The m25 Global Creative Series Episode 13: Rachel Kennedy: Leading with ideas, living without limits

m25’s Global Creative Series highlights international creativity and the impact of local cultures and technological advancements on creative production throughout the region. This episode takes us to Singapore with Rachel Kennedy, Freelance Group Creative Director and one of the most awarded creatives in Asia.

 

From Toronto to Amsterdam to Singapore, Kennedy has built a career on bold ideas that spark real change—earning recognition from Cannes Lions, The One Show, and even a tweet from Kim Kardashian. The former Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore Group CD is ranked the #1 Creative in Singapore in the most recent Campaign Brief Asia Creative Rankings, she shares her journey, the lessons learned across three continents, and why creativity is at its most powerful when it challenges culture and empowers people.

 

Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a Group Creative Director, what inspired you to pursue this career, what challenges you faced while carving your niche in an ever-changing creative landscape, and which project stands out as the most memorable for its impact on your market or region?
My journey has taken me quite literally around the world. I was born in Singapore, grew up in Canada, worked across three continents – and somehow found my way back to Singapore where it all began.

If we go all the way back to the beginning, what first drew me to this industry was the feeling that I could use my creativity for meaningful change. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been one to get very, very excited about a great idea. I get an electric shock going through my body. I gasp out loud (this has freaked out my colleagues in the past). When I’m passionate, it ignites a chain reaction of ideas firing off inside my brain. Advertising felt like a great channel to transport those ideas from my mind, to paper, and out into the world and hopefully, make a difference in people’s lives.

Fresh out of ad school in Toronto, I landed my first job at Saatchi & Saatchi Canada . I can honestly say that every single day at that office, we had fun. We sang. We danced. We prank called. We wore banana costumes. Joy turbocharges creativity. It’s no coincidence that some of my most loved work is from those early days.

From there, I moved to Amsterdam to join 180 Amsterdam, where our creative department was made up of 23 people from 18 nationalities. Working on global campaigns with such a diverse team taught me how creativity shifts and expands through different lenses. I learned the best practices from all over the world – in one room. The American way of concepting, the French way of art directing, the Kiwi way of writing, the Dutch way of designing. It taught me to be a good collaborator. You bring your own ingredients, but always leave room for others to add their flavor.

Eventually, I found myself back in Asia with Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore. Being half Singaporean, it felt like coming home. One project that holds a special place in my heart from this region is SK-II’s “My Destiny, My Choice.” In China, there’s a term 好嫁风, or “good for marriage”, that pressures women to be less ambitious, less outspoken, and less successful so they will be considered suitable for marriage. We heard stories of women giving up promotions, quitting their studies, even pretending to be secretaries instead of CEOs. We wanted to create a safe space for women to explore what could happen if they did what they truly wanted. Inspired by the simulation training used for pilots and astronauts, we created the first interactive movie to help women defy marriage pressure.

What was meaningful to me was the ripple effect it created beyond the screen. Women reached out saying they’d ended relationships, started businesses, or applied to universities in real life. That’s the kind of work that reminds me why I do what I do.

Of course, the journey hasn’t been without its challenges: lack of diversity, burnout, being forced to use PowerPoint, and doing timesheets (IYKYK). Moving from a big network agency to a small boutique one was an adjustment. Anyone who’s worked in a small company knows it means wearing many hats – sometimes all at once. You might be the strategist, the writer, the art director, and the person ordering lunch. You have very lean teams. You roll up your sleeves and make things happen yourself. But that’s also what makes it rewarding. It’s taught me to be more resourceful, resilient, and entrepreneurial. I’m grateful for that experience, as it sharpened my instincts beyond creative direction and art direction, and gave me a deeper understanding of how the whole machine works.

How has the Singapore advertising market transformed over the past decade, and what factors have driven this change?
Singapore has evolved in the last decade from great ads to great pieces of culture. Consumers are highly connected and tech-savvy. They scroll, share, and skip ads fast. But where I’ve seen Singapore really excel is coming up with creative solutions that become a real part of culture. These ideas solve the business problem by going beyond advertising.

