What does a 175-year-old seafood brand have in common with sports culture? Until recently, not much. But that’s exactly the creative leap we’re taking with Gorton’s in the newest evolution of its 2025 campaign, bringing the brand to NFL game day with NBC Sports. 

It’s an unexpected, but intentional move to meet broader Gen Z and Millennial audiences where they are: in spaces that feel less like advertising and more like community. It also capitalizes on the massive cultural shift in football viewership, which has seen a 7% increase in viewers since 2015. 

Over the past three years, Gorton’s has been rewriting the playbook for how an established brand can show up authentically, in modern ways —through culture, not just category cues. They’ve leaned into the unexpected and kicked off 2025 by throwing a house party at SXSW that drew 3500+ attendees, lined up day and night to spend time with the brand. Not to mention, building off of previous success with an award-winning TikTok glow-up and ‘shockingly good’ merch drop . Now, the brand is doing the same by entering the sports arena. 

The campaign, which includes TV, social, media, and partnerships, will run through the end of the year. 

Watch the tongue-in-cheek hero spot below:

A look behind the scenes:

Two of the biggest names in Boston’s advertising circles have teamed up.

Connelly Partners announced on Tuesday that it has acquired McCarthy Mambro Bertino, a smaller ad agency and longtime neighbor in the South End, for an undisclosed amount. MMB cofounder Fred Bertino will work with Connelly Partners chief executive Steve Connelly, overseeing a marketing group that will keep the MMB name; partner Jamie Mambro has sold his stake and is no longer involved.

They’re two of the largest independent agencies in Boston, in an industry that’s often dominated by the mega holding companies like Omnicom and IPG (which are in the midst of their own, much bigger merger).

Connelly and Bertino have long shared the same parking lot, working in buildings owned by Mario Nicosia’s GTI properties.

“Freddie would park his car and turn left, I would park my car and turn right, and we would have lunch every now and then,” Connelly said.

In the past year, Bertino moved MMB into Connelly’s spacious digs at 46 Waltham St., and the two firms began bidding on jobs together.

“We’ve had a chance to ‘date’ while living together,” Connelly said. “It just kept making more and more sense. We were pitching things together. He was using our folks. We were using his folks.”

The two have known each other since the 1990s when they both worked for other firms, Connelly at Ingalls Advertising and Bertino at Hill Holliday. Both launched their own firms around the turn of the century. Bertino said his first client was Jim Koch at Boston Beer, to promote Koch’s new light beer at the time; MMB was often seen as punching above its weight, chasing after national clients, and winning over many of them, most notably Subway.

As the industry consolidated, Connelly Partners emerged as the biggest independent agency in the city, with additional services such as media buying and data analytics that MMB did not offer; Bertino said he’s happy to finally have those tools at his disposal. (Connelly also expanded to Vancouver and Dublin.) They see their firm’s independence as giving them an edge, as they don’t have to report profits up to an out-of-town holding company.

Connelly employs about 175 people today, including 100 in Boston. That number includes 20 people who came over from MMB, such as David Register, now Executive Creative Director at Connelly. Both firms had layoffs in the past year as the overall industry retrenched in part due to uncertainty around trade and tariffs.

Now, Connelly and Bertino are talking about growing again, building off recent wins such as an expansion of their relationship with Yale New Haven Health.

“We just felt like now is the time to get it all under one roof,” Bertino said. “That seems to be what clients want today.”

Read more here.

Boston, MA – August 19, 2025 — Independent agency Connelly Partners (CP) is deepening its commitment to a performance-plus-creative model for brands, grounded in measurable business outcomes. CP has acquired McCarthy Mambro Bertino (MMB), the award-winning creative agency behind campaigns for Subway, Sam Adams, and Toyota. The agency has also won a series of global client wins and added key talent across its Boston, Dublin, and Vancouver hubs.

This growth reflects a larger industry shift as brands look for agencies that can unite creative storytelling, media expertise, and data-driven decision-making under one roof.

“We have always been committed to relentless creativity and measurable accountability in our work.” said Steve Connelly, President and Copywriter at Connelly Partners. “The moves we are making and the talent we are bringing aboard are reflections of that commitment.”

Welcoming MMB to the CP Network 

With a 20+ year legacy and deep roots in Boston’s creative scene, MMB joins CP’s global independent micro-network. The agency’s work has earned recognition from the Clio Awards, Emmys, Effies, The One Show, and more. 

MMB’s category experience includes Automotive, QSR, Retail, Sports and Healthcare, working with brands like Toyota, Subway, Sam Adams, Yale New Haven Health System, Newell Rubbermaid (Elmer’s and Brute), Foster Grant, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and more. 

