AdAge is highlighting the voices of women who are making waves in advertising this Women’s History Month. CP’s own Alyssa Toro, Senior Partner and Chief Creative Officer, shares her insights on driving change in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

To connect with consumers, brands must lead with empathy and a deep understanding of their lives. Women’s superpower is emotional intelligence. We know the value of understanding the nuances of human experience to align product benefits with real consumer needs. As consumers demand more authenticity, having women in leadership isn’t just valuable—it’s essential.

Not to mention, In just four years, it’s estimated that women will control three-quarters of all discretionary spending. So having women at the table is a must. We are able to relate better to the complicated fabric of a female consumer’s life. That consumer has a lot on her plate and even more on her mind.

We saw this in action at SXSW, where our client & agency teams, including so many powerhouse women, ideated and brought to life one of the most successful brand activations for Gorton’s Seafood. Women’s ability to collaborate, problem solve, get their hands dirty, emphasize diverse perspectives; made the work stronger. This goes a long way in cultivating a healthy team that will work tirelessly together to develop interesting ideas and find the most exciting ways to execute them. Ideas thrive on builds, and you need a strong communicative network to get there.

Ultimately, the best leaders in advertising—male or female—are those who inspire creativity, drive innovation, and foster collaboration. The unique traits that many women bring to leadership positions in advertising make them particularly well-suited to navigate the challenges brands face and solve them with ideas that build brand loyalty.

Read more here.

No stranger to evolving with consumer habits, Gorton’s Seafood made a splash at SXSW, infusing Austin with New England charm. Their iconic yellow transformed the venue, which featured a giant ship wheel arch at the entrance and a specially painted exterior. This landmark event, their largest activation yet, was a full-fledged celebration of their new shrimp products.

“There were times where I would just look around and see all these people gather with a drink in their hand and food in the other, and they were bopping to the music. And I was thinking, this is exactly what we wanted,” says Susie Siegel, Senior Integrated Marketing Manager at Gorton’s.

Read more here.

Connelly Partners has bolstered its creative team, appointing Sam Moorhead and Mikey Fleming as Co-Creative Directors. This follows a strong start to 2025 as the agency has won competitive pitches including Waterways Ireland, University of Galway, The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth (DCEDIY), and been added to The Health Service Executive (HSE) agency framework. 

With a 50 person team in Dublin, the independent advertising agency provides an end-to-end, full-service offering for clients, within both the Irish and global markets.

Moorhead and Fleming have been a creative team since 2011, partnering at TBWA/Ireland, Boys + Girls, and later founding Verve’s in-house agency, Showrunner. Their work for brands like Three Mobile, Aldi, SKODA, Lyons Tea, Tayto, VHI, and LEGO have earned multiple awards.

They join legendary Executive Creative Director (ECD) Mike Garner and digital specialist and Creative Director, Chris Preston. This powerhouse creative team makes up part of Connelly Partners’ global offering (with other hubs in Boston and Vancouver) overseen by Chief Creative Officer (CCO) Alyssa Toro and Dublin’s Managing Director (MD) Vaunnie McDermott. This expansion marks the beginning of a period of growth for the agency with more creative roles planned for the coming months. 

“Connelly Partners is on a roll, strengthening our end-to-end offering across strategy, creative, production, social and digital. Our integrated approach based on really understanding the customer journey has powered our momentum, driving strong business results for our clients,” said McDermott. “Sam and Mikey’s long-standing partnership has earned them a reputation for crafting campaigns that are anything but ordinary and built on solid strategy. Their creativity combined with the power of AI is exactly what we need to continue driving commercial success.”

Connelly Partners has been appointed as the creative agency for Waterways Ireland, the organisation responsible for managing and promoting Ireland’s inland waterways across the island of Ireland. Connelly Partners will be responsible for developing a new corporate identity and advertising communications to build the tourism and recreation credentials of the brand, in order to encourage greater use of and participation in everything that the waterways of Ireland have to offer.

