These Are The 30 Most Creative People In Advertising Under 30

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30. Will Davie, senior brand strategist at Droga5.

30. Will Davie, senior brand strategist at Droga5.

Age: 25

Davie has worked on a number of memorable digital campaigns including creating UNICEF’s Tap Project, a Facebook campaign that prodded users to enlist their friends to make charitable donations.

He has also worked on major accounts including Prudential, Coke Zero, and Coca-Cola’s energy drink Burn.

Davie’s creativity also extends beyond advertising. Prior to starting his advertising career, he worked as a musician, playing guitar and saxophone.

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Most recently Davie worked on the new, emotionally-charged “Home is in the Air” holiday campaign for Air Wick.

Most recently Davie worked on the new, emotionally-charged “Home is in the Air” holiday campaign for Air Wick.
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29. Katrina Bekessy, director of technology and design at R/GA.

29. Katrina Bekessy, director of technology and design at R/GA.

Age: 29

Bekessy is responsible for leading tech strategy and design across a variety of channels such as social media, mobile, and enterprise systems.

She works on clients including Walmart, L’Oreal, and McCormick.

Last year Bekessy was listed in Forbes’ “30 under 30 in advertising and marketing” and also picked up One Show and Silver Cyber Lion awards.

Here’s the work for McCormick that won Bekessy and her team a Silver Cyber Lion last year.

Here’s the work for McCormick that won Bekessy and her team a Silver Cyber Lion last year.
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28. Kirk Watson, associate design director at Albion.

28. Kirk Watson, associate design director at Albion.

Age: 30

Watson oversees all of Albion’s design output, managing a team of four and is part of the agency's senior team.

He is the agency’s resident photographer and leads on all major client design work, including creating identities UK nationwide cab firm Addison Lee and property website Zoopla.

His colleagues say: “Since Kirk's promotion [this year to associate design director], we've seen a radical step-change in the design department; the team thrive off his positivity, thirst for fantastic work, and drive to always improve their craft.”

Here's some of the work Watson created for Addison Lee.

Here's some of the work Watson created for Addison Lee.
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27. Brian Wong, founder and CEO of Kiip.

27. Brian Wong, founder and CEO of Kiip.

Age: 23

Wong's company Kiip works with major consumer brands like Pepsi, McDonald's, Unilever, and Mars in the mobile advertising space.

But rather than focusing on banners, Kiip works to transform mobile advertising into rewards for consumers that appear in games and apps.

One recent partnership Kiip has formed is with popular fitness app RunKeeper. Kiip is providing fitness-focused rewards from partners such as Quaker Oats and P&G Secret Deoderant to congratulate users when they reach their goals.

One recent partnership Kiip has formed is with popular fitness app RunKeeper. Kiip is providing fitness-focused rewards from partners such as Quaker Oats and P&G Secret Deoderant to congratulate users when they reach their goals.

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26. Richard Langhorne, copywriter at Mother New York.

26. Richard Langhorne, copywriter at Mother New York.

Age: 28

Langhorne has worked at Mother since 2011 and his copywriting has stretched across several accounts including Virgin Mobile, Sour Patch Kids, and Google.

He has received a number of honors for his work including Clios and One Show awards.

Recently Langhorne worked on a memorable YouTube campaign for Virgin Mobile, dubbed “Blinkwashing.” The experience contained 25 different videos, each repeating the same script. When the viewer blinked, the player reacted, randomly choosing another video that picked up where the last video left off.

Here’s the fun Virgin Mobile “Blinkwashing” campaign.

Here’s the fun Virgin Mobile “Blinkwashing” campaign.
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25. Josh Team, chief innovation officer, US; head of digital innovation and technology at RAPP.

25. Josh Team, chief innovation officer, US; head of digital innovation and technology at RAPP.

Age: 28

Team is a sought-after marketing and tech expert who frequently speaks at industry events like SXSW and lectures at universities on subjects like open source technology, programmatic buying and real-time advertising.

Through Team's leadership, RAPP's internal product development team has grown to 18 employees, working with brands like Brinker and Cinemark.

One of Team's latest creations is Poptag: A platform that automatically adds branded assets like logos and artwork to user-generated social media images and aggregates photos into a branded website.

Here's Poptag in action.

Here's Poptag in action.
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24. Michael Joffe, brand activation lead at Google Canada.

