Relentlessly dreaming of what brands, teams, & culture can become.

Hello, I'm Chris MacNeil, an Executive Creative Director who has spent 20 years creating transformative ideas that drive measurable business and cultural impact for brands. If you were looking for the Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Chris MacNeil by Ellen Burstyn, I'm afraid this isn't the place.

My dad came from humble beginnings in Nova Scotia. He instilled in me a few guiding principles early on: everything is possible, stay curious, and there is no alternative to optimism. I’ve applied these to everything I do in my career. And while it hasn’t got this Chris MacNeil an Oscar nod, it has got me Effies, Cannes Lions, and One Show Pencils.

Most recently as EVP, Executive Creative Director at Deutsch, I led the global launch of Turo—helping the brand reinvent what it means to rent a car. I also helped drive the creative transformation of Walmart, launching Walmart+ to challenge Amazon Prime and evolve a retail giant into a modern cultural player. As part of the agency’s creative leadership team, I helped grow and lead a $20MM business, contributing to recognition including Adweek’s 2024 Agency of the Year, Adweek’s Agency of the Year Finalist in 2023, and No. 4 on AdAge’s A-List in 2021.

In the past I’ve worked at Chandelier, Chiat\Day, and Arnold creating award-winning campaigns and strategies for brands like Turo, Target, Walmart, Old Navy, Pepsi, Gatorade, Visa, and Theranos (yes that Theranos). I've also collaborated with some of today's most prominent artists including Taylor Swift, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Nick Jonas, Cardi B, Garth Brooks, and Gwen Stefani to create album launches that stoked cultural conversation and fueled fandoms.

My work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, AdAge, Forbes, Creativity, Variety, Rolling Stone, Fortune, Time, The Harvard Business Journal, and was a featured answer on Jeopardy.

I've been very fortunate to do what I do, and to work with extraordinary people. And if you've read this far, I'm sure I'd be lucky to know you too. Say hello, let’s chat.

chris@tophermacneil.com