Familiar Creatures

The Top 40: Classic 2026 finalists are in.   40 campaigns. One alphabetical list — because the rankings stay sealed until we call out where each agency landed live during Top 40 Week livestreams, June 1–5.   Here's how reveal week plays out:   Monday, June 1 — #40–31 Tuesday, June 2 — #30–21 Wednesday, June 3 — #20–11 Thursday, June 4 — #10–4 Friday, June 5 — the Top 3   Every shop in this year's Final 40:   Allen & Gerritsen Born and Raised Bray & Co CIRCONFLEX Corner Table Creative Creativ Company Curiosity Doe-Anderson Drake Cooper Elite Media Familiar Creatures FUSE Create Good Conduct Laughlin Constable Lewis Lupine Creative McGarrah Jessee Mower Agency Murder Hornet OBERLAND Optimism BH Party Land POKE THE BEAR™ Public Inc. Quirk Creative Sukle TiNY WorkInProgress   The Final 40 isn't the whole record. This year's Top 40: Classic also recognizes 76 Category Finalists who cleared the jury's scoring threshold across Idea, Craft, Strategy, Media, Force for Good, Little Budget + Big Impact, Wild Card, and more — plus 52 campaigns earning an Award of Merit. Every single one lands a permanent home at winning.work on June 5. The full record — all three tiers, every campaign, every client — is live now. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gVD-trgA   We'll get reminders out for the livestreams the first week of June!     #indieswork #indiework  

Just got back from my first trip to POSSIBLE in Miami. What seemed “possible”? Instant optimization with AI. For an event focused on the future of marketing, the conversation felt surprisingly short-term. In a year, every brand will have access to the same tools. Then what? Creative conferences often swing the other way—promising instant fame in a world where attention is fragmented and fleeting. Which leaves a gap. Where’s the conversation about building brands people actually feel something about—over time? Not quick fixes with tech. Not one-off stunts. But durable positioning and creative platforms that compound. Manuel Arroyo at The Coca-Cola Company put it well: “There’s no long term without short-term growth. And there’s no short term without long-term brand.” Feels like everyone’s getting really good at the first part—and forgetting the second.

What do protein vapes, the chiropractor, and crispy chicken tenders all have in common? CRUNCH! Crunch Fitness launched a protein-infused vape. We talked about that, and more, in today's episode of The Breaking & Entering Show. Tameka Bazile 🟢; Chad Waetzig; Claire Golladay, Olivia Simone Geno Schellenberger, Jack Westerkamp, Ellie McCarron, Ross Yenerich, Jack Williamson, Quincy Marks