Rethink Hires Tara Lawall as Executive Creative Director

Today, Rethink announces the hiring of Tara Lawall, executive creative director in its New York office. Together with CCO Daniel Lobatón, Tara will play a big role in shaping Rethink’s work, while building and mentoring the creative team. 

Tara joins Rethink after making her mark at agencies like Droga5, 72andSunny, and Anomaly where she created work for Mattress Firm, Pizza Hut, Coors, and Prudential. A highly awarded creative, Lawall has been featured on Pitch 100’s Superwomen list, and One Club’s list of next creative leaders. Her work has been awarded by the Clio Awards, One Show, the Webby Awards, and at Cannes, where she won a Titanium Lion. Some of her commercials have also been included in the Advertising and Editorial Art permanent collection at the MoMa.

Outside of advertising, Tara is an acclaimed writer and author. A twice-published author, she’s co-written an adult humor book, “There are Too Many Milks” with Anne Marie Wonder and children’s parody book “This Little Piggy Went to Market in the City,” illustrated by Rich Greco. Her editorial writing has been published in Scary Mommy, Motherly, and Parent.co.

Now she’s at Rethink and sharing her excitement about the growing independent agency. 

“I think there’s a lot of creatives in New York who are feeling a bit lost right now,” said Tara. “They want to be at good agencies where they can consistently produce good work, and that’s currently a gap in the market, to say it simply. Rethink is standing out as an independent that’s doing incredible work on a regular basis, and that’s what attracted me.”

“Then, when I met with Daniel Lobatón — who I had heard universally wonderful things about — I realised how rare he is as a CCO. He’s got a strong vision and he knows how to make things happen, from hiring the right people, to getting amazing creative out in the world.” 

As a creative leader, Tara believes in fostering intellectual safety. “I like to encourage people to bring their most daring, interesting, smart, peculiar ideas to the table,” said Tara. “That’s where you get the best stuff. I aim to create environments where we always feel like we are getting away with something. People like to feel a little rebellion in the work and I believe that teams and our partners can only get there when everyone feels safe and heard.”

“I’ve been a huge fan of Tara for over a decade now. Her work is smart, funny, strategic and always with an extra layer of insightfulness which is what makes her such a fantastic creative and leader. We’re both aligned on the amazing opportunity that’s building Rethink in New York,” said Daniel Lobatón, CCO, Rethink New York.

Rethink’s New York office is supporting clients like Kellogg’s, Kraft-Heinz, Molson Coors Brewing Company, and recently announced a new partnership with soundtrack platform innovation company, Epidemic Sound. The agency is continuing to hire in New York in all departments.