Charlotte Frank & Elizabeth Swartz
ACDs, nice&frank
Welcome to New York: If you’ve been clocking the down home marketing around Nathan’s Famous, it’s the work of Charlotte Frank and Elizabeth Swartz. They penned the tagline “100% Beef. 100% New York,” and continue to make Nathan’s synonymous with the city. Most recently, they linked up with the subway system for “Follow the (F)rank Line,” directing riders to the brand’s birthplace of Coney Island with a simple mustard squiggle.
Code switch: Their first work at nice&frank pivoted the tone of viral olive oil brand Graza to the “Seriously Serious” science that goes into its range of products, translating laboratory facts into approachable stories that spark public interest.
Frans Ahlberg & Aron Ramstedt
Associate Creative Directors, Ogilvy
Paired up: Ogilvy ACDs Frans Ahlberg and Aron Ramstedt learned early that they work better together as a team. Perhaps it’s their shared history: The duo started out in the restaurant business and still view their work with the same priorities that helped them thrive in the customer service space: creativity, problem-solving, craft, and presentation. Among their hits: CeraVe’s Michael Cera Super Bowl campaign.
So fresh and so clean: When sneakerheads were riled up about Nike’s Dirty Triple White Air Force 1s, designed to get cleaner the more they were worn, Ahlberg and Ramstedt got Dove Men soap into the conversation by having influencer Cam Wilder clean his dirty shoes for their “Care Force One” campaign.
Not just funny: Their powerful AdCouncil and Opportunity@Work PSA, “Tear the Paper Ceiling,” tackled degree discrimination by advocating for alternatively educated candidates.
Greer Hiltabidle
Social Content Director, 72andSunny
Out of a funk: In 2020, Brooklynite Greer Hiltabidle was depressed (like most of us). She started posting cooking videos to TikTok, a project that went to the next level after finding Julia Child’s cookbook on the street.
Melting hearts: Six years later, the project has grown into Butter Girl, a line of unique flavored butters that Hiltabidle successfully Kickstarted in March. The entire experience has seen them rise through the agency social ranks, from content creative at Ogilvy to social director at 72andSunny. Her breakout projects include Google tie-ins with Bridgerton and TikTok superstar Kristy Sarah.
Talia Rapp & Jess Bass
VPs & Creative Directors, McCann NY
Cleaning up: Sometimes to break through, you have to play dirty. And few things are dirtier than 18 blowout-prone babies sitting on almost $500,000 worth of items for an hour. Talia Rapp and Jess Bass of McCann NY came up with the “Expensive Sh*t” campaign for Huggies, creating the most entertaining diaper demonstration of all time.
Lucky number: Rapp and Bass wrote an ode to the number four to launch the rebrand of the New York Lottery’s Quick Draw, which has winning numbers every four minutes. It’s now the best-performing Quick Draw in the country, and has earned the duo further business with the state lottery.
Alex Naghavi
Creative Director, Block
Moving with intent: While some creatives raced to adopt AI, Block creative director Alex Naghavi experimented to keep craft and emotion at the center. It’s this quality of not resisting new tools but instead using them with intention that’s made her one of the most visible women shaping how AI, storytelling, and design mesh.
AI artist: In 2025, Naghavi founded Seamless Studio, a prompt-free AI platform for designers, and was the creative director behind AI mental wellness app Dala. She built the image-to-video tool Railbound to transform photographer Mike Brodie’s work into a broadly awarded documentary, was one of 10 artists accepted to Google’s first AI artist incubator Flow Sessions, and won the People’s Choice Award in Runway’s Gen:48 film festival.
Lifting up: Naghavi advocates for women and non-binary creatives in tech and design circles. In 2025, she launched a sponsorship-mentorship initiative offering funding, one-on-one coaching, and access to her global network to support underrepresented voices in creative technology.
Andres Silva Bello
ACD & Design Director, R/GA
Craft-work: The Jordan brand is synonymous with basketball, but there’s no resting on laurels for R/GA’s Andres Silva Bello. To launch Air Jordan 40, he reimagined the brand’s homepage as a portal into the Jordan brand universe rather than just a commerce site. He blended storytelling, cultural programming, and got in on live moments such as the global 1-on-1 tournament The One to build an experience that kept people coming back.
Changing perspectives: Bello guided the launch PayPal+, the fintech brand’s loyalty program, by developing the visual branding, product messaging, and overall digital experience that’s meant to feel lifestyle-driven rather than transactional. He was also key to developing Nike’s Mavn performance line for teen girls, building the archetype of The Mavn and messaging around softness, sport obsession, and exclusivity.
