Samuel Heath joins Ogilvy in global Unilever role

Ogilvy has appointed Samuel Heath as Global Executive Creative Director for Unilever, expanding the agency’s leadership team for one of its longest-standing global partnerships. Based in the UK, Heath will oversee creative direction across Unilever’s international brand portfolio and report to Ogilvy Global Chief Creative Officer Liz Taylor.

Heath joins Ogilvy with more than 20 years of experience across agencies and brands including Wieden+Kennedy and Apple. His appointment comes as Unilever continues to receive industry recognition for the performance and cultural impact of campaigns developed with Ogilvy.

Heath to oversee global creative direction

Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy: “Sam is exactly the kind of creative soul this role was made for. He has this extraordinary ability to place bold ideas at the very heart of business challenges — and to create brand stories that forge the deepest emotional connections. His craft, his strategic instinct, his heart, his talent, will no doubt take us to a whole new level with our beloved Unilever brands. We are endlessly thrilled for all the future magic we will make together.”

Samuel Heath: “To make work that wins awards is one thing. To make work that changes culture and the whole business of advertising is quite another. And to do so consistently year after year is unheard of. Ogilvy and Unilever have done exactly that — a partnership that stretches back to David Ogilvy himself — and I’m thrilled and more than a little awestruck to have been given the opportunity to continue that legacy and can only hope to live up to it.”

As Global Executive Creative Director for Unilever, Heath will work across brands including Dove, Vaseline and Hellmann’s. Unilever recently ranked as the top advertiser in the WARC Rankings 2026 across the Creative 100, Media 100 and Effective 100 categories.

Dove and Vaseline campaigns earn recognition

The long-running Dove Real Beauty platform, developed with Ogilvy over more than two decades, remains one of the partnership’s most recognised campaigns. Dove was recently named the top brand in the WARC Media 100 for the third consecutive year, while Ogilvy’s Real Beauty: How a Soap Brand Created a Global Self-Esteem Movement topped the 2026 WARC Effective 100.

Ogilvy has also produced award-winning work for Vaseline, including Vaseline Verified and Transition Body Lotion, which received honours at Cannes Lions, the Clio Awards and LIA.

Heath began his advertising career at Lowe Howard Spink after studying law at Oxford University. He later worked at Fallon London before spending more than a decade at Wieden+Kennedy London, where he contributed to campaigns including Lurpak’s Adventure Awaits, Cravendale’s Cats with Thumbs and work for Honda.

Former Apple creative joins Ogilvy UK

Heath later joined Apple in Cupertino as Global Creative Director, where he led campaigns including Go Time for Apple Watch, Unlock with a Look for the iPhone X and the accessibility-focused campaign The Greatest, which received an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial.

Across his career, Heath has received more than 100 creative awards, including an Emmy, a Cannes Grand Prix, multiple D&AD Yellow Pencils and a One Show Best of Show.

www.ogilvy.com

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn