Poo-moji - | Clapboard Ad Archive
Poo-moji, created by Rethink for its own agency self-promo, marked a decade of the Poop Emoji by transforming the world’s cheekiest icon into 50 distinct variations, a campaign that stands out as both a cultural tribute and a showcase of creative prowess within Canada’s media and entertainment market in 2018. At its core, the campaign is a strategic love letter to the digital language that has shaped modern communication, leveraging the instantly recognizable Poop Emoji to both amuse and inspire, while drawing industry attention to Rethink’s inventiveness and artistic flexibility. By collaborating with Toronto-based photographer and visual artist Justin Poulsen, Rethink elevated agency self-promotion beyond the predictable, adopting what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#11—Unique Personality Property—for its pure celebration of a singular icon’s enduring resonance. The 50 reinterpretations, each distinct in style and execution, reframed the emoji’s playful DNA for a broad audience that spans industry peers, creative clients, and anyone fluent in the humor and subculture of emojis, making the familiar feel surprising again without the crutch of testimonials, product demos, or narrative arcs. Instead, Poo-moji’s punch lies in its unapologetic focus on originality and cultural literacy: the campaign banks on the emoji’s universal recognition and affectionate irreverence, mining nostalgia and contemporary relevance in equal measure, and acts as a masterclass in how a creative agency can differentiate by setting the conversation rather than chasing it. Eschewing overt messaging or commercial tactics, Rethink lets sheer visual wit become the mechanism for engagement, subtly reaffirming its own brand as culturally attuned, fearless, and dexterous in the crowded world of agency self-promo. Unbounded by the constraints of a typical product-led brief, Poo-moji demonstrates how humour and reimagination can reinforce an agency’s distinct personality while building emotional equity around a symbol that everyone has used, seen, and loved. The campaign earns 67/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Poo-moji matters to the industry because it reminds agencies that the bold repackaging of cultural touchstones can turn even the most familiar symbol into a canvas for originality, as long as the creative intent is delivered with clarity and conviction.
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