Cale Berry
Senior Art Director, Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Here’s the thing: The world found out what happens when The Addams Family’s Thing gets Cheeto dust (aka cheetle) on his fingers as part of the “Cheetos x Wednesday” campaign: a delightfully disruptive, impossible to ignore mess across other brands’ ads in the real world. It was the work of Australian culture hound Cale Berry, and earned a Grand Clio.
One-man army: Berry hasn’t had a traditional creative partner in years, instead choosing to push himself into writing and leadership. He helped lead the Doritos “Telethon for Hawkins,” a Stranger Things collaboration with a 1980s-style telethon that invited fans to leave messages supporting the show’s fictional town. The result was Doritos’ largest engagement-driven campaign to date.
Chris Luu & Cara Hanson
Art Director & Copywriter, Wieden+Kennedy New York
New path: The TransAmerica Trail is a brutal 5,900-mile journey across 13 states. But what if you could navigate it the way you get to your kid’s classmate’s birthday party across town? Art director Luu and copywriter Hanson brought together Ford’s vehicular expertise and some Google Maps wizardry to map America’s longest off-road trail over a 32-day expedition that gained Ford not just an impressive real-world demonstration of several models but cultural clout.
In the driver’s seat: The duo also contributed work to several other projects for the carmaker, including the launch of the new Ford Maverick.
Fostering pride: Luu was among the team behind W+K’s resonant “Asian + American” campaign for The Asian American Foundation, encouraging celebration of dual identities.
Joey Johnson & Shelby Tamura
Creative Directors, Mother Los Angeles
What’s that smell: If you need to re-stenchify your home, meet Jelby, aka creative directors Joey Johnson and Shelby Tamura of Mother Los Angeles. They helped create Reodorant, an in-house product satirizing performative fitness culture by offering the smell of a workout, sans effort. The concept spread organically, like the smell of a forgotten gym bag in the corner.
Squad up: Not ones to rest on their olfactory glands, Jelby closed 2025 with Battlefield 6’s live action trailer, a star-studded affair that twists and pivots to put the players at the forefront. It garnered millions of organic views and showcased Jelby’s ability to identify what matters to an audience.
New business: Since joining in 2022, they have contributed to significant new business growth, adding clients including Peloton, Orangetheory, Bungie, EA, and Quip.
Keegan Sanford & Tan Erginay
Creative Directors, Fig
Eating it, too: With a cake, Fig creative directors Sanford and Erginay raised the bar for Publix’s storytelling ambitions. The duo’s “Merry Birthday” campaign used a birthday cake at Christmas to show how a small act can make someone feel loved, and was a seasonal favorite with over 3.6 billion earned media impressions in four weeks. Not bad for Fig’s first major work for the Southern supermarket chain.
Only what you love: For interior design retailer Homesense, they built a long-term brand platform, “Home of No Compromise,” cutting through a crowded category by featuring women who reject “good enough” decor for items they truly love.
Push it: Their category-disrupting campaign for Naked Smoothies, “When Thungry, Get Naked,” about “two-feeling” moments was an awards darling—and instrumental in Fig landing creative AOR duties for TBG’s entire portfolio.
Kevin David & Levis Novaes
Creative Directors, LePub São Paulo
Commerce x culture: The Brazilian creative partners known as KeLe have spent more than a decade crafting ideas that transcend traditional advertising. They’ve led standout work for Santander Brazil such as “Minhas Reservas,” which conveyed financial literacy through experiential activations, and “Vá Direto aos Pontos,” a campaign that distributed 10 million rewards points to demonstrate the value of credit card rewards.
Fashion bona fides: From collaborations with Virgil Abloh to founding the Black multidisciplinary collective MOOC, their work continues to keep brands moving at the speed of culture. Off the clock, KeLe also contribute to Jantar Black, a platform for Brazil’s Black creative community.
Mary Adam
Senior Copywriter, Leo Chicago
Bloody good: Few campaigns start with “let’s make everyone eat blood.” But when your client is the Field Museum of Chicago looking to promote its Bloodsuckers exhibit all about creatures like bats and mosquitos? That’s “Blood Appetit.” During Chicago Restaurant Week, Leo Chicago’s Adam and her team partnered with Michelin-rated restaurants to create dishes made with blood. Her work swept at the Effies, winning the Grand, Gold, and Silver prizes.
Doing the Elmo-st: When the U.S. House cut public media funding, Adam rapidly spun up “Elmo Open to Work” to try to save it in the Senate. A LinkedIn profile with job history and skills for the furry red monster was picked up by Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and more. Her completely organic post gained 5 billion impressions with nothing behind it other than Adam’s passion for public media—and may have helped the Sesame Street gang secure their new gig with Netflix.
