Sarah Sherman

SARAH SHERMAN

About

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

Right now, I’m the Head of Creative Strategy at SpecialGuest, an ultra-innovative boutique agency, where I lead the work on major accounts, including Meta, OpenAI, and Bumble.

Before SpecialGuest, I advised VC-backed startups on brand positioning and storytelling, and built The Atlantic’s Brand Studio into an award-winning creative group recognised by Fast Company, AdAge Creativity, and Vimeo Staff Picks. Earlier in my career, I worked on Emmy- and Peabody-winning documentary projects.

A few quick hits: I’ve remotely directed Jeffrey Wright recording VO from his home studio in Hawaii, pitched 360 campaigns to Sam Altman across a giant conference table, and creative directed 100-person shoots. And my agency was just nominated for our first Grammy.

When I’m not working, I’m writing short stories from my house in San Francisco, reading New York restaurant news, and petting every pitbull pup 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, Googles, 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

Some Awards

Cannes Lion Silver Lion (2025), NY Addy's Silver 2025 (x3), NY Addy's Social Silver 2025, Cannes Social Shortlisted 2025 (x2), Indie Agency Top 40 Independent Agency 2024 (SpecialGuest), Webby Nominee 2025, Shorty Finalist 2024,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, Apple TV, Amazon Prime), American Pathogen (narrated by Jeffrey Wright) Chicagoland (CNN), Freeway (Al Jazeera America), Letters From Baghdad (Amazon Prime), (Dis)honesty (Amazon Prime, PBS), 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 co-led creative and developed the the “Finally” concept. 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 ethical questions we’ll grapple with as we develop AI (this was in 2019).

For both films, I led research, story development, and casting of experts, 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 blocks that represent the beats of their favorite songs. Our job was to get the attention of Lizzo’s fanbase for her music pack launch, so 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 went mainstream, I developed the concept and brand for a 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 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 concept and led strategy and copy throughout.

Agency: SpecialGuest