Ryan Kefer has been behind some of fast-food giant Wendy’s most disruptive media campaigns for the past decade, including its viral partnerships with Adult Swim’s cult-classic cartoon “Rick and Morty.”

The SVP and group director at Publicis Media’s Spark Foundry was part of the team that kicked off Wendy’s 2022 NCAA basketball March Madness campaign in Las Vegas with another “Rick and Morty” iteration: “Morty’s Mayhem,” an activation on the Strip that saw the return of the Pickle Rick Frosty.

Kefer—this year’s Media Planner of the Year at Ad Age’s Creativity Awards—was also behind the media plan for “Wendyverse,” the first branded world in Meta’s virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds. The virtual restaurant, followed by months of new worlds inspired by Wendy’s products, including Spicy Nugg Island and Frosty Mountain, generated more than 650 million media impressions and a 112% lift in site visits.

“What Ryan’s work does is create a brand experience,” one Creativity Awards juror said, adding that what’s impressive is that these innovative ideas don’t come from a slew of data but from Kefer's own insights. “From that standpoint, I thought there was a lot of strength there,” the juror said.

See all the 2023 Ad Age Creativity Awards winners.