Rosie Bardales has joined Wunderman Thompson’s flagship New York office as chief creative officer. She comes at a time when the agency is ready to expand on the momentum of its Super Bowl work for Hellmann’s and the Stand Up to Jewish Hate campaign for The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS).
Bardales has spent the past eight years at BETC where she served as CCO of its London office, and global ECD across teams in both London and Paris. As a native Texan, she is returning home to the States, where she’ll be based in New York. While at BETC, Bardales worked across clients such as Danone, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, Mondelez, Bacardi, Rimmel, Swatch, Gant, LVMH Moet & Chandon, and Nike. She created Rimmel’s Anti-Beauty Bullying campaign, produced the first-ever song to scientifically make babies happy for Cow & Gate, and brought Sir Mo Farah back to the streets of London in Nike’s London Marathon work.
Bardales brings 25 years of global experience at leading creative agencies such as Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, BBH London, Mother London, and Cliff Freeman and Partners in New York. She has made her mark on big-name brands like Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Sauza Tequila, Burberry, Levi’s, and Powerade.
“There is great creative momentum building and growth at Wunderman Thompson New York–and Rosie’s job is to turbocharge it. Her creative smarts and contagious energy make her the perfect catalyst,” said Tom Murphy, chief creative officer, Wunderman Thompson North America.
Bardales will oversee a team of creatives, including former BBDO creative Susan Golkin, the creative mind behind this year’s standout Super Bowl spot for Hellmann’s and the Blue Square media idea for FCAS. Bardales will report to Murphy and work closely with Sasan Saedi, CEO of the New York office, across Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever, Kyndryl, FCAS, and other clients. She will also serve on Wunderman Thompson’s Global Inspiration Council, created by global CCOs Bas Korsten and Daniel Bonner.
Bardales’ hire follows the addition of Renata Maia, global CCO of Wunderman Thompson Health, who joined the agency earlier this year from Area 23, and Ellie Bamford, North American chief strategy officer, who joined from R/GA.
“Wunderman Thompson is in an evolutionary moment of bringing together the best that creativity and technology have to offer,” said Bardales. “I’m really looking forward to working alongside Tom Murphy and the leadership team in North America as well as my new partners and teammates in New York. With all the great work coming out of Wunderman Thompson U.S., it feels like the right time to get back to New York, join a fantastic leadership team, lead a great group of people, and help shape the future of agencies.”
“We have an obligation to constantly elevate our work and thinking for our clients so they can grow, and we can grow with them,” said Saedi. “Rosie is a growth agent, she is energy, culture, creativity, and strategy all in one and exactly what New York needs.”
Bardales looks forward to setting a clear vision for the New York creative team and collaborating with the wider group of talent across the network. Her many years abroad have instilled in her a passion to build a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community where talent can come from anywhere and everywhere at every level.
Bardales has been awarded globally for several of the highest accolades including Cannes Grand Prix, D&AD Gold/Silver/Bronze, One Show Gold and Best of Show, Art Directors Club Gold/Best of Show, Clios Gold/Best of Show, Andys’ Gold/Grandy, New York Festival Gold, British Arrows Gold, and Young Guns Gold, among other honors. She has also been on executive boards for The One Club, The Clios, The New York Festival, and D&AD, and has been globally recognized as a Top Creative Influencer by The New York Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and USA Today. Her work has been published as case studies in a variety of books on marketing and advertising.