24. Michael Joffe, brand activation lead at Google Canada.

Age: 30

Joffe is a creative strategist who works on the team representing the Google brand to internal and external partners.

He designs and leads workshops for one of Google's key clients. Many of these are focused on building content strategies on YouTube. In addition, he also acts as an internal brand consultant with Google's own account teams.

Prior to joining Google, Joffe was an associate creative director at Mosaic where he helped build Budweiser Canada’s music program, which launched in 2014.

Here's Joffe's work on Budweiser Canada's music program.

Here's Joffe's work on Budweiser Canada's music program.
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23. Liam Pook, mobile director at Essence.

23. Liam Pook, mobile director at Essence.

Age: 28

Pook helps some of the world's biggest brands, including Google, ensure mobile media delivers what people actuallly want.

He helped create Google's award-winning OneApp pack, which has helped Google drive downloads for its range of iOS apps including Chrome, Gmail, Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Search, and YouTube.

Pook has also helped train 200 people across Essence's global media and creative teams on mobile. He is a member of the IAB's UK mobile council, which demonstrates how influential he is on the subject of mobile and creativity.

This is how the Google OneApp pack works.

This is how the Google OneApp pack works.
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22. Soyeon Yoo, designer at J Walter Thompson New York.

22. Soyeon Yoo, designer at J Walter Thompson New York.

Age: 27

Yoo is described by her colleagues as being "far beyond her years in talent, drive, and attitude."

Since joining JWT, she has won industry awards including an ANDY's Bronze in branded content on Smirnoff, she was the lead designer on Puma's "Forever Faster" global campaign and has been instrumental in redefining the Bob Woodruff Foundation's look and feel.

Soyeon was the lead designer on Puma's "Forever Faster" global campaign.

Soyeon was the lead designer on Puma's "Forever Faster" global campaign.
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21. Michael Litman founder of Burst and Brandsonvine.

21. Michael Litman founder of Burst and Brandsonvine.

Age: 28

Litman founded Burst this year, which is the first agency in the world soley dedicated to Twitter's 6-second video app Vine. It claims to be the "world's first micro-content specialist agency" and helps brands including Samsung, Pepsi Max, and Vita Coco on producing video content, consultancy, training, and workshops.

He also owns Brandsonvine, a company dedicated to data, intelligence, and analysis on brand storytelling on Vine.

Here is a Vine Litman helped create as part of a long-running campaign for coconut water brand Vita Coco.

Here is a Vine Litman helped create as part of a long-running campaign for coconut water brand Vita Coco.
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20. Ben Polkinghorne, copywriter at Colenso BBDO.

20. Ben Polkinghorne, copywriter at Colenso BBDO.

Age: 27

In his two and a half years at New Zealand-based agency Colenso BBDO, Polkinghorne has been awarded Cannes Lions and a D&AD Pencil.

Polkinghorne's work includes being part of the team that created was part of the team behind the award-winning "Trail By Timeline" campaign for Amnesty International, which showed Facebook users how they would be punished for the lighthearted acts they shared on social media if they lived in another part of the world.

Ben is not just creative in his day job, he is also locally renowned as The Burrito Reviewer.

Polkinghorne's "Trial By Timeline" work for Amnesty International.

Polkinghorne's "Trial By Timeline" work for Amnesty International.
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19. Jake Carlsrud, creative at Mono.

19. Jake Carlsrud, creative at Mono.

Age: 29

is basically the world's first agency purely dedicated to Twitter's 6-second video app Vine.

Carlsrud's holds a dual role at Mono: Part-designer, part-art director. He works on brands like Target, Apple, Blu Dot and Mrs Meyer.

His colleagues say he has to have a “kick-ass” eye for design and is held up as a strategic thinker.

Recently, Carlsrud worked with Target to create “The Everyday Collection” campaign, showcasing the retailer’s everyday grocery products as if they were designer fashion collections.

Carlsrud's work with Target on the "Everyday Collection" was very colorful.

Carlsrud's work with Target on the "Everyday Collection" was very colorful.
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18. Pierce Thiot, art director TBWA\Chiat\Day LA.

18. Pierce Thiot, art director TBWA\Chiat\Day LA.

Age: 28

Thiot’s client list includes work for major brands including Nissan, Gatorade, and Holiday Inn.

His work has achieved a One Show Pencil and Utah Addy's awards.

Thiot is also the creator of the amusing Tumblr account Will It Beard (hence his Lego beard picture here), which has received worldwide press coverage.

Gatorade wanted to congratulate Peyton Manning on breaking the single season touchdown record. Thiot helped create this spot using 51 images of all his 51 touchdown throws, using a voiceover from Manning's dad.

Gatorade wanted to congratulate Peyton Manning on breaking the single season touchdown record. Thiot helped create this spot using 51 images of all his 51 touchdown throws, using a voiceover from Manning's dad.
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17. Lauren Perlow, art director at TBWA\Media Arts Lab

17. Lauren Perlow, art director at TBWA\Media Arts Lab

Age: 29

Perlow joined TBWA\Media Arts Lab earlier this year, where she works on the Apple account.

Prior to that she was art director at Deutsch LA, where she worked for two years on Volkswagen and PlayStation, creating campaigns such as the Volkswagen SmileDrive and the PlayStation MLB13 Cover Showdown.

In her free time, Perlow is also a co-creator of thenicestplaceontheinter.net, where people having a rough time can go to view a series of heartwarming virtual hugs set to soothing music.

Perlow art directed on the iPhone 6 Apple launch TV ads, starring Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake.

Perlow art directed on the iPhone 6 Apple launch TV ads, starring Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake.
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16. Kasra Saidi, senior brand strategist at Venables Bell & Partners.

16. Kasra Saidi, senior brand strategist at Venables Bell & Partners.

Age: 25

Saidi has grown up at Venables Bell & Partners. He started at the agency as an intern and has since worked his way up the ranks to senior strategist.

For the past year, Audi has been his focus. Diving head first, he was thrown into the biggest launch in Audi’s history for the all-new A3. Connecting the brand with a new group of consumers — millennials — he went on to champion insights that led Audi to the launch strategy, "Stay Un-compromised," featuring Ricky Gervais. Record-breaking sales followed and the ad earned the agency a LIA award.

Here's the Audi A3 launch ad Saidi worked on.

Here's the Audi A3 launch ad Saidi worked on.
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15. Lauren Ferreira, senior copywriter at Leo Burnett Chicago.

15. Lauren Ferreira, senior copywriter at Leo Burnett Chicago.

Age: 29

Ferreira works on some of Leo Burnett's biggest client accounts, including McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Sprint.

She sits within the agency's interactive team, helping launch digital innovations.

For example, to announce Sprint's noise-cancellation Kyocera Torque phone, Ferreira was part of team that created the "World's Loudest Call Center" — placing a Sprint call center on a rooftop helipad with a helicopter running. Streaming video of the call center on the Sprint website, people could call and watch the phone operators talk to them from under the deafening drone of the helicopters. They received 2,000 calls in less than 90 minutes increasing website visits by 100 percent and adding 45 percent time spent on the site.

Here's that Sprint campaign in action.

Here's that Sprint campaign in action.
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14. Hudson Sullivan, director of brand strategy at KBS.

14. Hudson Sullivan, director of brand strategy at KBS.

Age: 28

Sullivan’s supervisor describes him as “one of the smartest, most versatile marketers” she’s come across in her career.

At KBS he works on brands including Nike, Harman and PepsiCo's Mountain Dew.

He previously served as a brand manager at PepsiCo and was director of action sports and consulting at Wasserman Media Group.

Sullivan helped develop Harman's brand documentary "Distortion of Sound."

Sullivan helped develop Harman's brand documentary "Distortion of Sound."
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13. Tristan Graham, creative director at Naked Communications.

13. Tristan Graham, creative director at Naked Communications.

Age: Under 30

Graham was promoted to become Naked Communications’ creative director in March this year.

He works on clients including Adidas, Hallmark Cards and Renault.

His career, which has also seen him work at McCann Worldgroup and Grey, has seen his work recognized at award shows including Cannes Lions, the WARC Innovation Awards, Effies, Spikes, Sires, One Show, Sirens and ADMA.

This year, Graham’s work at McCann Melbourne for public transportation authority V/Line won the top prize in the Cannes Lions Creative Effectiveness category.

This year, Graham’s work at McCann Melbourne for public transportation authority V/Line won the top prize in the Cannes Lions Creative Effectiveness category.
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12. Courtney Pulver, copywriter at David&Goliath.

