Independent agencies are wrestling with questions that didn’t exist a year ago. How do you price AI work when the AI can’t yet price itself? What happens when your creative brief gets written by a bot named Terri? And when does “community building” become code for “we need your money but not your input”?
This week’s content from Indie Agency News members reveals an industry at an inflection point—where old models are dying faster than new ones can be built, where craft is making a comeback precisely because everything can now be automated, and where the smartest agencies are treating AI less like a magic bullet and more like a liability that needs serious guardrails.
From Puerto Rican plena to soggy clumps of sentient body hair, here’s what caught our attention.
🤖 When Your Creative Director Is an Algorithm
AI isn’t just changing the work—it’s changing who does the work
Territorial built an agentic AI creative director named Terri that’s predicting Super Bowl spots with unsettling accuracy. The bot analyzed teasers for Manscaped, Redfin/Rocket, and Squarespace—and while Terri nailed some predictions, the misses reveal how far we still have to go before AI truly understands cultural nuance.
Mother launched work for Claude that cuts straight to the anxiety: when you ask AI for workout tips and get advertised height-maxing insoles. The campaign argues there’s a time and a place for ads, and your conversations with AI shouldn’t be one of them.
Legal+Creative | Toerek Law isn’t waiting for the disasters to happen. Samantha Jorden presented five AI guardrails COOs need to put in place at the AI for Agencies Summit, focusing on how professional services firms can protect themselves before AI risk becomes AI liability.
Trade School‘s Chief Strategy Officer Brandon Murphy wrote for WARC about building brands that are understood, trusted, and recommended in an AI-curated world. As AI moves from distribution to decision-making, brand strategy has to shift with it.
💰 The Creator Economy Gets Predictive
From vibes to data: why some brands are finally measuring creator impact
Fohr made headlines in Digiday for moving brands from gut-instinct casting to predictive models. Founder James Nord explained how they’re helping brands stop relying on averages and familiarity—and start using data to predict which creators will drive results.
Not content with just prediction, Fohr also landed in The Business of Fashion discussing the metrics reshaping influencer marketing as brands face mounting pressure to prove impact and tie creator spend to outcomes.
Joybyte is headed to Natural Products Expo West with a pitch that turns creators into a scalable revenue engine through TikTok Shop, helping CPG brands convert authentic content into actual sales.
📺 Death of the Pitch, Birth of the Paywall
Indies are done working for free—and building businesses around that conviction
X&O operates on a “no pitches, no free thinking, no meetings about meetings” model—just paid expertise that solves problems fast. Their network of 140+ senior experts work anonymously under Reservoir Dogs color codes, set their own rates, and stay behind the paywall while founders Brett Banker and Eric Segal handle delivery.
The Many published a deep dive on prediction markets—exploring whether these betting platforms can stand as truth when institutions, politicians, and polls have lost credibility. It’s a meditation on where authority goes when everything becomes transactional.
🎨 Craft as the New Flex
Why human-made work is becoming the ultimate differentiator
Chemistry‘s King of Craft Mike G told Little Black Book that non-AI craft is the new flex—calling it “a beautifully handcrafted middle finger to our instant-gratification, digital-first world.” When everything can be made instantly, real human-made craft becomes the ultimate status symbol.
Mother is living this philosophy with their Claude work: four films that demonstrate restraint, craft, and a clear point of view on where ads belong (and where they don’t).
🏈 Super Bowl as Cultural Referendum
The biggest advertising night out reveals what agencies value
Highdive created Lay’s Super Bowl spot with director Taika Waititi—a tribute to family farmers and American values that focuses on tradition over flash. The agency made NBC’s Today Show discussing the work.
Quality Meats Creative delivered Manscaped’s first Super Bowl spot—a tragic love story featuring sentient clumps of body hair with expressive blue eyes. The creative earned coverage from Esquire, The Clios, LBB, shots, Yahoo Finance, Campaign US, and The New York Times.
Young Hero produced Ro’s historic first Super Bowl spot—a milestone moment that Ad Age captured as evidence of how far the shop has come.
Mother created a Super Bowl spot for Anthropic AI platform Claude, which got coverage in multiple outlets, while Mother LA infused big energy into the Oakley Meta glasses Super Bowl spot.
BarkleyOKRP created “The Big Redemption” for Frontier Airlines—finally letting a man redeem his soda points for a jet (30 years after the original controversy). The campaign earned People coverage and cultural conversation.
