5 Examples of Fun In-house Creative Agencies

Something interesting is happening in the creative world.

The smartest companies have quietly started building creative powerhouses that live inside their walls but think like the scrappiest startups you know. These aren't the corporate marketing teams of old—you know, the ones that took six months to approve a tweet. These are full-blown creative studios that happen to have Fortune 500 addresses, and they're creating work that actually moves culture.

What's the difference between an in-house agency and a normal creative department? There are quite a few differences, but the teams below represent the gold standard: they combine intimate brand knowledge with creative excellence, move quickly on opportunities, and collaborate seamlessly with external partners when the project calls for it. The result? Work that breaks the internet.

Here’s a list of some of the top in-house agencies that are redefining what's possible when brands build serious creative muscle internally:

1. Window Seat - Delta

Making Flying Feel Like Falling in Love Again

Window Seat is Delta’s in-house creative arm, and produces all sorts of creative campaigns like Faces of Travel and more recently, a series of spots highlighting Olympic athletes for Paris 2024.

Meanwhile, Delta's Window Seat isn't just creating airline marketing—they're crafting love letters to the act of travel itself. Led by Chief Communications Officer Tim Mapes and operationally run by creative powerhouse Maya Dukes (Managing Director of Global Brand Strategy, Creative & Social), this 68+ person team has transformed Delta from "just another airline" into a cultural force. Under their leadership, the agency in 2022 grew and tripled its creative output year-over-year, contributing to Delta's most significant brand power growth.

Instead of the usual stock photo parade of impossibly attractive people with perfect luggage, they created 200+ authentic images and 40+ video clips showcasing real travelers of every background imaginable. They partnered with Adobe Stock to make the entire collection free for anyone to use, essentially giving away millions of dollars worth of content because they believe representation matters more than profit.

The campaign includes real families like the Songs exploring Cape Town, the Colemans enjoying beach days, and the Silvas wandering the world—people you might not have seen in travel ads before, but definitely will now. It's not just inclusive marketing; it's inclusive action.

The result? Delta doesn't just transport people anymore—they transport culture.

2. The Kitchen - Kraft Heinz

Where Comfort Food Meets Cutting-Edge Creativity

If you think a company that makes ketchup and mac & cheese can't be cool, you haven't met The Kitchen. This isn't your grandmother's food marketing (though she'd probably love their campaigns).

Led by agency head Tom Evans and Executive Creative Director Simon Au, The Kitchen operates like a cultural intelligence unit that excels at speed and agility. They don't just make ads—they make "acts, not ads, that truly move people, culture and ultimately business."

The Kitchen has mastered the art of real-time cultural response. Take their #FindTheKetchupBoatGuy campaign. When they learned about Elvis Francois, a sailor who survived 24 days at sea eating nothing but ketchup, most brands would've sent a congratulatory tweet. The Kitchen flew to Dominica to personally thank him with a year's supply of ketchup and made him the center of a global campaign that earned them a Cannes Lion.

Or consider their stance in the great "fridge vs. cupboard" ketchup storage debate. Instead of staying neutral, they picked a side (team fridge, obviously), sparked a global conversation that hit 4.39 billion PR impressions, and somehow made condiment storage preferences feel like a cultural movement.

The secret sauce? They've built a team that combines deep cultural understanding with creative agility. Their Gen Z creatives don't just know trends; they help create them, one perfectly timed campaign at a time.

3. Rebel Fish - Norwegian Cruise Lines

Making Waves in the Most Landlocked Industry‍
Rebel Fish (Creative Group) is the aptly-named in-house creative team at Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), working on all creative from merchandise to food/bev brands served onboard cruise ships to video campaigns. For an industry known for cheesy buffets and senior entertainment, NCL and Rebel Fish are out there proving creativity can still swim upstream.

Senior Director, Becky Winters, leads this 50-person global crew who understand that cruise marketing isn't really about boats—it's about selling escape from reality. After 15 years with NCL and 30+ years in the industry, Winters knows that every campaign needs to answer one question:

"How badly do you want to break free from your regular life?"

Their "Break Free" campaign, set to Queen's iconic anthem, became NCL's longest-running campaign ever and helped the company survive a 500-day pandemic pause. But Rebel Fish doesn't just create ads—they design entire experiences. The team includes Luije Padron (global creative), Ian Mavorah (creative copy), Cristina Serarols (creative strategy), Marja Valdes (content production), and Marie Philemon (creative operations), each bringing a different flavor to the creative cocktail.

What sets them apart? They think like experience designers, not advertisers. When they create campaigns for onboard dining, they're not just promoting restaurants—they're choreographing moments that will become vacation memories.

The proof? In 2022, their creative output tripled compared to 2019, helping drive record-breaking sales for Norwegian Prima and proving that sometimes the best way to sell adventure is to live it yourself.