12. Courtney Pulver, copywriter at David&Goliath.

Age: 28

Pulver has worked for brands like Kia, McDonald's, American Airlines and Universal Studios Hollywood.

She is a multi-award winner, with numerous national and district ADDYs to her name.

Pulver worked on the high profile Matrix-themed Super Bowl spot for Kia, which earned a bronze CLIO award.

Here's that Kia Super Bowl ad.

Here's that Kia Super Bowl ad.
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11. Andy Pearson, VP creative director at Deutsch LA

11. Andy Pearson, VP creative director at Deutsch LA

Age: 29

Pearson is a key creative on the Volkswagen accout and has helped create some of the brand’s most well-known recent campaigns including this year’s World Cup initiative and the brand's partnership with Shark Week.

His honors and awards include being named as one of Screen Magazine’s top creatives under 30 and various One Show, Clio, Effies and MIXX awards.

Pearson also leads Deutsch LA’s new summer internship program “D-Prep.”

Pearson led the "VW Gooolf" Social Response campaign.

Pearson led the "VW Gooolf" Social Response campaign.
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10. Bianca Guimarães, senior art director at BBDO.

10. Bianca Guimarães, senior art director at BBDO.

Age: 26

Guimarães joined BBDO in July from JWT New York.

This year, she has won a series of awards including a One Show bronze, Webby Award, Young Guns Award, and she was a finalist in the New York Festivals digital: interactive applications category.

Guimarães was part of the team that created “Intelligift,” a website that allowed people to type in details about their mother and what they were planning to give. The ideas were focus grouped and tested with real moms. Each user received an indexed score with detailed feedback, along with a video of their session.

Here's how Intelligift works.

Here's how Intelligift works.
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At JWT,

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9. Adam Wolinsky, copywriter, and Avery Oldfield, age 27, art director at Venables Bell & Partners

9. Adam Wolinsky, copywriter, and Avery Oldfield, age 27, art director at Venables Bell & Partners

Age: 28

Creative team Wolinsky and Oldfield came to VB&P from Saatchi LA where they spent two years working on Toyota, in which time they won four gold Cannes Lions awards.

The pair recently launched a global campaign for Google My Business, targeting business owners in markets ranging from Australia to Germany. Graduates of VCU's Brandcenter, their work has also been honored at One Show, One Show Interactive, One Show Entertainment, FWA, and the Webby Awards.

Watch their award-winning work for Toyota.

Watch their award-winning work for Toyota.

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8. Rebecca Nadilo, head of engagement planning at BBDO.

8. Rebecca Nadilo, head of engagement planning at BBDO.

Age: 28

Nadilo was recently promoted from director of digital strategy to become BBDO New York’s head of engagement planning.

In that role she works with clients including AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, FedEx, CVS, Wells Fargo, and Autism Speaks.

This year she was part of the team that won a Cannes Lion for AT&T’s “One Second to the Next” Texting While Driving documentary.

Here's the award-winning AT&T work.

Here's the award-winning AT&T work.
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7. Sam Shepherd, art director, and Frank Cartagena, copywriter at Deutsch NY

7. Sam Shepherd, art director, and Frank Cartagena, copywriter at Deutsch NY

Age: 28 and 29, respectively

This creative duo have worked on brands including Volkswagen, NYC Ballet, and WATERisLIFE.

Both have a string of awards to their name including numerous Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, AICP wins, Andys and Webbys to name a few.

Memorably, in 2012, the pair created a meme-hijacking campaign that set out to end a hashtag, rather than just promote it. For the anthem commercial coupling the campaign, they gathered various "#FirstWorldProblems" tweets and approached people in Haiti to recite them.

Here's that #FirstWorldProblems campaign in action.

Here's that #FirstWorldProblems campaign in action.
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6. Jenna Livingston, copy director at R/GA New York

6. Jenna Livingston, copy director at R/GA New York

Age: 29

Livingston was part of the team that created Beats Music, which formed a key part of Apple's decision to buy Beats by Dre for $3 billion earlier this year.

Her work has been recognized by the Cannes Lions, the Clio Awards, and the Webby's.

In 2014 she was one of 12 women around the world selected for the Cannes Lions See It, Be It initiative, which recognizes creative women in advertising.

Livingston is also known for personal projects that go viral, such as "Digital Streaker," which gave small brands a chance to get major media exposure during the Super Bowl for zero dollars, instead of millions.

