- The Hidden Gems: Uncovered
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- Marketing & Agency News | Super Bowl, April Fools & Coachella Winners | POSSIBLE Miami
Marketing & Agency News | Super Bowl, April Fools & Coachella Winners | POSSIBLE Miami
The Hidden Gems: Uncovered
David Drexler
April 21, 2026
Welcome to The Hidden Gems Monthly Randomly timed Newsletter: #6
It’s Been a while, so you get 4 months of news packed into one newsletter.
For more information on what The Hidden Gems is: Either click here to unveil the person behind it, and click here to get a fun “explainer” on us. If you work in advertising, production, marketing, creative, media, experiential, digital, product, or some funky combination - we welcome you to stick around.
What’s (un)covered in this newsletter?
2026 Recap (so far) - Agency Mergers, Closes, Highlights, overall Gossip.
New Brands Served in 2026
Which brands won Super Bowl, April Fools, Coachella, and 2026 so far
Philosophical Musing
Misc: POSSIBLE Miami secret events, what’s hot in marketing & more
Now, on with the show
Advertising Industry News - 2026 so far (Jan-April)
This will not be an exhaustive list, or you’d be, well, exhausted. Forgive us if your excellent work/news isn’t listed!
Who won the Super Bowl? It’s the most expensive media you can buy.
e.l.f. - They won the AdBlitz trophy with "e.l.f. Presenta: MELISA," a telenovela-inspired spot that was funny, dramatic, and perfectly targeted. It proved that "budget" brands can own "premium" airtime. Who can’t love Melissa McCarthy?
Anthropic wins personal favorite (one of several creatives that aired) - Brilliant, clever, and exposing the problem of their competitors. Scott Galloway agrees. Big awareness win for “Golden Encounters” too (pretty sure that’s fake but... lol)
Coinbase wins most divisive. Going nontraditional (again. Remember that bouncing QR code?) - Uniting Dividing the world because Everybody seems to have their own opinion on the Backstreet Boys / Karaoke spot. Hate it or love it… people talked.
Pepsi wins most mentions (on social). Clever work using Coca Cola’s Polar Bear, but a bit too plain and “on the nose” for my taste.
Who won April Fools?
Who won Coachella?
Rhode & e.l.f. - Rhode made their own world, weren’t even official sponsors of Coachella, and therefore activated off-premise, yet created the biggest footprint to date.
Justin Bieber performed YouTube Karaoke - And the world went wild. Love it or hate it, this collaboration made SO much sense, and got the world talking… and reminiscing. Remember, he was discovered on YouTube by Scooter Braun.
Additional Brand Creative Highlights
Incredible Experiential work on Project Hail Mary (Amazon/MGM)
Coinbase - Good lord. This (and much of the above) is the kind of work that makes me proud to be in this industry. Truly. Oh and this was live action, not VFX/CGI. Enjoy the behind the scenes.
Agency News:
Omnicom & IPG Merge Updates
The merge is now attempting to achieve functional consolidation. Omnicom has been aggressively rebranding and merging specialized shops into their "Precision Marketing" and "Health" groups. IE: FCB Health NY rebrands to Olixir New York
Joan Creative - Founder Jaime Robinson leaves 😱
IBM exits Ogilvy after 32 years together - Longer than most marriages, honestly quite an accomplishment
Kristen Cavallo re-enters advertising. Our Breaking & Enterting friends break the news.
Tombras acquires Opinionated to form Tombras West - Even Indies are acquiring.
New Brands served by Hidden Gems
(Since Jan 2026)
From BIG to small, here’s some new brands being served aptly by Hidden Gems. We can’t share the work publicly but feel free to message and inquire on what went down!
Uber (Transportation), GEICO (Insurance), General Electric (Utilities), Primal Viking (Supplements), OutSystems (AI Dev), Relay (Banking), Affirm (FinTech), Xella (Women’s Health), Gorilla Mind (Supplements), Cottonball (Beauty), Bartaco (Food/Restaurant), GSK (Pharmaceuticals), Astound (Digital Consultancy), Capital One (Financial), XTCY (Beverage)… and many more.
And here’s our All Time Favorites from some Hidden Gems
Note: This only showcases creative-led work (Content, Experiential, Design) since it’s the most visibly flashy, but much much more goes on here. Curious about the teams behind any piece of work? The cost, timeline? Just ask!
Philosophical Musing
Use the Zeigarnik Effect to generate unwavering attention & intrigue.
It’s the a psychological phenomenon where people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones. Used by Taylor Swift, McDonald’s, Hollywood, and your ex-lovers to create an unavoidable allure.
Misc.
Why has it been so long since my last newsletter? Honestly there’s so much to keep up with. And I’m not a big fan of writing. But I want to keep you all updated!
Going to POSSIBLE 2026? Comment here so you’re covered for the cool, secret, unofficial events.
Did we ever solve the mystery of Jim Carrey’s face?
We really hope you voted for the Sydney Sweeney x Dr. Squatch dirty bathwater campaign in the Short Awards!
I often get asked what’s new (and effective!) in marketing. Well here’s the quick answer: GEO/AEO, and UGC. If you’re exploring that or otherwise… let’s talk!
What the heck is “The Hidden Gems”?
The Hidden Gems was founded by David Drexler to solve for the frequent inefficiencies in the Advertising Agency & Production landscape. We believe that small/boutique partners give biggest “bang for the buck”, care, and craft. Your most optimal partners have yet to be uncovered.
We are THE Agency & Production Matchmaker. The secret weapon of many marketers, creatives, experientialists, innovators, media mavens, and producers. When they seek recommendations on which external partners to consider for engagement… we provide them with incredible Hidden Gems worth considering, that are otherwise flying under their radar. Literally that simple. No paperwork nor transactions ever needed with The Hidden Gems itself.
Reach out to us at any time for questions, needs, inspiration, gutchecks… or a laugh.