March, 2026.- In a saturated market where 52% of ads evoke absolutely no emotion, Supermassive has decided to rip up the rulebook. Leading this strategic challenge is Josh Taylor-Dadds, a leader who, after tenures at giants like TBWA and Special, takes on the role of the first Executive Strategy Director at an agency that defines itself as “shapeshifting.” For Taylor-Dadds, the rigid structure of traditional agencies is a thing of the past; the future belongs to those who can build strategic scaffolding around unconventional ideas—whether changing laws or building radio stations in juvenile detention centers. His mission is clear: to prove that effectiveness hasn’t changed its fundamental questions, but that today’s answers must be bolder, more valuable, and, above all, impossible to ignore.
In this exclusive interview with Roastbrief, Josh Taylor-Dadds breaks down his philosophy on the “extraordinary cost of dull” and how the true recklessness in 2026 isn’t betting on disruptive creativity, but spending budget on campaigns that no one will remember. With a mix of fierce ambition and an endless curiosity about how brands can thrive in the attention era, Josh reflects on the importance of gut feeling, misunderstood “creative bravery,” and the need for strategy to be the engine that fans creative fires rather than limiting them. Discover why Supermassive is betting on a model where impact is measured with rigorous data but achieved through ideas that add cultural value, humor, or utility, remembering that in modern marketing, safety only exists in creativity that you couldn’t forget if you tried.
1. Defining the “New Model”: You’ve joined Supermassive because they’ve “ripped up the rule book, bringing earned thinking, creative ambition and brand strategy together to build a new model of agency fit for the future.” In practical, structural terms, how is this model different from a traditional agency? How does the strategy function operate differently here than it did at TBWA or Special?
For starters I’ve been lucky enough to work with some truly unbelievable teams and planners at Special and TBWA. I think they’re great.
Our industry, creativity, our clients, their customers – we are all under immense pressure. Find me someone who’s not feeling it and I’ll have what they’re having. We all have to respond to that.
It’s having obvious impacts on the networks but increasingly I think it will impact first wave indies as well. We’re fortunate in this market to be surrounded by an abundance of world class independent creativity. But independence alone won’t be enough.
Any agency that believes they can build a structure or a rigid philosophy or an approach and set it in stone will find themselves in hot water.
As the world around us changes it’s important the shape of creativity does too. It’s both an existential necessity and the biggest creative opportunity we have.
At Supermassive we talk about shapeshifting, the idea that the agency will structurally change shape to create scaffolding around an idea no matter what cultural crack that idea might have crawled into. That flexibility is in the design of how the agency works – constantly evolving, constantly changing.
That will be the core skill of the future. And my hope is that strategy will be one of the driving forces of that – creating the conditions for that freeform creative and being the early scaffolding to protect it.
2. The Effectiveness Mandate: You’re tasked with sharpening Supermassive’s “approach to effectiveness,” and you bring a strong pedigree of Effie-winning work. How do you define and measure effectiveness for the kind of “non-traditional” work Supermassive is known for—like changing laws or building a radio station in a juvenile detention centre? What does a successful strategy outcome look like when the deliverable isn’t a 30-second spot?
It’s a great question and one that we’re talking about with clients a lot.
Effectiveness hasn’t changed.
To some extent it’s irrelevant whether you’re creating a tv ad or building a new radio station or a media led legislative lobbying campaign.
There are two questions for effectiveness: ‘what is the ultimate impact we need to create?’ and ‘how can we inarguably prove that this activity created that impact?’.
Obviously that’s a bit reductive and it’s much harder than it sounds. But whether that ‘impact’ is a health outcome, a legislative one or a commercial one, the job for us to do is the same..
Regardless of the shape of the creativity, you need to be able to clearly prove that it is this activity, radio station or headline that got us there.
Given the different shape of a lot of the ideas we make, we need to work extra hard up front to ensure we understand how this work will effect change and that we are capturing the data to prove it.
3. Brand Strategy in the Attention Era: Laura Aldington noted your “endless curiosity for new ways brands can thrive in the attention era.” What is your current, sharpest point of view on how brand strategy must evolve to thrive in this era? What is the one question you believe strategists should be asking that most aren’t?
