orlando, Artist John Feenor, Dan Doyle, owner of the biggest grip and lighting company between New York and Chicago, who joined us in buying property here. We followed the lead of Jean and Dale McNutt, two energized Uptown advocates who anchor the eastern end of Uptown with their beautifully renovated building. Dale is founder of StartUptown, a business incubation firm and Jean is Executive Director of Uptown Partners. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Mercy Hospital (now part of UPMC) were early supporters of the Uptown effort. Both entities are expanding in Uptown
Trees are being planted, community gardens are being tended, and new business and home owners are now finding their way to “Clean & Green Uptown”. Thanks in large part to the efforts of James Simon, art can be found on walls and on sidewalks throughout the neighborhood. Two blocks down the street from Agency 1903, the old Paramount Building has been saved from demolition by preservationists and Uptown supporters and is presently undergoing restoration.
More good news arrives almost every day. People are stopping for a coffee at Asylum Coffee Bar.
They are staying for conversation. And some, are deciding to stay for good.