MMB will retain its brand within CP, while tapping into the network’s full suite of services to expand its offerings for larger clients. The MMB team will also build towards integrating across the CP network – as ZOO Digital and VRX Studios have done. 

Fred Bertino, MMB Co-Founder and President, will continue to lead the MMB brand within CP, reporting to Steve Connelly. A former President and CCO at Hill Holliday, Bertino helped scale that agency to over $1.2 billion in revenue before co-founding MMB. 

“MMB and Connelly Partners have been successful rivals for two decades. Coming up as creatives, both Steve and I share a fervent love and belief in the power of insight-based creativity to propel brand and business growth,” said Bertino. “Now we’ll amplify that with deeper strategic and performance chops and global reach. By partnering with CP, we’re bringing clients full-service capabilities with the creative they’ve come to know us by.”

David Register, longtime creative lead at MMB, joins CP as Executive Creative Director. He brings a wealth of storytelling, writing, and directing experience to the agency, with a portfolio that includes iconic campaigns like Fidelity’s “Keep Doing What You Love,” featuring Paul McCartney and Progressive’s “Flo,” as well as work for Aetna, New Balance, and CenturyLink. He reports to Chief Creative Officer, Alyssa Toro. 

Momentum in Client Growth Globally 

CP’s offering is resonating as more brands look to consolidate agency partners under one roof, seeking a balance between bold creative work and measurable business outcomes. The agency is now working with: 

Pollock Clinics: A world-leading men’s sexual health brand. With corporate clinics in Vancouver and some 25+ franchised clinics spanning North America, Ireland, and Australia, the brand is now expanding into the UK and Middle East. CP was awarded the performance marketing business for the corporate brand (Digital Media, Web, SEO, Analytics) as Pollock consolidates agency partners under one integrated agency to support future growth ambitions and continued brand evolution. CP will also support brand strategy, creative, social and influencer marketing on project-by-project as the business scales. CP’s Vancouver office led the win following a year-long strategy engagement, with support now extending across all three of the agency’s global hubs.

Yale New Haven Health: Connecticut’s largest healthcare system, and the teaching hospital affiliate of Yale School of Medicine, has awarded its media & analytics business, including integrated media strategy, planning, execution and measurement, to Connelly Partners. The health system has been a client of MMB since early 2020 and the move now consolidates all MarCom efforts under the network umbrella — including brand strategy, creative, and integrated media planning and execution. 

Another health win: Continuing CP’s momentum in the health space, the agency has been named a performance marketing partner for a leading supplier to the global Life Science industry. 

As a result, CP’s Health business has increased 65% YoY, fueled by both new business and organic growth.

“In today’s world of fragmented consumer attention, clients need more than isolated media buying or creative concepts; they need holistic, evidence-based strategies,” said Michelle Capasso, Chief Media Officer. “Our strength lies in precisely that: unifying insights, storytelling, and execution to deliver tangible business outcomes.”

Strategic Talent Investments

To support this growth and evolving client needs, CP has made several leadership hires.

Jen Hansen joined as Director of Analytics. Jen brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles, including VP, Marketing Optimization and Analytics at Constant Contact and Global Head of Business Analytics at Vistaprint. In her new role, Jen spearheads CP’s efforts to elevate measurement, empowering clients worldwide to unlock critical insights and make more confident, data-driven decisions. This strategic appointment lays the groundwork for advanced capabilities, including forecasting, predictive analytics, and machine learning, to further enhance our offerings. Jen reports to Michelle Capasso, Chief Media Officer.

Jimmy Murphy becomes Deputy Managing Director, Dublin. One of Ireland’s most respected advertising leaders, Jimmy joins from ACNE Dublin, part of Deloitte Digital where he served as Chief Commercial Officer. He’s also held roles across Publicis Dublin, The Hive, alcohol brand marketing compliance organization CopyClear, the Marketing Society, and IAPI. He reports to Dublin Managing Director Vaunnie McDermott. 

Sam Moorhouse and Mikey Fleming,  join as Co-Creative Directors. They’ve 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 David Register, legendary ECD Mike Garner, digital specialist and CD Chris Preston, and CCO Alyssa Toro, under a unified global creative offering.

BOSTON — Independent agency Connelly Partners (CP) has acquired McCarthy Mambro Bertino (MMB), the creative agency behind campaigns for Subway, Sam Adams, and Toyota. CP has also won a series of global client wins and added key talent across its Boston, Dublin, and Vancouver hubs.

