Advertising

The Year in Creativity, 2021

100 takes on the year's best and brightest ideas

by Tim Nudd

December 15, 2021

3:45 pm

132 min read

The Ikea Meatball Candle. When an idea like that costs $10,000 to produce and generates $4.7 billion in impressions, it reminds us that weird ideas still have a place in our world, and how it doesn’t matter if they sound “stupid.” As long as they are on brand and are surprising, they can create an impact and be an economic multiplier.

Admired

Michelob Ultra ”Courtside.” I don’t remember if a brand ever impacted the world of sports the way ”Courtside” impacted the NBA. During a heavy moment we were all living, that genius idea and brilliant execution brought us all joy and allowed the world to experience a game in a totally new way. I admired that idea so much that I joined the agency behind it.

Excited For

More hugs than in the previous two years.
Taking on a global role.
A whole bunch more giggles from my daughter.
Less of “You are on mute,” “My internet is not great today” and “I don’t know why it’s not working, I clicked on the thing, can you see my screen? No? Weird, it was working earlier.”
Having fun while making the best work of my life.

Wieden+Kennedy Portland

Robin Maxkii and Samantha Perry

Copywriter and Art Director

Proud Of

The Native American visibility campaign “This Is Indian Country” made me proud. As an Indigenous woman, I sometimes feel constrained speaking my truth because it undermines American history and cracks at common lores taught about this country. So to be able to make a simple statement boldly (thanks heavily to David Kennedy’s unwavering support and encouragement) with no ambiguity was incredible. Witnessing not just the team and W+K uphold this sentiment, but also seeing outside organizations, individuals, and more importantly, other Natives support this campaign has been empowering. It makes me hopeful and excited about what comes next. —Robin Maxkii

I thought I was picking up a small brief on the side and it ended up to be this incredible opportunity to bring awareness to Indigenous people in America. We didn’t want to mince words on this one, we wanted to keep our message clear. My partner Robin came up with this incredible line and manifesto that we wanted to placard across America, and even with a tiny budget we did just that. Our team, the College Fund, and our creative directors Patty Orlando and the late and wonderful David Kennedy pooled together all the resources they could to make it happen. —Samantha Perry

Admired

Ekene Ijeoma’s “A Counting,” which focuses on humanity in data points in such a beautiful way. His work spotlights things often hidden, or in the case of Indigenous people, often purposefully erased, from data collection. It’s powerful. It’s revolutionary. —Robin Maxkii

I look to fashion campaigns for inspiration. I love the worlds that each new launch creates. I liked all the wild and seemingly ridiculous collaborations that happened this year, like Balenciaga and Fortnite. MSCHF is so good at poking at things in culture and making headlines. I loved their “In the Year 2024” that bought up possible presidential campaign URLs and allowed you to bet on them. —Samantha Perry

Excited For

I’m excited to see people further deconstruct concepts and ideas around what diversity means. Because there is no truth to diversity in America without the inclusion of Native Americans. It isn’t oversight; it’s erasure. In 2021, I think we started witnessing large-scale results of people’s concerted efforts to be more inclusive of Indigenous peoples, so I can not wait to see what 2022 holds! —Robin Maxkii

More representation in storytelling. I love seeing simple stories from points of view we sadly haven’t seen much of yet, like Minari or Waves. —Samantha Perry

The Beautiful Thinkers Project launched midyear as a rebrand of a thought leadership project that started when I became ECD of Y&L nine years ago. This year it evolved into a multimedia platform anchored by a podcast featuring interviews with the minds behind big brands like Oreo, Patagonia and Dove, smaller brands like East Fork Pottery, and artists like Katherine Gray (Netflix’s Blown Away). The agency team’s imagination and hustle brought this curated collection of conversations with CEOs, founders and creators from all over the world to life in the most thought-provoking and —of course— beautiful way.

Admired

“Virgil Was Here.” Virgil Abloh was/is one of the most influential artists in fashion and the creative industry altogether. He was curious, fearless, prolific. He refused to be pigeonholed into an industry or genre. Losing him will be a lowlight of 2021. But seeing his latest fashion show just days after his death was a highlight. What could’ve been a marketing misstep in poor taste turned out to be an exuberant expression of his life’s work. With “Virgil Was Here,” Louis Vuitton demonstrated how deeply they understood his ethos. An authentic, heartfelt homage with the perfect presence of the brand.

Excited For

Shifting from “back to normal” to “what’s next?” There are two kinds of people (and brands) in the world: those that look back, and those that look forward. The forward-looking group is energized by the disruption of our industry. What got us here is tragic and still very serious, but humanity is emerging like never before, and marketing is anyone’s game. I’m looking forward to brave and bold brands changing the way we think and move in the world. The blurring of lines between social justice, policy and commerce is invigorating, and I hope we never go “back to normal.”

Tim Nudd

Twitter

Tim Nudd was editor in chief of the Clio Awards and editor of Muse by Clio from 2018 to 2023.