Livingston is also known for personal projects that go viral, such as "Digital Streaker," which gave small brands a chance to get major media exposure during the Super Bowl for zero dollars, instead of millions.
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5. Josh McGuire, creative director at Tribal Worldwide New York

5. Josh McGuire, creative director at Tribal Worldwide New York

Age: 28

McGuire has worked across a variety of brands in his senior role at Tribal Worldwide New York, including McDonald's, Lowe's, and Wrigley.

Last year he won the 2013 USA Today Young Lions Film competition, became an official honoree at the Webby Awards, and his work was also awarded at the Telly awards, The FEWA Mobile of the Day, and Google Creative Sandbox.

Here's the work for KaBOOM! that won McGuire a Cannes Youngs Lions Award last year.

Here's the work for KaBOOM! that won McGuire a Cannes Youngs Lions Award last year.
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4. Nicolai Smith, associate creative director at AKQA.

4. Nicolai Smith, associate creative director at AKQA.

Age: 29

Smith opened AKQA's Paris office in 2012 to lead the agency's creative output in the region.

He works with brands such as Nike, Chanel, Red Bull, and Google.

In previous roles, he has been honored with a Young Cannes Lions Gold and was a Future Lions winner.

Most recently Smith led the design for Hermes' online store, Les Maison des Carres.

Most recently Smith led the design for Hermes' online store, Les Maison des Carres.

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3. Brock Kirby, copywriter at Wieden+Kennedy.

3. Brock Kirby, copywriter at Wieden+Kennedy.

Age: 28

Kirby is one of Wieden+Kennedy's hottest young stars and has worked across brands including Nike, Bing, and Foot Locker.

He has won two awards at Cannes as well as a number of One Show, Effie, and Clio awards.

Perhaps most famously, Kirby wrote the copy for a newspaper ad for Nike, which was created very shortly after Kobe Bryant's injury in 2013. It was also posted on Facebook and Twitter and it quickly became the most successful post on Nike's Basketball channels ever. Even cooler, Kobe wrote Nike a note back on Twitter and changed the ad to his avatar.

This was the Nike press ad that got so much attention.

This was the Nike press ad that got so much attention.
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2. Felix Richter, creative director at Droga5 New York.

2. Felix Richter, creative director at Droga5 New York.

Age: 29

Recently promoted from copywriter to creative director, Richter has been making a name for himself working on brands such as Hennessey, Under Armour, and Airwalk.

In the first three years of his career he won multiple Cannes Lions, Clios, and One Show pencils, as well as a Webby and a Yellow Pencil at D&AD. Since then he has gone on to pick up several more of advertising’s biggest honors, including being named as “Professional Young Gun of the Year”

He received, overwhelmingly, the most votes in this year's BI 30 most creative in advertising under 30.

Richter's worked on this ad for Hennessy's. This spot, dubbed "The Man Who Couldn't Slow Down," was part of the brand's Wild Rabbit campaign.

Richter's worked on this ad for Hennessy's. This spot, dubbed "The Man Who Couldn't Slow Down," was part of the brand's Wild Rabbit campaign.
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1. Aaron Duffy, 30, founder of SpecialGuest and partner and creative director at 1stAveMachine

1. Aaron Duffy, 30, founder of SpecialGuest and partner and creative director at 1stAveMachine

(Duffy turned 30 shortly before this list was published. We're giving him a short grace period.)

After graduating from Washington University in 2006, Duffy joined production company 1stAveMachine and one year later started his own creative agency SpecialGuest.

Since then he has quickly risen to become one of the most sought after and influential young creatives in the industry, having worked with companies including Google, Apple, Facebook, and Audi. He already has several Cannes Lions (including Golds), a Super Bowl commercial, Art Directors Club Young Guns membership, and a spot in MoMA's Archive for the Art and Technique of the American Commercial to his name.

Beyond brand advertising, he recently scored a viral sensation with his music video for OK Go's "The Writing's on The Wall," which won him an MTV VMA award for Best Visual Effects.

Here's the Google commercial Duffy directed that has almost 9 million YouTube views, 7 Cannes Lions awards and was inducted into MoMA's permanent collection.

Here's the Google commercial Duffy directed that has almost 9 million YouTube views, 7 Cannes Lions awards and was inducted into MoMA's permanent collection.
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