This story is part of Ad Age’s 2026 Business Forecast, showcasing industry outlooks, predictions and trends to watch as the year unfolds. These stories are available to Ad Age All Access subscribers.
Advertising’s most interesting work rarely comes from playing it safe. The creative professionals on this list are poised to shape what the industry becomes in 2026 by pushing in the other direction—building worlds, breaking formats and redefining what relevance looks like in culture.
They will do so not just with new tools but with new values. If 2025 was largely about learning and recalibration, 2026 promises momentum—strong ideas, emotional clarity, real-world presence and work that earns attention instead of demanding it, whether powered by AI or not.
Across categories and continents, advertising thrives when craft, humor and cultural fluency lead the way. These are some of the people who excel and who will be worth watching as 2026 unfolds.