A great example of this is Vaseline’s “Transition Body Lotion”. Instead of launching a campaign, the brand created an entirely new product line – skincare designed specifically for trans women, something that simply didn’t exist before. It’s hard enough to make a campaign, let alone a new product, for an underserved community.

One of the projects I’m proud of is Down Syndrome International’s “Kami” – the world’s first virtual influencer with Down Syndrome. In the era of pixel-perfect virtual influencers, we wanted to make the digital world more inclusive and challenge the idea that disabilities are flaws that should be erased. Kami was co-created and run by over a hundred young women with Down Syndrome, who decided what she said, where she went, and how she showed up online. She became both a safe space for these young women to interact on social media, and a new stream of fundraising for the charity.

In what ways is Singapore positioning itself on the global advertising stage, and what unique strengths does it offer that resonate with international brands?
Singapore is one of Asia’s advertising powerhouses. Its strength lies in cultural fluency. For such a small nation, it’s very diverse. People from across Asia and beyond bring their own traditions, languages, and viewpoints. This diversity creates an “outside-in” perspective that’s valuable to international brands. Not being from a market is not a disadvantage. It allows creatives to see things with fresh eyes and to notice something normally overlooked, to find something special in the mundane. Partnering with local creatives and strategists ensures the message gets delivered in the most relevant way, where both inside and outside perspectives are represented.

How do local cultural values and creative storytelling influence advertising strategies in Singapore?
Local culture absolutely shapes the way we tell stories. At its core, Singaporeans are proud, community-minded, and family-oriented. A campaign we did for Mandarin Oriental Singapore called “Letters To Neighbours” captured what we call the “kampong spirit” – the sense of neighbourly care. When the hotel closed for renovations, its managing director wrote to neighbouring hotels asking them to look after their guests until it reopened. A brand choosing to see its competitors as neighbours rather than rivals captures a kind of community-first thinking that feels deeply Singaporean.

That said, local advertising can sometimes be a little too wholesome. Feel-good phrases, polished imagery, and predictable manifestos don’t grab attention. But when an idea captures the spirit of the country in an unexpected, even provocative way, that work stands out even more.

With the rapid adoption of digital tools and AI, how is technology reshaping creative processes and outcomes in the Singapore advertising industry?
I find the creative process is dramatically faster and more polished with AI. It’s as if you’ve added a few new members to your creative team. Once you have that big idea, the right prompting can bring your vision to life with stunning accuracy. But you still need to have the big idea! Humans are still the better conceptors. AI doesn’t replace human creativity, it multiplies it.

I think it’s safe to say that most advertising creatives in Singapore are using AI tools to improve their workflow daily. From generating key visuals and pre-vis, refining copy to processing data, AI has woven itself into almost every part of our creative process. When we really lean into AI, we can rethink production entirely.

Imagine reversing the post production process: generating and editing footage in AI first, getting client approval pre-shoot, then shooting only what’s needed in live action. Imagine generating characters with AI, then casting talent to match them. We’re already dabbling with fully AI-driven productions. It’s both thrilling and a little heartbreaking. For those of us who love the chaos and magic of a film set, there’s something irreplaceable about being there: catching a spontaneous line, changing a shot in the moment. Those on-set sparks often become the soul of a campaign. Losing that human touch feels like losing the creative magic.

Yet, the flip side is extraordinary. AI has the power to democratise creativity. A 13-year-old in their bedroom can now craft a cinematic skateboarding film without the barriers of budget, geography, or access. As technology lowers the entry barrier, we’ll see more diverse, unexpected voices and stories from places we might never have heard from before.

There’s a lot to get excited about. We’re still in the early days, the Internet Explorer 95 era of AI. It’s impossible to fully imagine what’s ahead, but one thing’s certain: our industry will evolve with it, and it will unlock doors we don’t even know exist yet.

What role does social media play in the advertising strategies of Singapore brands, and how are these strategies evolving to meet global trends?
If you take public transit in Singapore, you’ll see everyone with their head down looking at their phone. We are voracious consumers of digital content. Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube and e-commerce apps like Taobao, Shopee and Lazada frequent our screens. Digital life is a defining part of the country’s advertising ecosystem.

