Jess Kirkman, the Global Head of Creative at Mattel, has made a career out of keeping some of the world’s biggest brands connected to culture. First at Taco Bell, now leading creative for icons like Barbie, Hot Wheels, and UNO. But her approach to brand building isn’t just about product launches and polished campaigns. It’s rooted in something much deeper: play.

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In this episode of Lost In Found, Jess joins Catch+Release ECD Tom Christmann to talk about why keeping creativity human is more important than ever and how Jess thinks her most important job is to help the human teams she works with to find their spark in an age of infinite content.

The Creative Power of Play

Jess didn’t set out to be a brandside creative leader. She started on the agency side as a designer with a love for problem-solving and a belief that every brand has its own DNA that can be pushed, evolved, and connected to culture in new ways. Her journey has taken her from agency life at places like Publicis and MRY in New York to Taco Bell’s in-house creative team, where she oversaw the launch of the incredible social hit Taco Bell Motel.

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Jess now leads creative at Mattel, with a toy box of beloved brands including Barbie and Hot Wheels. But even these iconic brands need playmates to stay relevant, break through cultural noise, and connect with audiences on a deeper level. Jess is a big believer in brand collabs. “Whether it’s nostalgia or collectibles, we tap into different fandoms and audiences,” Jess explains. “You might be the most serious businessperson in the world, but you still want that Hot Wheels collab on your desk.”

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Oh, and her latest collab just won a Lion in Cannes. How’s that for a powerful play?

Taste Is A Talent

In a world flooded with AI-generated content and templated creativity, Jess believes humans with taste is what will separate good work from forgettable work. and teaching teams to develop that taste is part of her job. But, she admits, she’s not sure taste is completely teachable. “You can have all the tools, but there’s a certain level of intuition you either have or you don’t,” she says. “I think you can be classically trained enough to fake it. But really, it’s about understanding the art of the edit, perspective, and how culture shifts what ‘good’ even means.”

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Jess encourages her teams to find inspiration in unexpected places—music, fashion, art shows—and keep pushing their brands to evolve while staying true to their roots. At both Taco Bell and Mattel, she’s led programs like internal art shows and cross-functional inspiration sessions that bring teams together, regardless of their role. “When everyone feels part of the creative process, even if they’re not making the final call, it builds trust,” Jess says. “Good ideas can come from anywhere. It’s our job as leaders to nurture them, refine them, and make them better.”

The Role of AI in Modern Creativity

Jess isn’t anti-AI. But she’s quick to draw a line between using AI as a tool versus letting it replace human intuition. “You can always tell when someone’s using AI ‘right out of the tube,’” Jess jokes, borrowing a metaphor from her painting background. “It’s like when you don’t mix your colors—you can spot it a mile away.” Instead, she encourages teams to use AI for prompts, research, and idea-starters, but insists that human taste, curation, and emotion still have to lead.

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🎧 Listen to the full episode of Lost In Found wherever you get your podcasts, or stream it here.