The 2025 Creative 100: Rising Agency Talent Shaping Culture

These up-and-coming creatives found the brand insights and crafted humorous messages to break through the noise. Remember their names, because they’re going to be the leaders of tomorrow. Mills Adams & Andrew Singleton Associate Creative Directors, Preacher Pitch perfect: When Mills Adams and Andrew Singleton began working on Xfinity this year, they came up with “The WiFi Is Booming,” a campaign starring an 1850s Gold Rush prospector—not the most intuitive move for an internet provider. Singleton’s advice? “Start working on your impressions. If you want to sell the Old Prospector script, you’re gonna have to do the Old Prospector voice.” Driving success: Mills Adams and Andrew Singleton, of Austin-based shop Preacher, were on the team that won the pitch for General Motors’ GMC in 2024. Keeping their powder dry: When Singleton writes, he does it as fast as possible, “even if a lot of it is nonsense” because it “could end up being a starting point. Over the years I’ve found the things I spend 20 minutes on tend to do better than the things I spend two days on.” Kelley Barrett & Katie DiNardo Senior Creatives, Uncommon New York Real homes: Katie DiNardo and Kelley Barrett are a standout creative team at the hot shop, which broke into the U.S. from the U.K. in late 2023. The duo have worked on a variety of clients over the past year, including Harry’s and British Airways. Their work with The National Association of Realtors included a humorous spot documenting a young couple’s nightmarish path to home ownership, before a realtor gets involved. Informing their craft: DiNardo finds film reference sites helpful for inspiration or boarding out scripts, while Barrett loves listening to stand-up. “It’s an incredible reference for timing, pacing and distilling a story down to its most crucial beats,” she says. Best advice: Barrett: “Trust your gut.” DiNardo: “Find great mentors. The easiest way to get your footing is to have someone else doing it better that you can look up to.” Chloe Bayhack & Caroline Mortensen Senior Copywriter & Senior Art Director, Ogilvy New York Cleaning up: Launched in the small hours of New Year’s Day, an out-of-home campaign for Dove framed its beauty bar in end-of-night washing rituals across nine carefully crafted portraits. Ogilvy’s Chloe Bayhack and Caroline Mortensen helped to concept and execute the work, which also ran as a print ad in The New York Times. Big dreams: The creative team worked on Verizon and Mattel’s 2024 holiday campaign, “Barbie StreamHouse,” and even brought it to life as an activation in New York. Real talk: Bayhack: “My screen time is through the roof, and I’m a better writer for it.” Mortensen: “Raise your hands, kids. Ask for the cool briefs. If they don’t give them to you, steal them (by being friends with the PMs).” Alice Blastorah & Josh Hacohen Creative Directors, Special Group Busting myths: Alice Blastorah and Josh Hacohen spend most of their time working on Uber Eats. During the 2024 football season, they created the tongue-in-cheek campaign starring Matthew McConaughey in which the actor exposed the “conspiracy” that football was invented to sell food. The concept was so successful for Uber Eats that it was extended to the brand’s Super Bowl 59 ad. Star power: In other star-studded work, the team’s spot for Uber One for Students, featuring Brian Cox, was based on the idea that student deals are so good, they’re worth returning to college for. Both campaigns were “labors of pure love,” the duo recalled. Branching out: When the duo took on IndyCar on Fox, they “fell in love with a sport neither of us had ever watched.” Their Super Bowl ad was also wildly successful, boosting viewership for the next race by 45%. Ryan Cookish & Rachel LeBlanc Associate Creative Directors, Rethink Building recognition: Creative partners Ryan Cookish and Rachel LeBlanc came up with an idea to make women hockey players’ names more visible. Molson’s “See My Name” saw the brand sponsor the spot at the top of their jerseys, with players’ names no longer obstructed by their ponytails. Hero on the plate: Other projects include a Kraft Heinz and Marvel collaboration that drew comparisons between characters and condiments to promote the Deadpool & Wolverine movie. Creative pursuits: LeBlanc’s DSLR camera is her favorite tool to explore perspectives, helping promote curiosity about “finding beautiful ideas in really ordinary moments and situations.” Right moves: “Don’t worry too much about whether you have the right background,” Cookish tells aspiring creatives. “Interest and passion will help you get where you want to be.” Howard Finkelstein & Ross Fletcher Group Creative Directors, Mischief @ No Fixed Address Ideas with pep: Mischief's Howard Finkelstein and Ross Fletcher are creative leads on Chili’s. Both the agency and brand “share a love of really dumb ideas.” Grown-up snacks: The pair reminded adults that Goldfish crackers are not just for kids by changing the Pepperidge Farm brand’s name to Chilean Sea Bass for a limited time. And continuing the silly theme, they were behind the fleshy cowboy head concept for Tubi’s Super Bowl 59 ad. Creative practice: Fletcher keeps a running list of ideas for clients on his phone’s Notes app —“It’s the most useful tool I have. Sorry, ChatGPT.” For Finkelstein, old comedy sketches, sitcoms, movies, and ads help him “give reference points” and “contextualize tones and ideas.” Caitlin Fitzgibbons Creative Director, Fallon Where you lead: Caitlin Fitzgibbons helped bring Gilmore Girls fans’ dreams to life as the creative lead on Walmart’s Keurig coffee maker ad last holiday season. Reuniting some of the show’s cast, the team filled the 30-second spot with Easter eggs designed to get fans talking. Trending topics: In other work for Fallon’s creative partnership with Walmart, Fitzgibbons led two projects merging tech and culture—a hot sauce created for spicy readers in the #BookTok community, and a partnership with Google that made the YouTube trend of ambient rooms shoppable. Novel concept: Over a decade of sketch comedy experience has taught Fitzgibbons a lot about arriving at original ideas. Outside of work, she “may or may not be trying to write a book.” Naoki Ga & Guilherme Souza Senior Art Director & Senior Copywriter, Wieden+Kennedy Portland Courting discomfort: Naoki Ga and Guilherme Souza were part of the Wieden+Kennedy creative team behind “Winning Isn’t Comfortable,” the running campaign for flagship client Nike, which is part of the brand’s creative comeback. Drawing on the singular mindset of dedicated athletes, spots included “Sunshine,” which depicted drenched runners facing the rain. Grounding practices: Climbing is meditation for Ga, while Souza finds reading things unrelated to work most helpful. Best advice: Souza: “Try to enjoy coming up with the ideas more than celebrating the ideas that you already have.” Ga: “Come up with as many ideas as you can. Get all of them out of your system.” Ronen Goldfarb Senior Copywriter, Dentsu Creative Eccentric humour: Ronen Goldfarb was one of the lead creatives on Totino’s Pizza Rolls’ Super Bowl commercial starring Detroiters duo Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson. “Chazmo Goes Home” offered a dark take on a classic alien story. Clearing things up: Goldfarb is a fan of asking “stupid questions,” saying: “A lot of the time the stupidest questions can lead to the smartest thinking.” Best advice: “This industry can wear you down; there are a lot of jaded people peddling a lot of negativity. If you always believe that your next brief will be the best one yet, and if you always come back with the best thinking you can, you start to make great work.” Amy Gozalka Group Creative Director, DDB Chicago Controlling the narrative: Over the past year, DDB’s Amy Gozalka has been focused on positioning Orkin as “The Best in Pests,” reinforcing the brand’s point of view through initiatives including the Cicada Symphony Orkinstra—a symphony based on cicadas’ chorus, performed live in Springfield, Illinois—and “Chewed Art,” which transformed termite damage into fine art. Outside inspiration: Art is also Gozalka’s background and underlying passion. “My home is filled with abandoned canvases, hand-built letterpress machines and printmaking supplies,” she says. When she is not getting her hands dirty, she is an avid golfer. Advice to aspiring creatives: “Be a builder. It's easy to criticize, but true value lies in those who uncover potential, contribute, and help shape solutions.” Rachel Hayashi & Jessica Mastorides Creatives, Mother Female-centric humor: Creative team Rachel Hayashi and Jessica Mastorides helped to conceive an ad while at their previous agency McCann New York that delivered humor through a female lens for cosmetics brand NYX. The suggestive spot starring Cardi B was later deemed too spicy for the Super Bowl, sparking a debate about whether female perspectives are censored in advertising. Quick thinking: With league representatives not approving the second half of “Lips Only,” the brand’s Super Bowl debut, NYX and McCann pivoted at the last minute. NYX ran the original, uncut ad—which poked fun at men for misusing its Duck Plump lip gloss—on streaming and social platforms. Matt Jones & Abi Stephenson Senior Creatives, BETC Paris Cinematic creative: Matt Jones and Abi Stephenson took audiences on a Hollywood action movie-inspired journey through London with a twist ending for Canal+ to promote the broadcaster’s expansion. Fighting spirit: For the second iteration of audio streaming app Deezer's global “Live the Music” campaign, the creatives dreamed up a boxing match that turns into a dance battle featuring voguing. Eyes open: Jones doesn’t have a university degree and entered the industry via a free night school run by the nonprofit D&AD. He learned to “keep my mouth shut and my ears open when searching for concepts. The great ideas are already out there, you just have to be willing, open and ego-free enough to receive them.” Clear pursuit: Dyslexia, dyspraxia, and an attention disorder have shaped Stephenson’s work. “I’m forced to make things simple to understand them. This helps me arrive at concepts that are more single-minded.” Sammy Lo & Emma Lorenzi Art Director & Copywriter, Courage Take a break: Toronto-based Emma Lorenzi and Sammy Lo played on Kit Kat’s famous slogan for an ad showing that AI also works better after a break. Informed by a Google DeepMind study, they shaped the script and content, helping to find a new way to deliver the tagline for the Nestlé-owned brand. Getting emotional: Last year, the duo also worked on a KFC spot that saw Canadian chicken lovers crying happy tears because onion rings were on the menu. Following “Tears of Joy,” the brand later brought onion rings back permanently. Best advice: Lorenzi: “Put