However, Singapore doesn’t have an influencer culture on the same scale as markets like Korea or the U.S. With a population of six million, even our most popular creators can’t rival the global followings of K-pop idols or YouTube megastars. But that’s precisely what makes the landscape interesting. Because reach is smaller, influence here tends to be more authentic. Singaporean creators build trust. Micro and nano influencers can deliver a lot of credibility within their niches they feel like peers, not celebrities.

When you travel across the APAC markets, the social media landscape transforms entirely with each country. In Korea, YouTube reigns supreme. Thailand thrives on Facebook and in China, the entire media hierarchy is flipped. The biggest moments don’t happen on television – they happen on social. There, language plays a central role in culture, so the success of a campaign is often measured by how much people talk about it. Conversation is currency. There are dozens of social media apps, and dozens of things “going viral” every day. For brands, the challenge is to sustain the hype – you might own the conversation on Monday, only to be forgotten by Wednesday.

What advice would you give to young talent aspiring to enter the advertising industry in Singapore?
Dear young talent in Singapore, my advice is simple: bring as much YOU into the work as possible.

I see a lot of young creatives trying to make work that looks like someone else’s – like that Cannes-winning campaign everyone’s talking about, like the idea your boss loved, like the reference the client showed in the briefing. Resist the urge. Take that inspiration and use it to catapult you somewhere new.

I know it’s not easy. It takes real courage to back an idea that doesn’t have a proven reference point. It feels safer when something looks like what the industry already considers a “good idea.” We’ve all been there. But if you’re always chasing someone else’s vision, you’ll miss the chance to create something truly you and the world will miss out on your perspective. Get obsessed with your brand. Pull from your life experience, your instincts, your weird little ideas that no one else could think of. We need your story. Your spark. You’re the only you in the world – so make something that other people will want to copy.

How does the vibrant creative landscape in Singapore encourage innovation compared to more traditional markets?
There’s a powerful spirit of evolution in Singapore, deeply rooted in the nation’s astonishing transformation over the past 60 years. People are used to progress and momentum. Things change, improve, and accelerate. I’ve found that energy inspiring since moving here. Walking around the CBD, you’ll find skyscrapers with seemingly impossible physics, entrepreneurs running incubators for their start-ups, and schools experimenting with new models of early education. Being surrounded by that kind of momentum naturally fuels creative innovation. There’s a feeling of “we can do anything” and with the technology already at our fingertips, the distance between an idea and execution feels smaller here.

Can you describe an early moment in your career where a pivotal experience or mentor changed your perspective on advertising?
My first Executive Creative Directors, Helen Pak and Brian Sheppard. They were the dynamic duo who led Saatchi & Saatchi Canada and they were deeply influential in shaping my career. I doubt Helen would even remember this moment, but at one point I told her about an opportunity I had to move to Amsterdam. I loved the agency’s tall canal house, their recent work, and my new bosses. But one thing wasn’t sitting well. My creative partner Shauna wasn’t coming with me. I explained all the things that could go wrong with a new partner, how worried I was about leaving behind someone so important to me. Helen just looked at me and said, “Rachel, it’s never going to be perfect. You just need to do it anyway.”

That stuck with me. I can be a bit of a perfectionist. I like the stars to align. But they rarely do. That’s life. What I’ve learned is to get most of the stars in place, then take the leap – and trust that I’ll figure out the rest along the way. I took the job in Amsterdam, and it changed everything. I met my fiancé there, made lifelong friends, and worked at an incredible agency that expanded my world and my first creative partner Shauna and I still cheer each other on from across the globe.

What are the key challenges that agencies face when expanding into the Singapore market, and how have they overcome them?
As Singapore continues to grow as a creative hub for APAC, the biggest challenge for agencies expanding here is navigating the local nuances of each market within the region. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution – far from it. To do great work, you need people who are mini-experts in each culture, each country, each audience. You have to get genuinely curious.

