Editor’s Note: Supporting women should not be limited to a month. So, at Reel Chicago, we have decided to amplify and promote dynamic women’s voices all year long. Today, let us introduce you to United Airlines’ Director of Creative Strategy and Content, Christina O’Rourke.
Christina O’Rourke is the Director of Creative Strategy and Content at United Airlines. In this role she oversees United’s advertising strategy and leads the brand’s creative department. Prior to joining United, Christina was Head of Creative Production at Edelman where she led a large team of producers and content creators. Christina helped modernize the agency’s creative offering and supported brands like Samsung, FedEx, Kellogg’s, KFC, Barilla, Boeing, and many more.
Prior to her agency career, Christina worked in tech, fashion, and film production. She earned a Masters in Communications Innovation from Ithaca College. Her studies included media economics, consumer behavior, product design, and global leadership.
When she isn’t working, the creative guru is a competitive sailor and weekly pizza party thrower.
Let’s meet Christina!
What’s your Chicago story?
Six generations of my family have grown up in the Chicago area. My parents both proudly hail from Beverly. I love this city. There’s a quiet swagger to Chicago. It’s full of hard-working, brilliantly creative people.
How did you break into advertising and production?
I wanted to make independent films like the ones I fell in love with in high school and college. During the earliest chapter of my career, I was assistant directing and line-producing projects while trying to make rent in LA. I was eventually introduced to the founders of a fashion startup who were looking for someone with an indie filmmaking mentality to help them produce branded content.
While serving as their head of production, I discovered that I love working at the intersection of business and creativity, and my advertising career was born. Since then, I’ve worked on the brand side and agency side across dozens of clients in nearly every sector.
How has Chicago influenced your creative journey?
I couldn’t wait to get a camera in my hands after I watched John Hughes’ movies. They are love letters to Chicago and its suburbs and part of the reason I fell in love with filmmaking. In high school, my friends and I shot our own versions of The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. They still exist on a DVD in my basement. I’m sure that call from Criterion is coming any day now.
Second City and Chicago’s live comedy scene taught me the power of two simple words, “Yes, and…” It’s become more than a phrase. It’s a way to create a psychologically safe space that leads to great creative brainstorms. I still use the improv foundations I learned at ComedySportz every day.
I learned some of life’s great lessons at The Metro, The Bottom Lounge, and Kingston Mines. I’ve danced, fallen in love, had my heart broken, and found solace in those venues. Occasionally all in one night.
Chicago is known for its grind and resilience. How has that shaped your career?
Chicago eyes ego with suspicion. You’re supposed to work hard and not make a big deal about it. And above all, you’re supposed to be nice.
What’s a creative risk you took that paid off?
Prior to United’s most recent brand campaign, we conducted a new round of consumer research. People told us loud and clear they wanted to hear more from us about routes and destinations. But airlines talking about where they fly is usually boring, expected, and it all sounds the same. We knew tackling this area in a way that felt fresh could be a real challenge.
We realized that if we wanted this message to resonate with travelers, then we would need to turn our routes story into a customer experience story. Our goal was to win hearts by telling stories grounded in human truths that make all kinds of people feel seen and understood by United.
So, instead of talking about how robust our flight schedule is, or how we fly to this city or that city, we focused on what those things enable for our customers. With United, you can schedule your travel around your kid’s nap time. You can find a destination the whole group chat can finally agree on. You can jump on an early flight with ease so you can get to the family trip in time to snag the good room before your siblings.
The campaign was a success because we figured out how take the story of our network and fill it with meaning for our customers.
Chicago has given us Michelle Obama, Oprah, Joan Cusack, Shonda Rhimes, Linda Kaplan Thaler, Barbara Proctor, Lena Waithe, and so many powerhouse women. What’s it going to take to create even more opportunities for Chicago women?
It’s important to support organizations that are truly making a difference at the local level. I’m consistently impressed with the incredible work of GirlForward and Free Spirit Media.
GirlForward supports high-school-aged girls who are refugees and provides a space to build their English skills, succeed academically, and explore their passions.
Free Spirit Media partners with young creators, primarily from the West and South sides of Chicago, to develop and amplify their unique and critical voices through storytelling and media arts.
Are you bringing back Soul Train or American Bandstand?
Can we bring back TRL? I miss the comforting chaos of late ‘90s/early 2000s MTV.
How do you balance ambition with self-care?
I’ve learned that it’s impossible to achieve balance day to day. That’s just not how life works. Some days I’m all-in on solving an interesting challenge at work. Some days are solely focused on pursuing my hobbies. Some days life throws a curveball and it’s pencils down on everything else while I sort through an emergency.
Some days I need to sleep in and binge Netflix so I can recharge. Hopefully, over a week or month, there is equilibrium. But you can’t beat yourself up for not achieving balance each individual day.
You’re writing a memoir. What’s the title?
I spend my summer sailing on Lake Michigan. A forecast we regularly see is, “windspeed 10 knots, gusts up to 20 knots.” 10 knots is a perfect, leisurely sail, and at 20 knots your heart starts pounding and things occasionally break.
It’s a forecast that gives you some information but ultimately tells you very little about how your day on the water will go. Much like how you make plans in life but there will always be gusts that test you and throw you off course. So, the title of my memoir would be Chicago’s Frequent Sailing Forecast, 10 Knots, Gusting to 20.
Go to Karaoke song.
After voice lessons in college and many years of weekly piano lessons, I’ve accepted that I have zero musical aptitude. So, I always choose a song that I think the crowd will belt out with me. Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind usually does the trick.
Christina’s Socials:
Instagram: @cjorourke
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-orourke/
To see who else is a REEL WOMAN click here.
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