Daring and surprising. Those adjectives, more than any others, describe the work of the honorees on Adweek’s third edition of the Creative 100, our annual list celebrating masters of creativity across advertising, branding, media, technology, pop culture and more.
Beginning with our cover star—stand-up comic, actor, writer and podcast host Kumail Nanjiani—we looked for subjects who are wielding creativity in bold and inventive ways, surfacing fresh voices, perspectives, ideas and products along the way.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley to every advertising enclave in between (as well as 10 markets overseas), we found signposts to the future in the thrilling campaigns, innovations, artworks and pop-culture treasures they’ve created. In a world that’s increasingly divided, their work finds common ground as it seeks to entertain, educate, persuade, inspire and sell to its audience.
The list remains mostly U.S.-only, except for a new category of 10 global agency creative chiefs. It is also not a definitive ranking but an evolving mix of talent whose work has shone brightest over the last year. Honorees are never repeated, ensuring the list remains a constantly rotating roster of today’s top talent.
Congratulations to all the winners for reaching new heights, and pointing the way forward.
See the full list at these links:
• 15 Chief Creative Officers
• 18 Executive Creative Directors and Group Creative Directors
• 22 Creative Directors and Associate Creative Directors
• 14 Art Directors and Copywriters
• 10 Global Creative Leaders
• 12 Digital Innovators
• 10 Branded Content Masters
• 10 Artists and Authors
• 11 Celebrities and Influencers
• Cover Story: How Kumail Nanjiani Is Becoming an Inescapable Creative Force
And below, check out all the honorees in alphabetical order by first name.
• Adam Aston — T Brand Studio (New York Times)
• Alex Bodman — Spotify
• Alexander Wang — Fashion Designer
• Alexandra Spunt — Everlane
• Allard Laban — Jackbox Games
• Amy Emmerich — Refinery29
• Anda Gansca — Knotch
• Andrew Morse — Great Big Story
• Ann Rubin — IBM
• Ant Keogh — Clemenger BBDO Melbourne
• Ari Halper — FCB New York
• Ari Weiss — DDB
• Barry Jenkins — Writer and Director, Moonlight
• Bas Korsten — JWT Amsterdam
• Becca Morton — Pitch
• Ben Cascella — KBS
• Bram Ceuppens — Heat
• Brian Farkas — 180LA
• Brian K. Vaughan — Saga
• Brit Marling — TV and Film Collaborator
• Bryan Stokely — BBDO New York
• Bryn Mooser — RYOT
• Casey Rand — Droga5
• Chen Liang — Wieden + Kennedy
• Chris Berend — Great Big Story
• Claudia Cukrov — SS+K
• Colin Selikow — Leo Burnett
• Con Williamson — EP+Co
• Daniel Bonder — BBH New York
• Dave Arnold — Pereira & O’Dell
• Dave Brown — BBH New York
• Donald Glover — Actor, Writer, Producer
• Drew Ungvarsky — Grow
• Edel Rodriguez — Artist and Magazine Illustrator
• Emily Calandrelli — TV Host, STEM Advocate
• Eric Goldemberg — Monad Studio
• Eva Santos — Proximity Spain
• Fiona Staples — Saga
• Flora Lichtman — Podcast Host, Science Journalist
• Hans Dorsinville — Laird+Partners
• Heather Knight — Robotics Professor
• Hunter Hindman — Argonaut
• Issa Rae — Actor, Writer, Director, Producer
• Jason Norcross — 72andSunny
• Jeff Curry — Ogilvy New York
• Jeff Olsen — Adult Swim Games
• Jeff Stamp — Grey New York
• Jennifer Barclay — ROAR Group
• Jessica Toye — JWT New York
• Joel Kaplan — Muh-tay-zik Hof-fer
• Jordan Peele — Actor, Writer, Director
• Jorge Murillo — Alma
• Josefine Richards — Ingo
• Juan Peña — David
• Julia Sourikoff — Tool of North America
• Karen Short — Droga5
• Kate Carter — R/GA
• Katy Hornaday — Barkley
• Ken Marcus — The Martin Agency
• Kendrick Lamar — Rapper, Songwriter
• Kerry Keenan — Never The Less
• Kumail Nanjiani — Actor, Writer, Podcast Host
• Laurel Boyd — Mediahub/MullenLowe Group
• Lindsey Allison — Deutsch
• Lizzie Wilson — McCann New York
• Lori Martin — Innocean
• Louie Calvano — DigitasLBi
• Luciana Cani — Lapiz
• Luke Sherwin — Casper
• Mark Ray — North
• Mark Sarosi — Anomaly
• Martellus Bennett — NFL Tight End, Children’s Author, Entrepreneur
• Martin Mercado — Mercado McCann
• Martins Zelcs — BBDO New York
• Matt Edwards — Johannes Leonardo
• Matt Keats — Venables Bell & Partners
• Matt Miller — Venables Bell & Partners
• Melissa McCarthy — Actor, Writer, Producer, Fashion Designer
• Meredith Ulmer — Wendy’s
• Milica Zec — New Reality Co.
• Molly Wilkof — Barton F. Graf
• Monserrat Valera — Alma
• MT Carney — Untitled Worldwide
• Naoya Hosokawa — Drill Tokyo
• Navid Baraty — Photographer
• Nazanin Rafsanjani — Gimlet
• Nigel Gross — KBS
• Noel Cottrell — Fitzgerald & Co.
• Paddy Fraser — CP+B L.A.
• Pam Grossman — Getty Images
• Patricia Lockwood — Poet and Memoirist
• Patrick Clair — Creator of TV Opening Sequences
• Rachel Holbrook — Airbnb
• Rebecca Mock — Artist and GIF Maker
• Renato Fernandez — TBWA Los Angeles
• Ricardo Casal — David
• Richard Brim — adam&eveDDB
• Rick Condos — Argonaut
• Ricky Vior — The Community
• Rob Schapiro — Brunner
• Roger Baran — Goodby Silverstein & Partners
• Ryan Niland — Wieden + Kennedy
• Sam Luchini — Goodby Silverstein & Partners
• Samantha Bordignon — DigitasLBi
• Scott Carlson — Van’s General Store
• Sean Riley — The Martin Agency
• Shane Ogilvie — The Garden
• Simone Giertz — YouTube Star
• Simrit Brar — Phenomenon
• Stijn Jansen — Heat
• Suthisak Sucharittanonta — BBDO Bangkok
• Suzanna Bierwirth — The Mars Agency
• Tali Gumbiner — McCann New York
• Tereza Sverakova — Y&R Prague
• Tim Miller — Deadpool Director, Blur Studio Co-Founder
• Tylynne McCauley — 180LA
• Veronica Zalcberg — Monad Studio
• Victoria Azarian — Ogilvy New York
• Vincent Cook, Energy BBDO
• Wes Phelan — Johannes Leonardo
• Winslow Porter — New Reality Co.
• Zack Roif — R/GA
• Zal Batmanglij — TV and Film Collaborator
• Zoe Kessler — Barton F. Graf
• Zoë Quinn — Game Developer, Author, Activist
