Joy Molan

Joy Molan is an advertising strategist with experience working with blue-chip brands across the UK, Ireland and Australia. Her work lives at the intersection of cultural relevance, creative ambition and commercial effectiveness. After nine years in top agencies, she has entered the freelance field to consult on diverse clients.

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She began her career at McCann London, spending four years on the L’Oréal Paris account and creating breakthrough work including the ageism-defying 'Non-Issue' British Vogue collaboration featuring Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren. Joy then joined BBH as a Senior Strategist on Tesco, spear-heading the Cannes Lions–winning 'Together This Ramadan', which also went on to win a Gold Effie. At BBH she volunteered her time to create law-changing campaigns for Refuge, backing the Online Safety Bill. During this time, Joy relocated to Ireland as part of the founding start-up team for BBH Dublin, helping open the office, secure Tesco Ireland and launch the brand’s Christmas campaign.

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Joy later moved to Sydney to become Strategy Director at DDB Sydney, where she was promoted to Lead Strategy Director on the McDonald’s Australia account. Her leadership marked a shift towards culturally switched-on, fame-driving work, including Big Mac 'Original Mouthful' and Hot Honey’s 'Embrace the Drip'. Alongside creative momentum, the strategy team delivered sustained commercial results, bringing home four Effies in 2025.

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Joy now works freelance with ad agencies including Southpaw in the UK and Popology in Australia, spanning alcohol, beauty and technology. She contributes as a guest lecturer for Boston University's College of Communication.

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Joy is also a recognised writer. Her fiction was selected as one of the Top Short Stories of 2025 by the Brick Lane Short Story Award, her comedy writing has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, and her editorial work has been published on JoniMitchell.com and i-D (Vice Group). In her early twenties, she founded an online magazine called Quarterlife, which was selected as a top cultural pick by Dolly Alderton on the 'High Low' podcast. In 2024, she was shortlisted for B&T’s 30 Under 30 in Advertising.

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Joy brings a globally informed, culturally fluent approach to strategy, shaped by storytelling, taste and a belief that the best work earns its place in culture rather than interrupts it.​

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References include: 

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"I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Joy as Lead Strategy Director at DDB Sydney, and I can say she is one of the sharpest strategic minds I’ve worked with. What sets Joy apart isn’t just her ability to distil complex challenges into clear strategic direction — it’s how she does it. She brings a blend of analytical rigour, creative empathy, and cultural fluency to every brief. Joy has a unique ability to bring together diverse stakeholders — clients, creatives, data teams, and agency partners — and rally them around a single-minded idea. Joy's style is calm, generous, and quietly persuasive — a rare combination that earns both trust and results. It has been a career highlight working with Joy." 

- Stephen De Wolf, National Chief Creative Officer at Clemenger BBDO Australia

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"I had the pleasure and luck to work with Joy on the L’Oréal account and I was impressed with her communication skills, copy writing, her can do attitude, her intellect and the list goes on…she is an incredible talent and I truly hope we will work again in the future."

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- Vasileios Kourakis, Global Director, Marketing Effectiveness (ROI) at L’Oréal Group.

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