Amsterdam Creative Agency Soursop has Hired Annie Chiu as its First Executive Creative Director

Nov. 09, 2023

Amsterdam creative agency Soursop has hired Annie Chiu as its first Executive Creative Director. Acclaimed creative talent and New Yorker, Chiu leaves TBWA\NEBOKO where she spent 4 years as Creative Director.  In her new role at Soursop, Chiu will help drive the agency’s next-gen approach to advertising - using cultural relevance to cut through a crowded global market and to help brands shape, rather than follow, trends and pop culture.

Chiu’s appointment follows a period of extraordinary growth for the agency since its inception in 2019, including a slew of campaigns, cultural strategy initiatives and editorial content for brands including Nike, Gucci and Gen Z media wellness platform, Woo.

In a move that is set to raise eyebrows, Chiu joins Soursop from TBWA\NEBOKO, one of Amsterdam’s biggest and best-known agencies, where she created work for clients including adidas in her role as Creative Director. Most recently, she caused a stir with The Breast Gallery for adidas, a photographic exhibition of naked breasts which ran across social media as part of the sports brand’s #SupportIsEverything campaign.

A born and raised New Yorker, Chiu started her advertising career at W+K Portland, going on to work as a copywriter, art director and creative director at some of the leading advertising agencies in the US, including SapientNitro, Brooklyn Brothers and BBDO in New York, and Sid Lee in Los Angeles and New York, before moving to Amsterdam. During the course of her career, she has worked on campaigns for global brands such as The North Face and Facebook. As a POC-founded agency, Chiu’s appointment as ECD bolsters Soursop’s commitment to platforming and celebrating alternative points of view across the board - in its internal teams, collaborators and the stories it tells. 

Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock, co-founder, Soursop said:

“As an incredible copywriter and a visionary creative, Annie’s work speaks for itself - but we were looking for much more than that. We needed someone who shares Soursop’s values and ethos, and who could creatively drive a new kind of agency - one that takes a fresh approach to advertising, champions alternative voices and creates work that shapes rather than follows culture - and Annie is that creative. She’s been labelled ‘the future of advertising’ throughout her career - and now, she’s finally getting the opportunity to realise that potential. We can’t wait to start working with her.”

 

Annie Chiu, ECD, Soursop said: 

“The advertising industry as a whole isn’t moving fast and forward enough. When I think about the new generation and the work that resonates with them, I don’t see that reflected in bigger traditional agencies. The ethos at Soursop is different: what drives the agency is not business, it's humanity. It’s about making space at the table for voices that aren’t being heard. For me, those are the new stories that need to be told. And the idea of being able to craft those stories with these super-talented people is really exciting for me. Moreover, It’s particularly meaningful to be part of a predominantly female team here at Soursop and to contribute as another POC female leader - to be able not to just open doors, but keep them open, for all those who may not have realized that this path exists for them too.”