Special U.S. partnered with Uber Eats to create over 1,000 different edits—a “true foodball universe” where viewers could essentially make their own Super Bowl commercial.
VaynerMedia landed at #2 on The New York Times ranking with their Raisin Bran spot featuring “Will Shat”—proving that sometimes the pun writes itself.
Bakery Agency kept Tree Hut’s TikTok creators at the center of their first Super Bowl ad, proving creators aren’t a channel or an add-on, but the reason cult brands exist.
📊 Data That Actually Matters
When agencies share research worth reading
Pereira O’Dell launched The Intersection: A 2026 Trends Report from their Cultural Intelligence team, exploring cultural shifts at the intersection of advertising, entertainment, and technology.
H/L Agency released their fourth annual Consumer Trends Report as a free resource for marketers across every category. They believe good data gets better when it’s shared.
Goodway Group‘s Joe Frick wrote for Path to Purchase Institute about how CPG brands can adapt as AI reshapes shopping—and how decisions are increasingly made beyond the shelf.
Left Hand Agency published an analysis of the overlooked co-viewing dynamic in video advertising—noting that live sports, reality TV, and YouTube on CTV often turn single impressions into two or more viewers.
SRH weighed in on the efficiency vs. effectiveness debate for B2B brands—acknowledging that while you need both, B2B brands still default to efficiency when effectiveness is what moves the needle.
Iris‘s Social Strategist Callum Ritchie argued for Creative Brief that social isn’t a channel anymore—it’s an operating system. Brands winning attention in 2026 don’t start with campaigns; they start with culture, behavior, and participation.
Reach Agency CEO Gabe Gordon spoke with eMarketer about why forcing community backfires—and what real connection looks like when brands stop leading with the sale.
🎯 Work That Earned Its Way into the World
Campaigns with craft, conviction, or both
Venables Bell + Partners created “Choices” for Chipotle—a simple, positive national spot that lets visuals and music do the work, bringing viewers behind the scenes of daily prep without overstating.
Schafer Condon Carter earned Little Black Book coverage for their Ortega rebrand—featuring the world’s first Fiesta Ambassador, Brotega, complete with his own taco disco ball.
Brandon launched Idahoan Foods’ “Get Real” campaign—a no-BS approach that calls out powdered imposters and frozen frauds with gritty visuals and hard-hitting lines.
TUX partnered with First Aid Beauty on a campaign starring Olympic gold medalists Sydney Jo Peterson and Jamie Anderson, connecting athletic performance with skincare credibility.
Mythology‘s ECDs Audrey Attal and Kim Haxton spoke with Marketing Dive about the Dove x Bridgerton work—finding real beauty in period drama aesthetics.
Raindrop launched FORALL for Protein 2.0—a one-ingredient, zero-additive brand that Indie Agency News called “protein theology.” The campaign lets the product speak for itself.
Brownstein Group created “Insuranoia” for NJM Insurance Group—naming the quiet anxiety people carry long before they file a claim and making it the foundation of a brand campaign.
Special Australia launched Oz Lotto’s “Kinda Life Changing” platform—built on the truth that even if you win big, your quirks and weird routines are probably here to stay.
Cactus celebrated their work for Hoosier Lottery being featured in Roast Brief, with a spot hyping the return of 7s Scratch-offs and bringing fun to winter.
🤝 Big Moves and New Chapters
Agencies evolving their models, expanding their capabilities, or both
Rethink partnered with belairdirect as their marketing and creative agency of record—with plans to build on the iconic Little Knight and explore new creative territories.
Outerkind announced that Salt XC, a creative media and experience agency in Toronto, made a significant investment in the shop—based on the belief that they can do more together.
FUSE Create officially launched their PR division with the hiring of Jenn Duggan as SVP, Managing Director, PR—after years of building the practice and earning Shortlist recognition.
Dotted Line Agency brought on Mark Pavia as Head of Media and AI, positioning the shop to push capabilities in modern storytelling at the intersection of media strategy and technology.
🎓 Investing in the Next Generation
Agencies that put money and structure behind talent development
Giant Spoon opened applications for their annual Summer Internship Program—a 10-week program (June 2–August 7) recruiting on both coasts.
BarkleyOKRP and Hanson Dodge both promoted The BLAC Internship Program—a 12-week paid summer program (May 18–August 7) designed to train and place emerging Black talent in leading agencies. No prior experience needed, just curiosity. Applications close February 13.
WorkInProgress is hiring for Senior Product Experience Lead, Senior Digital Designer, Director of Strategy + Insights, Account + Strategy Manager, and Summer Intern positions across art direction and copywriting.
Gus is hosting Brief Encounters on February 12—a room full of young creatives, relaxed conversation, good music, and great thinking.
🎤 Thought Leadership Worth Your Time
Perspectives from leaders who’ve earned the platform
Venables Bell + Partners founder Paul Venables helped shape Unfettered—a working summit created with The Advertising Club of New York, Rick Boyko, and Kempner Communications—for independent agencies navigating 25 years of business shifts.
Oberland‘s Bill Oberlander will join Aimee Berger, VP of Marketing at Michaels, on stage at Unfettered in March to discuss leading with integrity in systems that often reward the opposite.
Curiosity shared a pregame speech from former NFL linebacker-turned-entrepreneur Dhani Jones that’s a gift to CMOs across every industry—warning them not to become Chief Placeholder Operators.
McKinney Co-Chief Creative Officer Lyle Yetman flipped through vintage restaurant ads with New York Festivals at Library180, stopping on the ones that grabbed his attention—the kind you can’t ignore.
🏆 Recognition Where It’s Due
Agencies earning awards, placements, and external validation
Cactus celebrated multiple wins at Ad Club Colorado’s The Fifty—proving their work holds up among the year’s best with cotton candy, trophies, and top-tier creative.
McKinney‘s Jasmine Dadlani was named a She Runs It 2026 Working Mother of the Year by Adweek, sharing insights on balancing work and parenting with fluid boundaries.
Zambezi‘s Laura Stayt also earned She Runs It Working Mother of the Year recognition—discussing the importance of emotional regulation in balancing motherhood and her role as President.
Serviceplan Group ranked #1 for the 12th time in Healthcare Marketing Magazin’s ranking of Germany’s most successful creative healthcare agencies—leading with 149 awards and nearly 2,000 points.
Uncharted was shortlisted for Agency of the Year by Campaign UK—a validation of doing things differently.
💡 The Connective Tissue
What this week’s content reveals
The through-line isn’t AI adoption or creative excellence or new business models—it’s agency leaders asking harder questions than they used to. What are we actually selling when a bot can do the first draft? How do we price expertise when expertise becomes scalable? When does “building community” become extractive instead of generative?
Chameleon Collective showed what precision PR looks like—securing an exclusive Bloomberg announcement for Parloa’s Series C funding that positioned the company as a $1B AI leader on one of the most influential financial stages in the world.
Worlwide Partners highlighted how R&R partners is teaming up with Discover Puerto Rico and Complex to reimagine game day through culture with the Plena Game Report—a bilingual, culture-led livestream celebrating Puerto Rican music, food, and spirit.
Davis+Gilbert is tracking how agentic AI tools are changing compliance—as tools begin to act, decide, and transact on behalf of brands.
McKinney Senior Art Director Austin White told Ad Age that nostalgia references in the Super Bowl are resonating because “anything from the late 90s and early 2000s feels like a much simpler time before social media and AI infiltrated our lives.”
Artemis Ward‘s director of content Olivia DuCharme asked whether the offline movement is real or just good content—digging into analog hype and what it means for brand work right now.
The smartest shops aren’t racing to adopt every new tool. They’re building guardrails, demanding payment for thinking, and doubling down on craft precisely because automation makes it more valuable, not less.
🎬 Other Stuff Worth Noting
Red Door Interactive is hosting Big Game, Big Ideas: Super Bowl Creative Review with AMA San Diego and The One Club for Creativity San Diego—a hybrid event where local creative directors break down the Big Game’s best commercials.
Terri & Sandy sent junior creatives Timmy Chae and Sam Baylow to shoot scrappy social around the Super Bowl—not to the game itself, but on the ground capturing real rivalry and raw audacity.
VaynerMedia and Jim Stengel are hosting a special Marketing for the Now episode unpacking major marketing moments from the Big Game.
Day One Agency featured Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick (author of The Trend Report and co-host of HIP REPLACEMENT podcast) on Day One FM—discussing trend reporting, broadcast news, why advertisers don’t talk to real people, and the laziness epidemic.
Attention Arc Co-President Swapnil Patel told USA TODAY that Super Bowl advertising has changed—winning is no longer about flooding the zone but making rare moments count.
Something Different‘s judge shared thoughts on how tough it is to do something great for the Super Bowl anymore—not because of talent, but because of everything surrounding the talent.
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Kyle O’Brien is managing editor of Indie Agency News.