4. Yelp Creative - Yelp

The Unsung Heroes of Local Business Love

Here's the thing about Yelp Creative: they're solving one of the hardest challenges in marketing—making a platform that serves everyone feel personal to everyone.

The agency has evolved through several leadership transitions, most recently guided by Director Adam McChane (who also headed Yelp Studios) and Creative Directors Patty Jordan and Kristine Kazarian. Former Group Creative Director Jeremy Brady transformed the team into "Y! Creative" with the philosophy that "the best creative starts with Y!" before moving on to USAA in 2022. Behind the scenes, creative operations leaders like Tray Epps helped scale up the team’s creative infra.

While the name is not admittedly as differentiated as some of the others on this list, Yelp does make a point to split out its creative agency with its own website. The internal team at Yelp is responsible for campaigns like “Yelp Onward”.

But their real masterpiece? The Servies Awards—the first-ever awards program celebrating front-of-house restaurant employees. While everyone else gives awards to chefs and owners, Yelp Creative said, "What about the servers, bartenders, and hosts who actually make dining experiences magical?"

The Servies (get it?) celebrate eight categories: Best Host, Best Server, Best Bartender, Best Front-Of-House Team, Best Manager, Best Team Player, Best Hustle, and Best Vibe. Winners receive custom-engraved trophies, $3,000 cash "tips," and—because Yelp Creative thinks of everything—professional-grade Snibbs shoes for people who spend all day on their feet.

It's not just an awards show; it's cultural commentary. In an industry where servers are often invisible, Yelp Creative made them the stars. The campaign generated thousands of nominations from all 50 states and tens of thousands of votes, proving that recognition doesn't just feel good—it builds communities.

The genius move? They turned customer appreciation into a scalable, annual event that strengthens both sides of Yelp's marketplace while generating genuine goodwill.

5. Superette - Doordash

Redefining Marketing at the Speed of Hunger

DoorDash's Superette operates at the intersection of food culture and digital culture, working both as an internal studio and as a collaborative partner with agencies like Wieden+Kennedy and GUT. They produce some super cool creative and brand collateral, like Doordash’s magazine called Secret Menu and this edgy valentine’s day video campaign promoting self-love.

The agency's foundation was built by Mariota Essery (Executive Creative Director from 2020-2024, now at Visa), who helped expand the team by 25 people and established Superette as a cultural force. Today, it's led by Managing Director Maria Elisa Vélez (Eli) and Head of Creative Julio D'Alfonso, who brings international agency experience from BBH, Fallon, Leo Burnett, Y&R, and BBDO.

Their "Secret Menu" magazine doesn't read like corporate content—it reads like something you'd actually want to flip through at a coffee shop. Each issue dives deep into neighborhoods, tells the stories behind local restaurants, and somehow makes you crave experiences you didn't even know existed.

Then came their 2024 Super Bowl moment: the "All-the-ads" campaign that snagged the Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes Lions. Sure, the hardware is nice, but here's what's actually impressive—they created something that worked for everyone in DoorDash's ecosystem. Merchants felt supported, drivers felt appreciated, and customers felt understood. That's not just good advertising; that's systems thinking disguised as creativity.

Here's what Eli and her team really get: DoorDash isn't a delivery company that happens to have an app. They're the digital version of your neighborhood, the place where your favorite taco spot meets your lazy Sunday afternoon. Every piece of creative, whether it's celebrating drivers or partnering with restaurants, reinforces this idea that local businesses aren't just vendors in an app; they're the heartbeat of communities.

When Brands Become Culture Makers

Here's what these five agencies prove: we're witnessing a fundamental shift in how great creative work gets made. These teams aren't just making ads—they're creating cultural moments that people actually want to engage with.

Look at the range: Delta giving away millions in content for the greater good, Kraft Heinz flying to a Caribbean island to thank a ketchup-surviving sailor, Norwegian turning Queen into a cruise anthem that lasted years, Yelp creating an entire awards ceremony for unsung restaurant heroes, and DoorDash winning Titanium at Cannes with work that made everyone in their ecosystem feel seen.

What connects all these campaigns? They solve real problems while creating genuine delight. They don't just interrupt culture—they contribute to it. Whether it's representation in travel imagery, celebrating everyday heroes, or turning condiment storage into a global conversation, each campaign adds something meaningful to the world.

The results speak for themselves: Cannes Lions, billions of impressions, record-breaking sales, and most importantly, work that people actually remember and talk about months later.

The real story here? These aren't just in-house agencies doing good work. They're proof that when creativity meets corporate resources and cultural understanding, magic can happen. They're showing us what's possible when brands stop trying to be everything to everyone and start being something meaningful to someone.

Seen any in-house creative teams doing work that made you stop and stare? Let us know—we're always hunting for the next creative team that's quietly changing the game.