Meet the 2 ACDs Leading McKinney's New Canadian Venture

When Caleb McMullen and Hussein Rumaithi were first approached by McKinney to lead its Canadian creative offering, it wasn’t necessarily an offer either of them were expecting. Both associate creative directors at FCB Toronto, they were very much on the up and up, but certainly not the high-profile names one might expect to see guiding an operation of this scale.

Nine months later, however, and it’s growing apparent why co-chief creative officer Omid Amidi invited the duo over. Describing the experience as a “mystery box” full of joys and heartache, the two have begun proving their leadership capabilities, scouting for office space, priming and growing the team, and supporting Popeyes Canada – the agency’s very first client – with some standout creative.

“When we asked Omid why the agency was hiring ACDs for this role, he said, ‘Because you two are future leaders in this industry, and I want to give an entrepreneurial team like you the opportunity to learn how to lead through first-hand experience, like I’ve been given.’,” Caleb recalls. “Now, our primary goal is to demonstrate the impact we can create for Canadian brands, with ideas so good they create attention too big to be ignored.”

Of course, in a market known for hosting some of what Hussein calls “the most effective creative and strategic talent in the world”, such ambition will be easier said than done. However, the pair will be drawing upon prior experience building work founded on relatable human truths to elevate McKinney’s local offering, guided by a strong belief in the importance of creating one’s own opportunities.

“During our seven years at FCB, we were constantly developing and selling proactive work,” Hussein explains. “We were given room to be the creatives we wanted to be, to chart our own path, advocate for our own work, and support the agency and our clients in our own entrepreneurial ways. As a result, what Canadian brands need to know about McKinney Canada is that we’re already thinking about you, your unique business problems, and are actively working on creative solutions to help solve them.”

Equally important is the fact that the team has the backing of the Cheil Agency Network. Comprising McKinney, Barbarian, CYLNDR Studios, Attention Arc and Iris, this means that despite the Canada crew’s small and scrappy size – “we’re currently looking for a strategy director, so DM us your referrals,” Caleb jokes – it’s positioned with more resourcing than might initially meet the eye.

Specifically, the ACDs reveal this setup promotes a best-of-both-worlds scenario. Comparable to some of the country’s currently lauded indies, McKinney Canada is able to move quickly and reactively across projects, yet, like the network powers, draw upon its international backing as needed to respond to larger-scale demands.

“Our clients can tap into our network while maintaining a distinctly Canadian perspective on their business challenges and objectives,” Caleb continues. “This is how we’ll unlock future opportunities not only for McKinney Canada, but for clients looking for strategic partners with a vested interest in their success. We’re fired up and can’t wait for what the future holds!”

Earning “Unfair Attention”

Aiding Caleb and Hussein’s mutual determination to prove both their capability as leaders, but also the strength of the agency’s in-market offering, is the fact that already, McKinney Canada is off to a solid start.

Across the past few months, the team has produced a few pieces of work for Popeyes which, according to the former, demonstrates the pair’s belief in leveraging proactive thinking to react to the speed of culture, in order to meaningfully cultivate attention.

“A big one for us was when we turned garlic breath into a new way to get closer in your relationships,” he says. “In doing so, we created a narrative that drove sales for the new ‘Roasted Garlic Chicken Sandwich’, two at a time. We turned this idea out in eight days, from client approval to delivery, and we were thrilled to see the impact this idea had for Popeyes right out of the gate.”

Another heavy-hitter would be the agency’s endeavour to highlight the QSR’s ‘Pickle Menu’. Keenly aware that ‘Fornite’ was also releasing its latest season around the same time – which just so happened to star a playable pickle skin titled ‘Big Dill’ – the ACDs decided to pull an unprecedented move of making an in-game character the brand’s target audience, subsequently introducing the promotion to self-identifying pickle lovers playing the video game.

“It’s a privilege to be trusted with a brand like Popeyes,” Hussein reflects. “The reality is that Popeyes in Canada is at a different stage of maturation than in the US. There, Popeyes is a part of the culture, and is obsessed over by fans. In Canada, we’re striving to reach that stage. And we’ll reach it by solidifying an authentically Canadian brand story for consumers, while ensuring our flavour of creative blends seamlessly with the brand at a global level. It’s a fun little juggling act.”

While it’ll be interesting to see how this agency-brand pairing attempts to stand out in a very competitive space, both Caleb and Hussein see these wins as a sign of things to come, and invite onlookers to pay close attention to what comes next.

“These are two examples of the scrappy thinking that helped earn unfair attention with consumers, which brands can expect from a partnership with McKinney,” Caleb asserts. “Our success is inherently tied to that of our clients. Right now, seeing Popeyes grow and take market share – that’s a success story that we’re working towards every single day.”

New Year, New Ambitions

Although the agency – both internationally speaking, and locally – is pleased with the state of affairs in Canada, both Caleb and Hussein are cognisant of the fact that as leaders, there’s still a lot they have to learn heading into the new year.

Looking back on the past nine months, both agree that almost every day, there have been meaningful opportunities to discover new things, both individually, and in terms of what they want to specialise in as things progress.

“I’ve been spending a lot of my time working with our colleagues across our network to create efficiencies within our systems,” Hussein shares. “In doing so, I’ve been able to identify opportunities available to express our unique creative and strategic offerings.”

Meanwhile, Caleb has found himself tuning into the business of creative itself, seeking to deepen his understanding of the evolving challenges facing marketers across various industries. Something he believes complements his partner’s current focus, he adds that in many ways, this undertaking is reflective of his own path into the industry.

“When I was trying to get into advertising (by any means necessary), I very nearly got into accounts/new-business development,” he says. “I’m thankful I didn’t, because my heart is in creative, but I have a wandering eye for the business of creative as well. McKinney hired us to be on the ground, bang on doors, sniff out opportunities, develop proactive work, and lean into its mission of creating unfair attention for brands in the Canadian market, and both Hussein and I are entirely committed to this.”

As part of this, both ACDs have set some particular goals for 2026. Aside from continuing to grow the business locally, develop the team, and secure eager clients, the duo has a genuine hunger to produce effective and meaningful work capable of driving quantifiable results… and, as Caleb quips, possibly earn some stage time in the process.

“The goal from the beginning has always been the same: to create something only we can, and share it with an industry that we love,” Hussein concludes. “That starts with a new home. We’re excited to open our doors soon, and to share our new Toronto office with the whole industry. Stay tuned!”