Shai Eisenman
Founder & CEO, Bubble Skincare
Breaking the mold: In a crowded market, Shai Eisenman is disrupting via category breakthroughs, science-backed formulas, and affordable price points. But the trailblazer—who started college when she was 15—has always done things her own way.
XOXO: Her Gen Z-beloved beauty brand signed Leighton Meester as its first-ever global brand ambassador last year, moving the five-year-old company beyond its core crowd. Eisenman told BeautyMatter that the Gossip Girl alum “resonates across generations,” from millennials who watched the show on the CW to Gen Alpha streaming it on Netflix.
Pop fizz: This year, Bubble also launched a collab with Poppi, teaming up for lip serums in the soda brand’s flavors.
Thiago Cruz
Global Head of Brand Creative, On
Legendary launch: The creative’s work has spanned seven cities, five countries, and three continents. For his latest venture with the Swiss sportswear maker, Cruz worked with longtime brand ambassador Zendaya on her first co-collaboration, moving the starlet from endorser to designer (stylist Law Roach also had a hand). Acclaimed director Spike Jonze shot the surrealist campaign.
Past win: Cruz was previously chief creative officer at Grey New York, where he repositioned Angel Soft toilet paper with a Super Bowl ad that was meant to be skipped—a reminder to use the bathroom. It won the brand’s first Gold Lion at Cannes.
Erin Higgins
Director of Influencer & Social Media, PepsiCo Foods U.S.
No ad necessary: Doritos didn’t even have an ad in Super Bowl 60, yet it still managed to earn a 30% share of voice. Credit goes to Higgins, who partnered with TikTok to dominate the social sphere, working with 17 macro-influencers on lo-fi owned content that earned 21.3 million views.
Where the chips fall: Higgins also managed the influencer campaign around Lay’s tearjerker “Last Harvest” Super Bowl spot and its 72-Hour Challenge activation, which quickly got 100,000 chips bags into fans’ hands to show off the brand’s speedy “farm-to-door” supply chain. She also headed up Flavor Swap, PepsiCo’s largest influencer program, which featured IShowSpeed, Madison Beer, and Dude Perfect.