“We have always been committed to relentless creativity and measurable accountability in our work,” said Steve Connelly, president and copywriter at CP. “The moves we are making and the talent we are bringing aboard are reflections of that commitment.”

With a 20+ year legacy and deep roots in Boston’s creative scene, MMB joins CP’s global independent micro-network. MMB’s work has earned recognition from the Clio Awards, Emmys, Effies, The One Show, and more.

MMB’s category experience includes automotive, QSR, retail, sports and healthcare, working with brands like Toyota, Subway, Sam Adams, Yale New Haven Health System, Newell Rubbermaid (Elmer’s and Brute), Foster Grant, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and more.

MMB will retain its brand within CP, while tapping into the network’s full suite of services to expand its offerings for larger clients. The MMB team will also build towards integrating across the CP network–as ZOO Digital and VRX Studios have done.

Fred Bertino, MMB co-founder and president, will continue to lead the MMB brand within CP, reporting to Connelly. A former president and CCO at Hill Holliday, Bertino helped scale that agency to over $1.2 billion in revenue before co-founding MMB.

“MMB and Connelly Partners have been successful rivals for two decades. Coming up as creatives, both Steve and I share a fervent love and belief in the power of insight-based creativity to propel brand and business growth,” said Bertino. “Now we’ll amplify that with deeper strategic and performance chops and global reach. By partnering with CP, we’re bringing clients full-service capabilities with the creative they’ve come to know us by.”

David Register, longtime creative lead at MMB, joins CP as executive creative director. He brings a wealth of storytelling, writing, and directing experience to the agency, with a portfolio that includes iconic campaigns like Fidelity’s “Keep Doing What You Love,” featuring Paul McCartney, and Progressive’s “Flo,” as well as work for Aetna, New Balance, and CenturyLink. He reports to Alyssa Toro, chief creative officer.

CP has made several other leadership hires:

Jen Hansen joined as Director of Analytics. Hansen brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles, including VP, marketing optimization and analytics at Constant Contact and global head of business analytics at Vistaprint. In her new role, Hansen spearheads CP’s efforts to elevate measurement, empowering clients worldwide to unlock critical insights and make more confident, data-driven decisions. This strategic appointment lays the groundwork for advanced capabilities, including forecasting, predictive analytics, and machine learning, to further enhance agency offerings. Hansen reports to Michelle Capasso, chief media officer.

Jimmy Murphy becomes deputy managing director, Dublin. Murphy joins from ACNE Dublin, part of Deloitte Digital where he served as chief commercial officer. He’s also held roles across Publicis Dublin, The Hive, alcohol brand marketing compliance organization CopyClear, the Marketing Society, and IAPI. He reports to Dublin managing director Vaunnie McDermott.

And Sam Moorhouse and Mikey Fleming join as co-creative directors. They’ve 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 Register, ECD Mike Garner, digital specialist and CD Chris Preston, and CCO Toro, under a unified global creative offering.

Read more

Connelly Partners was included in AdAge this week, announcing the acquisition of McCarthy Mambro Bertino, a creative agency that has worked with Subway, Sam Adams and Toyota. Financial terms were not disclosed. MMB will retain its brand within Connelly Partners.

Read more from AdAge.

Connelly Partners is enhancing its creative muscle by acquiring McCarthy Mambro Bertino (MMB), responsible for Sam Adams, Newell Rubbermaid, Toyota and Subway campaigns. The Boston-based agency also has offices in Dublin and Vancouver.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

MMB will retain its brand within CP, while utilizing the network’s services to aid larger clients. The MMB team will integrate across the CP network, much like previous acquisitions ZOO Digital and VRX Studios.

Steve Connelly, president, Connelly Partners, said: “The moves we are making and the talent we are bringing aboard are reflections of the commitment to relentless creativity and measurable accountability.”

Fred Bertino, MMB president/co-founder, retains his post, reporting to Connelly. “MMB and Connelly Partners have been successful rivals for two decades,” said Bertino. “Now we’ll amplify that with deeper strategic and performance chops and global reach.”

On the staff front, David Register, a creative lead at MMB, joins CP as executive creative director. His campaign work includes Fidelity’s “Keep Doing What You Love,” featuring Paul McCartney, and Progressive’s “Flo.” He reports to Alyssa Toro, Chief Creative Officer. Jen Hansen is now director of analytics and Jimmy Murphy becomes deputy managing director, Dublin. Sam Moorhouse and Mikey Fleming join as co-creative directors.

