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StratFest Sees Strategy at the Center of the Marketing Engine
The long-running event finds strategy growing in importance as AI changes the game
Grit Doesn’t Do Timesheets — It Does 35 Rounds (if Needed)
The Denver design-led shop trades billable hours for flat fees, 5 p.m. exits and as many rounds as the work needs
Cup Noodles Gave Its Socials to a Vampire
Cornett hands Cup Noodles’ social channels to a 300-year-old influencer with one small problem
Why Van’s General Store Turns 1 Brief Into 16 Films
Scott Carlson and Liev Schreiber built a 14-year-old bi-coastal shop on a simple premise: respect the ask, then make it bigger
A 300-Year-Old Vampire Finally Lands His First Brand Deal
Indie Spin: The one with a steamy shower reminder, a dating show about wardrobes, and a donation counter that counted twice.
AD&Co Has Been Quiet for 10 Years. Time to Bark.
Amy Demas’ Culver City studio has spent a decade guiding fashion, beauty and retail brands through reinvention — without the smoke, mirrors or a single pitch-season brag
Folklore’s Founder Hired His Own CEO. Twice.
Mike Matheny knows where his strengths stop. Obele Brown-West read all 300 pages to learn where Folklore’s begin
Why the BastionBUNTIN Merger Took 2 Years to Get to Yes
Jeffrey Buntin Jr. and Jeff Browe on the values checks, money questions and 10 integration meetings that came before the deal
Filterbuy’s Air Filter Ad Starts Normal. Then It Gets Gloriously Unhinged
PDA’s national push for the brand opens as a tidy home-care ad. By the end there’s a moose in the doorway and some amorous bunnies in the bedroom
A £50,000 Chicken Test and Other Acts of Devotion
Indie Spin: The one with fried chicken loyalty, contract fine print, and a bear named Backpack.
Unreasonable Conference Picks Experts’ Brains on Consumer Behavior
The conference, sponsored by Y&L, helps educate marketers on the best ways to reach consumers.
70% of Perimenopause Brands Are Run by Men
Ritual and Giant Spoon turn that stat into a four-part harmony — then let Jackie Tohn shut it down.
Advertising’s Most Expensive Problem Happens Well Before We Make Anything
We’ve built a creative process that separates the thinking from the making. And it’s costing us.
Bensimon Byrne’s New Pitch: Do Less, on Purpose
The Toronto indie relaunches as a creative intelligence company, armed with Ipsos data on why marketers struggle to commit to fewer priorities
Toronto Restaurants Owe Kawhi Leonard Dinner, and Other Promises Coming Due
Indie Spin: The one with boy-banded chicken tenders, a parchment paper gown, and a fast-food mascot people chose to talk to.
Why Brands Are Dropping the Billable Hour and Stretching Payment Terms
Output-based pay is winning out, but agencies are waiting roughly 75 days to get paid, and the WFA says smaller independents are carrying the most risk
Truly Lost Is Merch for Fans Who Don’t Watch.
Party Land and Truly Hard Seltzer built a sportswear line for everyone at the game who has no idea what’s happening
Spiral Loaves, Quarterback Slides and a Beer That Books Your First Therapy Session
Indie Spin: The one with the quarterback’s wife, the toilet ad space, and the 84% jump.
Lufthansa Shows Its Premium Side, 1 Detail at a Time
Serviceplan’s new global campaign skips the luxury clichés and zooms in on what guests can see, taste and feel onboard
The Quarterback Slide Deserves a Stat Line
King’s Hawaiian and Erich & Kallman recruited Eli Manning for a petition to make sliding an official football statistic.
Corner Table Creative Put “Wifey Material” on a Wanted Poster
Upward relaunches as the home of modern courtship, with a new identity and a “Wanted for Life” campaign built for singles who say marriage out loud
Only 5% of Travelers Book What the AI Told Them To
Indie Spin: The one with a 33% disagreement, a four-day comeback ad, and an agency backing a fat bear.
She Referred a Client to Folklore. Now She’s Running It.
Obele Brown-West steps in as CEO + Partner at the Minneapolis independent as Lorenz Esguerra moves to Chairman.
No Timesheets, No Underdogs: 21 Years of Gertrude
Otis D. Gibson named his Chicago agency after a woman he’d never met — and built a shop that Coca-Cola, Quaker and Diageo call when the problem is big and the clock is short