Maryah Greene
Senior Influencer Manager & Social Strategist, Droga5
Still growing: Maryah Greene has had several careers before landing at Droga5, among them becoming a plant-fluencer known as New York City’s “Plant Doctor,” with appearances on network morning shows and brand deals with Dove, Uniqlo, and New Balance.
On the other side: In 2025, she shaped EA’s “RomantaSim” campaign, encouraging gamers to write the final chapter of a Sims romantasy novel, and steered social strategy for Bosch’s “Justaguy” Fieri Super Bowl ad.
Elementary, my dear: Greene’s fresh-out-of-college work as an elementary school teacher continues to inspire her. “[My students] weren’t afraid to be messy first and refine later. They understood instinctively that great ideas don’t start polished—they start chaotic, curious, and fluid.”
Matias Cachiquis & Alec Plourde
Senior Creatives, Gut Miami
The odd couple: One is from Argentina and loves fútbol, the other hails from Oklahoma and prefers football. One saves every file and the other prefers inbox zero. But for senior creatives Matias Cachiquis and Alec Plourde, it’s the friction that fuels their ideas. The pair, two of Gut Miami’s longest-tenured creatives, have shaped some of the agency’s most culturally relevant work.
Snack attack: Whether it’s getting naked to enjoy a treat (“The Renaissance of Snacking” for Simply NKD Doritos and Cheetos), burning gleeful marshmallows alive (“Love ’Em to Death” for Jet-Puffed), or a simple declaration hailing a new pope (“Pope Yes” for Popeyes) that raked in $16 million in earned media, Cachiquis and Plourde’s ambition creates buzzworthy moments.
Michelle Meng & Karishma Wadia
Art Director & Copywriter, Dentsu Creative Canada
In control: As the lead creative team for “Honda in Canada,” art director Michelle Meng and her copywriter Karishma Wadia crafted a social-first love letter to the brand starring real Honda owners.
Still growing: When LePage Pro Support wanted to bridge a generational divide between retiring pros and new tradespeople, Meng and Wadia delivered “Building Stronger Bonds.” Their fully integrated campaign won a gold and two silver Strategy Awards in 2025, with the client signing them on for its upcoming 150th anniversary celebration.
Rising up: In 2025, Wadia became the first Canadian creative honored with a Cannes Lions Creative Academy scholarship.
Michelle Sylvest
Copywriter, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York
Dropping bars: In less than four years, Michelle Sylvest has risen to be one of TBWA’s most trusted creatives who shows up with levity and curiosity. She led the disruption workshop with the Arizona Cardinals C-suite to get the “18 Bars” campaign made, marking the first time an NFL team dropped its schedule on Apple Music and Spotify—through a diss track performed by linebacker Mack Wilson.
Record scratch: Sylvest got Optimum Nutrition to ditch the swole gym bros for the WBNA’s Cameron Brink to challenge misconceptions about female athletes.
Lifting up: When she’s not working on culturally disruptive campaigns, Sylvest fosters agency community by heading up the Young Pros ERG, where she hosts fun, educational events for fellow rising professionals like the (totally SFW) Drunk Spelling Bee.
Nikki Mendez
Associate Creative Director, Salt XC
Cleaning up: Passionate about pop culture, Mendez practices boundary-pushing storytelling through unconventional creativity, challenging how brands can earn relevance. Look no further than her “Brawny 3-Ply Guys” campaign, which used weaponized incompetence to reframe domestic labor with humor and sharp social commentary.
Speaking to culture: When Cheez-It wanted to attract a younger, multicultural fan base, “Cheez-Fitz” was born. By partnering with stylist Brittany Hampton to create a custom look for WNBA star Rickea Jackson, Mendez centered Black fashion and women’s basketball to strengthen Cheez-It’s ties to Black Gen Z audiences.
Eat your darlings: The on-field ritual sacrifice of a Pop-Tart mascot to feed the winners of the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl? Mendez was behind the stunt, which has become a beloved annual tradition.
Nithya Charles & Henry Coffey
Junior Art Director & Junior Copywriter, Mischief @ No Fixed Address
Already stars: Landing at Mischief straight out of ad school in April 2025, this duo had already racked up the awards. Henry Coffey’s Brandcenter at VCU team were the first to win two Black Pencils at the D&AD New Blood Awards for “Ads for Rats,” while Nithya Charles won a Young Ones Gold Pencil for a gamified online stunt for Subway, as well as a D&AD New Blood Pencil for Yahoo’s “No Exclamation Needed,” which called out gendered expectations around professionalism.