CP is currently working with Pollock Clinics and Yale New Haven Health. CP reports its health business has increased 65% YoY, fueled by new business and organic growth. The agency has also done creative for Gorton’s Seafood, Flair Airlines, Heineken’s Birra Moretti and Liberty Bank.

Read more here.

Connelly Partners announced its acquisition of McCarthy Mambro Bertino in Campaign US this week.

Read more industry news here.

To celebrate its brand refresh, we partnered with Flair Airlines, transforming a vacant Gastown space into Flair/FWD, an immersive photography exhibition that brought the art and emotion of air travel to ground level. The two-week installation featured the work of National Geographic Explorer and photographer Mackenzie Calle. 

Through her lens, the exhibit explored both the wonder of flight and the behind-the-scenes choreography of aviation, reflecting how Flair is charting a new course and disrupting the air travel space with their mission to provide affordable air travel that connects Canadians to the people and experiences they love. 

Highlights included:

• Mackenzie Calle’s imagery offered a striking perspective on the art of air travel – capturing both the beauty of the journey and the behind-the-scenes moments that take passengers from departure to destination.
• A mix of photography reproduction, and print techniques, along with layered textures, lighting, and large-scale prints gave the space a larger-than-life experience
• A private kickoff event welcomed stakeholders, partners, and employees for an experience designed to toast the airline’s new trajectory. 
• A public opening on April 12–13 invited Vancouverites to explore the installation before it hits the road, with stops planned in other Canadian cities where Flair has major hubs.

The activation was a fresh take on airline marketing and a signal that Flair isn’t just refreshing its look, but making a deeper shift in how the airline connects with its community.

“Flair FWD was designed to signal a new era for Flair—one defined by confidence, clarity, and momentum,” said Patrick Smith, Creative Director at Flair Airlines. “Using award-winning photographer Mackenzie Calle’s distinct and beautiful imagery, we captured the essence of a brand on the rise. This was a Flair-led creative vision, brought to life with the support of Connelly Partners and Wildfire Events, who helped execute and implement the initiative with precision and energy.”

Nadine Cole, Co-Managing Director, Connelly Partners West also commented on the project, sharing that “the most fulfilling work happens when clients are clear on their mission and brave enough to break the mold. That’s what we’ve found with Flair. We believe in what they’re building, and we’re proud to travel alongside them as partners on what we know is an important journey.”

One of the industry’ most respected figures, Murphy has over 25 years experience working across a number of agencies including The Hive, Publicis Dublin and more recently as chief commercial officer of ACNE, the Deloitte Digital owned agency.

Murphy is also a past president of IAPI and a former chair of the Marketing Society as well as a former board member of Copy Clear.

“Connelly Partners is an agency that embodies the values I’ve always championed throughout my career: Integrity, Curiosity, and Empathy,” says Murphy. “Their impressive growth and portfolio of work are a solid foundation and I’m excited to contribute to the agency’s continued success. This is an exciting time and I look forward to the challenges ahead.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Jimmy to our team. His vast experience, leadership, and industry knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to grow and evolve as an agency. We are excited about the energy and perspective he will bring to Connelly Partners, as well as his ability to deliver commercial success for our clients,” adds Vaunnie McDermott.

Over the past 12 months, Connelly Partners has enjoyed considerable growth and now has a 50-person strong team in Dublin. Recent recruits also include co-creative directors Sam Moorhouse and Mikey Fleming.

Clients include Heineken brands Birra Moretti & Coors, The National Transport Authority and ESB & Electric Ireland.

Read the full Adworld article here.

Additional coverage:
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Vaunnie McDermott was appointed Managing Director of Connelly Partners’ Dublin office in 2018. She has overseen the growth of the agency to a 50 person team in Ireland and led the integration of ZOO Digital. Under her leadership, the Dublin office has become a key hub for Connelly Partners—a global agency with offices also in Boston and Vancouver.

What are your main priorities and goals in your role?

My goal is for Connelly Partners to be recognised as Ireland’s most effective advertising agency—one that delivers commercial growth for our clients through standout, strategically-led creative solutions to their business challenges. My priorities are twofold: drive strategic business growth and continue building a high-performing, future-ready team. That means continuing to invest in upskilling, particularly around emerging tech like AI, while creating an environment where talent feels supported, inspired, and empowered to do their best work.

What are your biggest challenges as a business leader?

Companies across the country are facing challenges around the speed of change – and our challenges are no different. It’s about staying agile, always finding new solutions and acknowledging that previous processes and ways of working may no longer be of value. Managing teams and driving organisational culture with hybrid working, balanced with rising costs of running a business.

What have been your highlights in business over the past year?