‘The Extraordinary Cost of Dull’ should have been the wake up call everyone needs in the attention era. In the UK 52% of ads make people feel…absoloutely nothing.
Brands need to be earning attention by adding value in every interaction, not after purchase.
Now more than ever no one gives a f*** about what you’re trying to tell them or sell them, and honestly why should they?
Cultural value, comedic value, some sort of utility. When you show up, do so with something to add.
That’s a wonderful pressure to put on all of our work and it should be hugely motivating because we know what the answer is – creativity. We just need to stop underselling it.
How often have you heard people talk about ‘Creative bravery’ at the start of a process? Or clients ‘explaining the business doesn’t have an appetite for creative risk’, we talk about ‘safe work’.
In an attention era all of that language is completely backward.
Risky work is ignorable. Recklessness is spending budget on work that will not be noticed.
Playing it safe is knowing how we need to make our audience feel, and gripping their attention in a way that is completely undeniable. Certainty lives in creativity you couldn’t forget if you tried.
4. The “Eclectic Mix” Challenge: You’ve walked into an agency handling everything from “global brand platform development to branded entertainment.” How do you, as a single Executive Strategy Director, create a unified strategic framework and quality standard across such a diverse range of briefs without imposing a rigid, one-size-fits-all methodology?
Obviously we have effectiveness frameworks and tools we use as a starting point but it’s important that they are written in pencil not sharpie. They need to adapt around each brief.
It helps Supermassive is in an agency built to shapeshift. It means that by design processes form around the work not the other way around.
There’s strategic freedom as much as creative freedom in that. If you’re confined to a strategy framework at some point you are shaping your thinking to fit into boxes. And from then on you’re creating unnecessary limitations on the creativity and effectiveness of the work.
Our projects regardless of their shape are often guided by two supermassive questions
- What’s the ultimate impact we need to create?
- What’s the conversation that we need to start?
How you answer those questions can come in all different shapes and sizes, but we all need to be able to answer them.
I’ve also stolen with pride the idea of ‘glass and clay’ from Special pals. We talk about that a lot as well. The clay parts of the idea can be moulded and shaped but at the centre is a shard of glass. If that breaks, so does the idea.
5. From Head of Strategy to First ESD: This is your first role as an Executive Strategy Director and the first time this role has existed at Supermassive. How do you define the distinction between “leading strategy” and “executive leadership” of the strategy function? What will you do differently in this role than you did as Head of Strategy?
*gulps down a little tickle of imposter syndrome*
The opportunity for this role in Supermassive I think is really a few things.
Firstly, it’s about partnering to continue to define the future of the agency.
The crew have created such a huge impact with their work but in an agency under 3years old the future is still to be defined – that’s so exciting.
Partnering with Laura, Sim and Jon to help build the future was a massive appeal.
Secondly, with this being a new role at Supermassive we get the chance to work through how strategy works throughout the agency.
That’s been great fun too, working super closely with Jon (founder + creative lead) on how strategy can help fan the creative fires.
Lastly but importantly, it’s been amazing spending time with so many of our client partners at Supermassive.
We’re fortunate to have true partnerships and clients that value the relationships as much as the work. Working with our clients to support them in leading their business through these times is what it’s all about!
6. The Supermassive Culture Fit: The founders mentioned you had to “win over [their] famously hard-to-impress office dog” and you complimented the logo as “sexy.” Beyond the charm, what specifically about Supermassive’s culture and founding team’s “restlessness” made this the right move for you—and what kind of strategic leader do you need to be to thrive in that environment?
I’m a big believer in following your gut. From a good vibe you can build anything. No vibes, no dice.
I first met Laura and we spent a couple of hours jabbering away over a coffee and it felt like chatting to an old friend. Then the same exact thing happened with Sim and Jon.
We all have a very similar point of view on the world. The need for change in the industry, the desire to try to build something that could really make a difference.
There’s a bit of an alchemy to the culture of this place as well. There is absolutely a ferocious, unapologetic ambition. But it’s matched with a kindness and generosity of spirit. That’s pretty rare I think.
I think in a culture like ours you have to care hard. Care deeply about the mission, the work and care about each other.