Hit the ground running: Their first brief became the viral Capri Sun Solstice Pouch with 974 million total impressions and 331 earned media placements. Then in October, they created an ‘80s-infused throwback national commercial for Outback Steakhouse with a jingle lauded across the ad industry.
Scott Horlbeck & Joaquin Sabarots
ACD Team, Anomaly LA
Team spirit: The powerhouse duo behind some of Anomaly’s biggest work of 2025 did it not by applying a set method but reading the brief closely—then getting between the lines. For Hoka, their global “Together We Fly Higher” campaign celebrated the power of community to bring out each member’s potential, earning a Gold and three Silver Clios.
Sports savvy: By recruiting NFL players as bodyguards for Visa cardholders in “Pocket Protection,” the campaign got an extension into the postseason. They were also the duo responsible for the singing toilets in Liquid I.V. ‘s first Super Bowl commercial, “Take a Look.” Look for their next act for Visa during the FIFA World Cup.
Shakyra Moore
Senior Copywriter, Virtue Worldwide
You’re my Soda Thought: Poppi needed to pop off at Super Bowl 60. Enter Shakyra (Shak to her team) Moore, whose work on the prebiotic soda brand’s “Soda Thoughts” campaign brought creators Jake Shane, Alix Earle, and Rob Rausch to the show. The result was a metric-topping spectacle that drove record sell-through and elevated the brand right before its big acquisition by PepsiCo.
But that’s not all: Moore’s ability to connect brands with the right audiences came in clutch with the launch of mushroom coffee maker Ryze’s “Ryze & Shine” platform. She also tackled the eggflation crisis with MGA Entertainment through the viral shoppable music video “EGG$$$$$” with young rap phenom Nova Starr.
Sydney Cohen & Jordan Fishel
Senior Art Director & Senior Copywriter, Highdive
Name a more iconic duo: Since finishing portfolio school 2021, Cohen and Fishel have hit the ground running. Their “Batman vs. Bateman” Super Bowl 59 spot for State Farm drove over 15.6 million social engagements, and earned an Emmy nomination. Their work has also earned two Young Ones Gold Pencils and helped fuel 24% year-over-year growth for Highdive.
Off the wall: The creative partners’ ability to find the sweet spot between culture and brands was never more on display than “Billy Bass,” the campaign announcing the return of the Jeep Cherokee featuring a chaotic father-son adventure starring the iconic singing fish. Jeep’s owner, Stellantis, got Super Bowl-level spectacle without a Big Game buy.
Tom Francesconi
Creative Director, Joan Creative
Watch this: With experience ranging from leading classrooms to launching a startup, Tom Francesconi is a master of earning his audience’s attention and giving them reasons to engage. He has a talent for seeing the ordinary in a new way, spurring conversation and a sense of discovery.
Real insights: In 2025, the Joan creative director brought WNBA three-point lines to public courts, sparking 100 million earned impressions and a rollout that began in New York but expanded globally. He turned the Brawny Man into a modern cultural character dealing with the messiness of real life. And for Mohegan Sun, he reframed unpredictability as the ultimate luxury for the casino resort’s first unified platform across physical and digital.
Tori Mortenson & Kelsey Miller
Associate Creative Directors, David New York
Fun and effective: Leading with a “Be real. Be silly.” philosophy, Tori Mortenson and Kelsey Miller create work that feels real because it’s rooted in cultural insights. After only a year and a half at David New York, they’ve become key players, integral to the agency winning AOR duties for Ikea and creating the provocative “Stop sleeping with your ex” promotional campaign that drove mattress sales for the Swedish retailer.
Unconventional: The duo were also behind Jose Cuervo’s Dumb Phone, recognizing the technology-lite trend among Gen Z before the rest of the industry.
Starting small: Both creatives started out in smaller markets before coming to New York, and credit that experience with sharpening their strategic thinking to punch above their weight.
Zack Browne & Alfonso Ruiz
Creative Directors, Johannes Leonardo
Updating an icon: When Adidas’ cultural relevance began to slide, Zack Browne and Alfonso Ruiz helped the sportswear brand reclaim a dominant voice across sports and lifestyle. Anthony Edwards’ AE 1 shoe launched with an unapologetic, social-first narrative called “Believe That,” which along with its sequels has won Cannes Lions and generated 433 million impressions to date.
On tour: When Oasis reunited for a 2025 summer tour, Browne and Ruiz spurned traditional endorsement deals for their client Adidas. This included creating a cinematic promotional film that became the only campaign to feature the Gallagher brothers together, and became part of the opening visual for all 41 sold-out arena stops.
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