The past year has been a real turning point for us. We welcomed new creative leadership with Sam Moorhead and Mikey Fleming as Co-Creative Directors, joining legendary Executive Creative Director Mike Garner and digital specialist and Creative Director, Chris Preston. We have other exciting additions coming soon too. We’ve had some major new business wins, including Waterways Ireland, University of Galway, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth, and being added to the HSE agency framework. The merger with ZOO Digital has made us one of the largest independent full-service agencies in Ireland, and having the support and insights from our teams in Boston and Vancouver allows us to deliver meaningful work that resonates both locally and internationally.

Where do you want your business/brand to be this time next year?

A year from now, we hope to be operating on a bigger, more connected scale. Not just growing our team, but working smarter. We’re currently exploring a new office space that encourages creative collaboration across disciplines and makes it easier to work face-to-face with our clients. We want collaboration to be less of a scheduled event and more a part of how we work every day.

Our goal is for clients to see us not just as their agency, but as a trusted partner—someone they can count on to help them move their business forward and understands the commercial goals of their business.

Over the past few years, we’ve focused on breaking down silos between teams, offices, and even countries to deliver the best thinking, quickly. Next year, we want to keep building on that—going deeper into the industries we know best, fine-tuning how we work, and staying one step ahead so we can help brands do the same.

What new trends are emerging in your industry?

AI is constantly evolving in our industry and everyday new tools are available. The challenge/opportunity is to use AI effectively and efficiently for our clients – using human minds to prompt and curate the technology to augment our talent and get the reliable results our clients need to keep them ahead of their competitors.

What are the challenges facing the industry going forward?

One of the biggest challenges is the sheer volume of content competing for attention. In a world of constant change and content overload, brands are under enormous pressure not just to stand out—but to truly connect. Our response is to think outside of traditional advertising. It’s about understanding what motivates your audience’s behaviour and building campaigns that are culturally resonant, not just creatively clever. This is especially important to reach younger audiences. They expect brands to show up authentically, in the spaces they already occupy, with ideas that feel relevant.

This shift demands more from agencies: more agility, more integration, and a deeper understanding of both the customer journey and the world our audiences live in. It also challenges agencies and clients to move beyond the brief and become true strategic partners.

Are there any major changes that you’d like to see in your sector?

I’d like to see the reframing of the client/agency relationship so agencies are seen as a strategic investment on the P&L, not just a transactional service that costs money. Too often, the conversation still starts with cost and ends with deliverables. That mindset limits what we can achieve together. Agencies should be viewed as growth drivers, not suppliers.

Our job is to see around corners for our clients. We bring a deep understanding of consumer behaviour to the table, and when that’s combined with the client’s brand expertise, it becomes a powerful partnership. That’s where real impact is made—and where our value lies. It’s time we moved the conversation on from hourly rates, and towards measurable impact and long-term value. When we’re aligned around growth, everyone wins.

As an employer, are you finding any skill gaps in the market?

What we’re noticing isn’t so much a lack of individual skills—it’s a gap in how brands are able to keep up with the pace of change, especially when it comes to delivering consistently across the full customer journey. Too often, efforts are still fragmented—different partners for different channels, each with their own priorities. That slows things down and makes execution harder than it needs to be. That’s why, back in 2021, we set a clear goal: to simplify things. We wanted to remove the friction of working across multiple agencies, verticals, and markets. So we expanded strategically, made acquisitions, and built out new capabilities to offer everything under one roof. Now, our clients have one agency, one partner, one call.

We understand how each piece of the customer journey connects—from awareness to conversion to retention—and our teams are set up to move with that full view in mind. It’s not just about having the right skills; it’s about having them all work together seamlessly. That’s where we’ve seen the biggest difference for our clients—and it’s why we’ve built the model we have today.

How do you keep your team/staff motivated?

Culture has always been a commitment at Connelly Partners—not a buzzword. Staying aligned on values and building a strong internal identity around our mission and vision is key to keeping teams engaged. People need to know why they’re here, and why they’d choose us over another agency. That clarity and sense of purpose makes a real difference.

We also invest in initiatives that support both personal and professional growth. One example is CP Abroad, which gives team members the opportunity to work from any of our global offices. It’s been a huge motivator—broadening perspectives, deepening collaboration across hubs, and reinforcing our commitment to being a truly connected, international agency.

What is the best advice you have been given, or would give, in business?

Control what you can control…. Find a way to get back into a flow mindset where you are at your best. Focus on how you can get the job done and not be overwhelmed by the deliverables because with a clear calm mind, you will do a much better job.

Check out the full article from Business & Finance here.