In addition, the agency has been selected to work with University of Galway, one of Ireland’s leading higher education institutions, to strengthen its brand communications with the goal of increasing CAO applications.

Connelly Partners has also recently been appointed the creative agency for The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth (DCEDIY), which plays a crucial role in shaping policies and programs that support children, families, and social inclusion across Ireland.

This growth follows additional wins and campaign launches for brands including Birra Moretti, Coors, ESB & Electric Ireland, Expressway, Epilepsy Ireland and My Milkman, in what looks set to be an exciting 2025 for Connelly Partners in Ireland.

Read more:
AdWorld: Sam Moorehead and Mikey Fleming Join Connelly Partners
Business & Finance: New and notable appointments at Mercer Ireland, Neotas Limited, McGill and Partners, Forvis Mazars, Connelly Partners, BDO Ireland and Deloitte Ireland
Business Plus: Sam Moorhead and Mikey Fleming join Connolly Partners as Creative Directors
Business Plus: Moorhead and Fleming join Connelly Partners

How do you motivate people to visit the New England Aquarium? You create a campaign that reflects the true experience and brings the exhibits to life with a stunning visual approach. In short, you WOW them.

We created a stunning typographic series that brought to life the emotions of the word WOW. Each letter, intricately formed from coral, anemone, and seaweed, was brought to life by the aquarium’s diverse marine life. This innovative approach not only resonated with audiences but also drove record-breaking ticket sales.

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See the work here

A young mayoral candidate for New York City has set himself apart on social feeds by mixing big policy proposals with silliness to try to draw voters to his campaign. Alyssa Steven’s explains that this strategy doesn’t always lead to votes, especially when candidates focus on creating buzz or going viral without tying it back to their policy platforms.

Alyssa shares that Zohran Mamdani’s age plays a key role in his success. His content comes across as more genuine, making it easier for people to connect with his message.

Read more here.

Steve Connelly argues that while AI is a valuable asset in marketing and advertising, it should complement rather than replace human creativity and emotion in strategy. AI enhances capabilities and benefits clients, but it cannot fully replicate the intuitive and emotional elements crucial for building strong brand connections and customer loyalty. Integrating AI with human intuition and experience maximizes its effectiveness, preserving the essential human touch needed to foster meaningful customer relationships.

Read more here.

Since 1889, Carhartt has been the go-to brand for tradespeople facing tough conditions. We collaborated with Carhartt to launch a fall campaign, titled “Tough Is Timeless,” featuring cinematic visuals and rich storytelling to showcase the brand’s enduring quality.

Read more here.

Credits:
Carhartt
Connelly Partners
Subprime films
@Cabin Editing Company
@Company 3

A survey conducted by Pixability, a company specializing in AI-driven contextual targeting, brand suitability and performance advertising on YouTube and CTV, revealed insights from U.S. & UK Media Agency executives, buyers and planners about their current video advertising behaviors and their predictions for YouTube and CTV budgets and strategies in 2025.

Erin Mullaney, Media Director at Connelly Partners, emphasizes that brands need to recognize YouTube’s dominance in the CTV space. YouTube is not only the top streaming platform in terms of viewership and reach but also distinguishes itself with its ad-supported model, unlike competitors such as Netflix, which rely heavily on ad-free subscriptions.

This shift in the landscape has led agencies to adapt by unifying their TV, YouTube, and CTV teams. 

Read more from MarTech Cube and StreetInsider 

The advertising industry in 2025 is rapidly transforming. From AI-driven personalization, to shifting consumer dynamics and unprecedented cultural fragmentation, brands are facing both monumental challenges and unparalleled opportunities.

In this AdAge feature, Steve Connelly shares his predictions for the industry this year. He foresees a backlash against superficial AI, leading to the reduction of lazy, gimmicky AI marketing and a push toward more meaningful applications. We’ll also see a focus on AI’s true benefits in analytics, media and enhancing search, rather than empty, concept-less ads.

Check out all the 2025 predictions here.