RANKED: The 30 most creative people in advertising 2016

Wieden + Kennedy

"Madison Avenue" may not still be where adland is based, but plenty of creatives are still keeping the spirit of advertising's glory years alive with their campaigns.

From glitzy Super Bowl spots, to apps that save lives, Business Insider's pick of the most creative people in the advertising industry in 2016 includes a portfolio of truly innovative work from across the globe.

Methodology: Earlier this year we put out a call for the advertising world to send in its nominations. To prevent nominations from being self-serving, we also asked each agency to nominate someone from a competing agency or brand. We also researched recent award winners, and the creatives who have generated new and buzzworthy work.

For the ranking, factors we considered included recognition within the industry, seniority in their respective agencies, size of the shop, and standout creative work that has garnered attention outside the advertising world over the past 12 months.

30. Kathleen Swanson, creative director at Anomaly LA

Swanson recently wrote Gatorade's Emmy-nominated retirement film for Peyton Manning, which was based on the hundreds of handwritten notes he had sent to family, teammates, and friends during his NFL career.

She joined Anomaly from TBWA\Chiat\Day LA in July this year.

Back at her former agency, she was also working on the Airbnb account and worked on the home sharing site's biggest global ad to date, "Never a Stranger,"  plus a Disney "Jungle Book"-inspired ad that showed treehouses you can rent on the site.

The "Dear Peyton" spot

Vimeo Embed:
http://www.vimeo.com/video/164645717
Width: 640px
Height: 360px

29. William Esparza, executive creative director at R/GA Hustle

Esparza was a teenage graffiti artist but after graduating at the Art Center College of Design he jumped into the ad industry, working at agencies including MAL, The Martin Agency, Cutwater, and TBWA\Chiat\Day.

At RGA Hustle, Esparza has been particularly instrumental in driving the agency's partnership with Apple's Beats.

The agency brought home a haul of nine Cannes Lions awards this year for its "Straight Outta Somewhere" meme generator, which allowed people to create their own NWA-style logos. More than 9 million memes were created, with everyone from The White House to other brands, such as Snickers, taking part.