Pierce Thiot, Creative Executive at Maximum Effort, Dies at 40

Pierce Thiot, who as the head of creative for brand and entertainment at the film, television and marketing company Maximum Effort helped launch some of the most culturally relevant brand campaigns in recent memory, has died. He was 40. Thiot died Tuesday at his home in Orem, Utah, from a pulmonary embolism, the company told The Hollywood Reporter. “Pierce Thiot was a shining light of creativity, kindness and hard work. It is impossible to imagine the world, let alone our company, without him,” Maximum Effort co-founders Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey said in a statement. “Pierce was incredibly accomplished before he came to Maximum Effort, having worked on Apple, Nike, Gatorade, Coca-Cola and created the viral sensation ‘Will It Beard?’ In his almost five years at Maximum Effort, he created countless creative moments for brands like Doordash, L’Oreal, Mint, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and most recently Coyote vs. Acme. “More than that, he was beloved,” they continued. “We adored and admired Pierce. He was generous with his time and love. He was funny as hell. He gave the best hugs. Our hearts and efforts will forever be with his wife, Stacy, his children, Adelaide and Jackson, and his work partner of over a decade, Kathleen Swanson.” (Adelaide is 13, Jackson is 10.) At Maximum Effort, Thiot worked on some of the biggest stages in advertising and marketing, including a Super Bowl campaign featuring 50 Cent for DoorDash, a multibrand Oscars effort and original campaigns for L’Oréal Paris, Lancôme and TJ Maxx that served as extensions of the blockbuster film The Devil Wears Prada 2. The company, and Thiot’s work, reflected the changing dynamics of marketing and advertising, with brands seeking to create work that was entertaining in its own right, and able to stand out from more traditional commercial campaigns. He also worked on some of Maximum Effort’s most memorable efforts, including Reynolds’ spots for Mint Mobile that took on “Big Wireless,” and a Groundhog Day-themed series of videos for Lay’s starring Stephen Tobolowsky (who played Ned Ryerson in the classic comedy), which broke through in a way that few campaigns have in recent memory. In fact, he worked on quite a few campaigns, created alongside his professional collaborator and creative partner Kathleen Swanson, that leaned on nostalgia and classic entertainment, including writing segments that revived the classic sitcom alien ALF, and a campaign for 2020FO featuring Idiocracy’s President Camacho (Terry Crews). Thiot also contributed scriptwriting to the Emmy-winning documentary series Underdogs and the upcoming Animal Oddballs, and he created the viral social effort “Will it Beard?” A native of Dallas, Thiot attended Brigham Young University before pursuing his career in marketing, advertising and entertainment. Earlier in his career, he led global campaigns for Beats by Dre and helped launch Black Mirror for Netflix at Anomaly Los Angeles, and created Emmy-nominated work for Gatorade and Airbnb’s #LiveInTheMovies campaign at TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles. He also did work for Apple, helping the tech giant launch Apple TV+ by leading campaigns for shows like The Morning Show and Servant, while also working on projects like the Emmy-nominated, Cannes Gold-winning Behind the Mac film, the Shot on iPhone world-building series for SEE, and Ariana Grande’s Memoji music video.