Rethink takes a no-nonsense approach to creative and client relationships

The secret of Rethink’s success: Shallow holes. That’s what Aaron Starkman, the agency’s global chief creative officer, calls good but loose ideas that its staffers fire off by text to clients. These brainstorms are often the ones that when fleshed out turn into the agency’s most buzzworthy and impactful work. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here Rethink’s “See My Name” campaign for Molson stemmed from such a “shallow hole” text message to the client. When the beer brand partnered with the new Professional Women’s Hockey League in 2024, the agency found that across women’s sports, athletes’ names on jerseys were hidden by their hair, presenting an awareness challenge to successful female athletes. The agency’s premise was simple: Move Molson’s sponsor logo from the bottom of the jerseys to the top, sponsoring the space above the numbers, and shifting players’ names below, where they could be seen. Sofia Colucci, chief marketing officer of North America at Molson Coors loved the idea—then, it was just a matter of logistics. “I love that [shallow holes] process because I believe that it’s really important to be decisive and figure out if there’s something in there that just feels right that you want to move forward with,” said Colucci. “There were a number of different ideas that came through, but this one felt so simple and so clear and connected to what our brand stands for that it just made sense.” The jerseys made their first appearance at the Toronto vs. Montreal International Women’s Day game, sparking calls across sports leagues for the change to women’s jerseys to be permanent. Within three weeks, Molson saw an increase in sales, with retail volume growth exceeding 5.81% nationally and 15.2% in Ontario. Athletes including Billie Jean King vocalized support for the initiative. Since the campaign launch, other sports leagues have expressed interest in having Molson launch the campaign with them. @jcubedhax the video at the end…im obsessed #pwhl #wlw ♬ original sound - Coach Jackie J Successes like these are proof that you don’t need a 50-page deck to know you have an interesting creative nugget, said Starkman. Instead, it demonstrates the value of building trust and bringing the client in on the creative conversation early. “We say to Rethink [employees], ‘Say the thing.’ Be delicate, but say the thing because feedback is a gift,” said Starkman. “We’re transparent, and that just leads to no-bullshit politics. We even have training on how to ‘say the thing’ and how not to deliver a shit sandwich in feedback where you start with a compliment, say some shit in the middle, and then come back. We train employees on how to just be open and honest and productive in conversations, and we do the same thing with our clients.” Rethink’s open and transparent attitude toward half-baked ideas and edgy, time-sensitive stunts is what draws new clients to the agency, which was founded in Vancouver in 1999. In 2024, Rethink added eight new clients to its roster, including Uber Eats, Schwan’s Foods, Telus, Dayforce, Unilever for Dove Men+Care, COBS Bread, Tentree and The Honest Kitchen. It also expanded its scope with long-time client Heinz, launching several stunts for the condiment brand last year. In the summer, Rethink placed Heinz alongside one of the biggest movies of the season, Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” when it launched what appeared to be a new trailer for the film—until Heinz ketchup and mustard bottles appeared on the screen in quick, subliminal-style flashes, with Wolverine appearing as mustard and Deadpool as ketchup. The campaign, titled “Can’t Unsee It,” included limited-edition collectibles of “Deadpool”-inspired ketchup and mustard bottles and drove a 2.9% sales increase for the brand’s ketchup and an 8.5% increase for its mustard, the agency said. Heinz Mustard’s dollar share also increased by 12%, according to the agency’s entry. The agency also made headlines for Heinz when it brought ketchup to hot dog restaurants in Chicago, where topping a hot dog with ketchup is practically blasphemous. Rethink developed dispensing billboards placed outside Chicago restaurants and, ultimately, more than 180 restaurants nationwide—including outside Louis Lunch, the New Haven, Connecticut birthplace of the hamburger that famously bans ketchup. Customers could dispense ketchup packages by smacking the billboard. In each instance, the campaign required trust and a little bit of risk, Starkman said. Unfiltered communication is what has kept ideas sharp and focused internally. According to Starkman, Rethink’s most-used Slack channel is a DEI peer review channel, where employees globally can see and chime in on the cultural sensitivities of certain ideas, whether they are directly working on the idea or not. “We joke, we all swear occasionally, but it’s very it’s all very comfortable,” said Starkman. “We just lay it all out on the table with every new client that enters the building and we talk about everything from pet peeves, to clients sharing ways that a previous agency has burned them that they never want to see us do, and on our side, we tell them about our ‘say the thing’ approach.” Beyond sharing feedback, the agency also makes it a point to share diversity data and inclusive expectations both internally and externally to encourage accountability and transparency. In 2024, for instance, 32% of new hires at Rethink were diverse, up from 27% in 2023, according to the agency. Rethink maintains that 60% of talent hired for campaigns come from under-represented communities. Meanwhile, the shop has a double or triple-bidding process in place for directors, requiring at least one to be from an under-represented community. “Ultimately, the work gets better and more ripe for the target and what we’re seeking to do,” said Starkman of the process. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here

Rethink takes a no-nonsense approach to creative and client relationships

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