yourself out there and ask people you admire for coffee chats. You never know what could come of it.” Lo: “Novelty is one of the best ways to keep your brain engaged, so pursue it relentlessly as an act of self-care for your creativity.” Joaquin Lynch Garay & Federico Munichor Creative Directors, Anomaly LA Life companion: Earlier this year, Joaquin Lynch Garay and Federico Munichor worked together with an Anomaly team on the winning global pitch for Visa. Their debut ad for the brand, “Typewriter,” imagined several possible journeys for a young woman’s life—from screenwriter to chef—bringing new meaning to the tagline, “Everywhere you want to be.” Running with it: For Hoka’s “Bird’s Eye” in 2024, the pair helped to draw parallels between birds in flight and runners who experienced the same sense of freedom in the brand’s apparel. Best advice: “Be patient,” says Lynch Garay, while Munichor notes: “Think how everyone around you will solve the brief. Then, solve it in a completely different way.” Rainor Marinho & Corina Patraucean Creative Directors, LePub Milan Digital detox: Rainor Marinho and Corina Patraucean are two of the inventive minds behind Heineken’s recent lauded campaigns, including “Boring Phone,” which promoted IRL connections over digital distractions. Partnering with streetwear brand Bodega and Nokia manufacturer HMD, Heineken released a line of limited-edition flip phones with reduced technological capabilities during Milan Design Week. The initiative borrowed the marketing tactic of streetwear “drops” to make digital detoxes more fashionable. Say what? The pair were also behind Heineken’s “Whateverken,” a playful twist on an anniversary campaign that celebrated misspellings and mispronunciations of the brand name by people all over the world. Creative practice: Data is important for landing relevant work, says Patraucean: “As creatives, we try to also be strategists and data analysts in our own way.” But no tool can replace face-to-face creative work, adds Marinho, who advocates “active listening, discussing details to perfection and reinforcing human connections.” Victoria Rocha Senior Art Director, David New York Excelling creative: Who says B2B marketing has to be boring? In 2024, Victoria Rocha contributed to Spotify’s “Spreadbeats” campaign, which made and distributed a music video in a media plan spreadsheet. The work scooped awards including the Digital Craft Grand Prix at Cannes Lions. Whodunnit? Rocha was the original concept developer of a 2024 campaign for mobile game Clash of Clans, creating a real podcast to solve an in-game crime. Finding the words: During a period without a copywriting partner, Rocha had to break out of her comfort zone. “While tough to try and crack briefs on my own, it forced me to explore my creativity from a writer’s perspective. That made me a much better creative.” Chris Rose & Patrick Seidel Creative Directors, Highdive Facing off: As the creative leads on Highdive’s campaign for the National Hockey League’s 2024-25 season, Chris Rose and Patrick Seidel flipped a lazy generational stereotype on its head, sparked by the insight that 48% of starting NHL players are Gen Z. Other ads featured players’ off-ice personalities—an evolution for the NHL. Farm life: Earlier this year, the duo were also behind Lay’s Super Bowl 59 ad, directed by Taika Waititi. The spot depicted a little girl determined to follow in her parents’ footsteps and grow her own potato plant, revealing the human story behind farming potatoes. Trusted partners: Rose and Seidel have worked together for 12 years. Their advice for those who find someone they love to work with? “Stick with ‘em. When you have that level of trust, it makes everything else easier.” Christine Taffe Creative Director, Orchard Creative Feeling seen: For Etsy’s holiday campaign, Christine Taffe got to imagine what it would feel like to be the eponymous Where’s Waldo. Despite being constantly spotted in crowds, it takes receiving the right gift from the handmade online marketplace for Waldo to finally feel seen. Been there: Fuelled by “many years chronically online,” Taffe has a strong urge to not make what she doesn’t want to see. Best advice: “Putting yourself and what you love into your work is what makes it good. I'd rather know what makes your brain light up than whether or not you can write a 30-second ad.” Eyob Yirgou Associate Creative Director, Wieden+Kennedy Easy listening: Being part of the team at his former agency Translation who created Beats’ Powerbeats Pro 2 launch campaign was “nothing short of a dream” for Eyob Yirgou. Inspired by the product’s heart rate monitoring, “Listen to Your Heart” showed sporting legends from a new perspective, with Yirgou writing for RZA to voice the talking hearts of LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and Shohei Ohtani. Homegoing: Yirgou also worked on a short film for WhatsApp, documenting NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s first-ever trip to Nigeria, capturing the experience of cross-cultural identity. Avid collector: “Anything that makes me react in any type of way, I save, because it’ll surely be a reference later.”

The Creative 100

The 2025 Creative 100: Rising Agency Talent Shaping Culture

These up-and-coming creatives are breaking through the noise with work that’s fresh and unexpected

Mills Adams & Andrew Singleton

Katie Davies

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