Sarah Sherman

SARAH SHERMAN

About

Not the SNL cast member. I’m a multidisciplinary creative director, strategist, and writer with a nonlinear background. I come from documentary film, journalism, advertising, and New York City.

I started in documentary film, built the video team at The Atlantic's award-winning content studio, and developed brand and creative strategies for start-ups. Now, I run creative strategy (in a fractional capacity) at a hyper-innovative little agency called SpecialGuest making campaigns for brands like Bumble, Meta, and Ray-Ban.

When I’m not working, I’m reading New York restaurant reviews from my house in San Francisco, dressing my toddler like Jeff Goldblum, and lovingly approaching every pitbull mix I see.

Coaching

“Coaching” is a silly word, but I do work that a lot of people would describe as coaching.

What I offer: (1) Counseling through work challenges and transitional moments, e.g. managing tough relationships with colleagues, navigating negotiations, advocating for role growth or change. (2) Developing and refining the story you tell about your work experience and aspirations. (3) Tactical job search support, e.g. networking strategy, materials review (resumes, portfolios, cover letters, work samples, etc.)

Who I support: I'm field agnostic, but I will have a particular edge with people coming from media, creative industries, advertising, etc. I have the most experience with early and mid-career women, but I'm open to working with anyone.

Clients

Ray-Ban, Meta, OpenAI, Lyft, Filmhub, Oatly, Bumble, Google, Jaguar, Porsche, Playboy, The New York Times, TikTok, IBM, Foundation, Instagram, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNN, Dyson, Kohler, Boeing, AT&T, VMware, Cove, Marriott, Cathay Pacific Airlines

Awards

Indie Top 40 Independent Agency (SpecialGuest), Small Agency of the Year (SpecialGuest) , AdAge Silver Addy (Shortlisted), Shorty Awards, Vimeo Staff Pick (Moral Code), Folio Class of Top Women in Media in the Up & Comers, 100 Significant Women in Native Advertising, OMMA finalist, Emmy nomination: Investigative Journalism, Webby nomination: Best Branded, OMMA Finalist, Folio Awards

Films & Shows

Fault Lines (Big Sky Film Festival Official Selection), American Pathogen (narrated by Jeffrey Wright, NowThis) Chicagoland (CNN), Freeway (Al Jazeera America), Letters From Baghdad (Prime), (Dis)honesty (Prime), Gainesville (CMT)

Select Work

Bumble, Finally
HPE, Eighteen Zeros
Ray-Ban Meta, Live All In
Cove
Lizzo x Meta
Dogchurch
Bumble, Voices

Substack

BUMBLE, FINALLY

After a historic IPO and a year of Covid isolation, Bumble wanted to position itself as the app to unlock users’ summer of love. So, we focused on the little things that single people missed the most—holding hands, making out, dancing close—and created a visceral brand campaign around an original remix of CeCe Peniston's iconic track “Finally.” We built the campaign to stretch globally, tailoring the message for each region (and encouraging vaccination).

I led creative strategy for the original Bumble AOR pitch, which we won that January. For the campaign, I led creative strategy and developed the the “Finally” concept and language. I was the primary agency creative lead during the on-location shoot across New York and oversaw post, finishing, and delivery.

Agency: SpecialGuest

HPE, EIGHTEEN ZEROS

HPE came to The Atlantic to help tell the story of their most transformative innovations. My team created a ~7-minute mixed-media film about exascale computing and the impact it could have on humanity. The film, Eighteen Zeros, was so well received that HPE came to us to create a follow-up film, Moral Code, focusing on the moral questions we’ll grapple with as we develop AI.

For both films, I led research, story development, and casting of experts and executives, including Tim Urban of Wait But Why. I worked closely with our directors to develop the visual approach, oversaw our shoots across New York and the Bay Area, and played a key role in the edit.

Moral Code, Vimeo Staff Pick

Agency: Atlantic Re:think

RAY-BAN META, LIVE ALL IN

SpecialGuest has been a key creative partner to Meta Reality Labs since 2022. For this project, we were focused on communicating the utility and style of the Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses, the best-selling smartglasses in an increasingly crowded category.

I developed the strategic and conceptual foundation for what became a vibrant 360 campaign translated into multiple languages and across global markets.

Agency: SpecialGuest

COVE BRAND IDENTITY

Cove is the world’s first biodegradable water bottle, made of PHA, a plastic alternative that can be found in almost all life on earth—plants, soil, and our own bodies.

I worked closely with the CEO and a small team on the foundational brand identity and all things creative marketing for Cove. While the brand has evolved since my time, it has stayed true to the core tenets of the voice, visuals, and brand narrative I developed. Cove launched on December 1st, 2022 in Erewhon markets in LA.

Bloomberg
Fast Company
LA Times

LIZZO X META

Beat Saber is a popular VR game where players slash through beats of their favorite songs represented as flying blocks. Our job was to get the attention of Lizzo’s fanbase for her music pack launch. To do that, we made something that Lizzo herself would love and be proud to share: a playful TikTok-style dance with an inclusive group of joyful performers.

We worked with Tanu Muino (VMA-winning music video director for Lil Nas X, Harry Styles, Cardi B) and choreographer Sean Bankhead. Lizzo posted organically about the film (with the fire emoji) and got her fans hyped to play the game.

Agency: SpecialGuest

DOGCHURCH, BRAND

Before membership based dog parks and community spaces became mainstream, I developed the concept and brand for business in this category. It was designed to cater to hybrid/remote workers, parents, and members of the East Bay creative class.

Because of shifts in the Bay Area real estate landscape, I put the project on hold, but look forward to coming back to an evolved concept when the timing and location are right.

BUMBLE, VOICES

People aren’t typically very energized by product and feature demos—but, we love juicy tidbits from a friend’s dating life. So, we used real people’s experiences to create 20+ product marketing videos that were as cheeky and relatable as they were informative. We sifted through hundreds of submissions from real Bumble users and identified the ones that balanced entertainment and charisma with clear feature communication. Then, we devised smart ways to drive the story with the UI itself.

I led creative strategy for the original Bumble AOR pitch, which we won that January. For this campaign, I shaped the original concept and led strategy and copy throughout.

Agency: SpecialGuest