What works in Japan won’t land the same way in China. What resonates in China might completely miss the mark in Korea. Every market has its own rhythm, humour, sensitivities, and unspoken codes. Just when you think you’ve cracked one, you start again with the next.

For international creatives coming to Asia, it can be overwhelming, there’s so much to learn. But over time, that knowledge compounds. You start to see patterns, connections, cultural bridges and that deep understanding becomes one of the most valuable creative assets you can have.

Looking to the future, what trends do you predict will shape the Singapore advertising industry in the next 5 to 10 years?
Of course, AI will continue to shape our industry. The trend of hyper-personalised ads could expand to hyper-personalised products. For example, a beauty brand launching an AI-powered tool that lets every customer create their own unique shade of makeup – a product made just for them. That level of customisation has the potential to completely redefine what brand experience means.

Another emerging shift is the comeback of real-world experiences. We’re seeing the rise of no-phone parties, live concerts, matcha raves, and run clubs, all born out of fatigue from too much screen time. People are craving connection again, the feeling of being in the moment. We are a small and well connected country, so we are perfectly positioned for this resurgence. It would be interesting to see if local advertising moves from digital-first experiences back into the physical world.

Finally, I think we’re only at the beginning of the “shoppable everything” era. Content, experience, retail, and e-commerce will converge seamlessly. Singaporeans love to shop – whether it’s mall trips or scrolling online – and the technology is catching up. We can already shop k-dramas, and buy the outfit the main character is wearing without leaving the streaming service. One day in the near future, we could be buying a concert ticket directly from Spotify while listening to your favourite artist’s new album. TikTok and Instagram have already proven how powerful social commerce can be – I wonder if this will continue in a larger evolution in how we experience brands.

Considering the unique characteristics of the Singapore advertising market, what strategies or approaches have proven most effective for foreign production companies and creative teams looking to enter and succeed in this market?
To enter and truly succeed in Singapore – you need to be able to translate a brand’s authentic voice through different cultural lenses. In this region, we don’t simply take one campaign and translate it into multiple languages. More often than not, we create entirely different work for each country, because the language, humour, and cultural codes vary so dramatically.

Look at how KFC shows up in China versus Japan versus Thailand (if you haven’t seen their recent “Let There Be Cake” ad, watch it now. It’s so good). They are very different, yet each version feels true to KFC. That’s the challenge, and the art. It’s about understanding your audience deeply enough to know which parts of your brand will resonate most, and then allowing the brand to flex and shape-shift gracefully across markets, without losing its core identity or sounding fragmented.

I often think of brands like people. When you travel, you naturally show different sides of yourself you might be a little wilder in Bangkok, a bit more reflective in Kyoto. But all of those versions are still you. The same goes for brands navigating different markets. The key is to know yourself well enough to adapt authentically. When done right, a brand can have one global voice that feels perfectly at home wherever it goes.

 

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Read previous episodes of the m25 Global Creative Series below:

Episode 12: Kim Pick, Group Executive Creative Director at VML NZ
Episode 11: Maan Bautista, Executive Creative Director at VML Manila
Episode 10: Pradeep D’Souza, Founder/Creative Partner at Nine:TwentyEight, Singapore
Episode 9: Jonathan Cruz, Creative Director at FP7McCann Dubai
Episode 8: Asheen Naidu, Group Executive Creative Director at Leo Singapore
Episode 7: Yubin Bang, Creative Director at Cheil Seoul
Episode 6: Jerry C. Hizon, Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Creative Philippines and Dentsu Creative Manila
Episode 5: Jasmine Huang, MD & Head of Content Production at Prodigious China
Episode 4: Federico Fanti, Regional Chief Creative Officer at FP7McCann MENAT
Episode 3: Ratna ‘Sasa’ Puspitasari, CEO at Fortuna Indonesia
Episode 2: Livio Grossi, Group ECD at Dentsu Redder Vietnam
Episode 1: Merlee Jayme, Creative Chairmom and Founder of The Misfits Camp and Jayme Headquarters