When Rogier Vijverberg co-founded SuperHeroes in 2009 in Amsterdam, his idea was simple but contrarian: save the world from boring advertising. Sixteen years later, the Brooklyn-based, B-Corp-certified, independent agency is doing just that, recently winning Gold in Ad Age’s “2025 Small Agency of the Year” and ranking #1 in the Northeast and #10 nationally on Adweek’s “2024 Fastest Growing Agencies” list.

Now, SuperHeroes is extending that mission with LOIS, a new global artist-management platform dedicated to handcrafted, human storytelling. In an industry racing to automate creativity, Rogier is deliberately steering in the opposite direction.

“The future isn’t about choosing between AI and human craft,” he says. “It’s about knowing when to lean into each.”

Rogier’s creative philosophy predates today’s algorithmic era. Before launching SuperHeroes, he spent years experimenting with technology and storytelling for brands such as Heineken, long before “digital” became standard vocabulary in advertising.

“When I started, we literally explained to clients what a hyperlink was,” he recalls. “We made campaigns that bloggers wanted to talk about, sometimes paying them with a few cases of beer or concert tickets.”

That early “earned-first” approach of creating ideas so entertaining that audiences wanted to share them became the foundation of SuperHeroes. Over time, the agency developed a multidisciplinary creative network for digital-native audiences. Its clients today include Lenovo, Netflix, Fenty, DoorDash, Buick, Nike, Hinge, Balenciaga, and Verizon.

Building a Culture Lab for Gen Z

Amid media shifts, SuperHeroes deepened its understanding of younger audiences through an in-house research collective called The Robins: a panel of roughly 80 Gen Z participants the agency consults regularly.

“They’re our compass,” Rogier explains. “We talk to them about how they see brands, how they feel about AI, even how they define authenticity.”

Insights from The Robins feed directly into campaign development. They also helped shape SuperHeroes’ twin creative collectives: JIMMY, focused on AI and computer-generated imagery (CGI) experimentation, and now LOIS, which celebrates tactile, analog storytelling. Together, they form a creative spectrum that bridges digital and human craft.

Enter LOIS: A New Kind of Artist Network

Launched in 2025 and led by Chief Growth Hero Elja Polak and Social Media Hero Jessica Däschner, LOIS operates as a global artist-management platform that connects brands with creators skilled in “human-crafted visual disciplines,” including cinematography, illustration, animation, and installation art.

Unlike traditional influencer agencies, LOIS curates artists whose work emphasizes craftsmanship and authenticity. Each candidate must demonstrate a self-sustaining creative practice and a clear point of view before being invited to collaborate.

“We always start with a pilot project,” Rogier says. “We need to see how someone translates a brand’s story into creative ideas, how they respond to feedback, and how they work under pressure. And they need to be nice people – no divas.”

The name carries the agency’s trademark superhero motif. Just as Superman’s partner, Lois Lane, grounds his humanity, the new division keeps SuperHeroes anchored in the real and tangible.

Bridging Two Worlds: JIMMY and LOIS

SuperHeroes’ first major creative collective, JIMMY, emerged from Rogier’s long-standing fascination with digital art and synthetic media. “I wrote my master’s thesis on the reliability of television journalism in an age of CGI and VR,” he says. “So when AI image generation arrived, it felt like the conversation I started years ago had finally caught up.”

JIMMY brings together AI and CGI artists who use emerging tools to visualize ideas that would be impossible (or prohibitively expensive) through conventional production. “What’s invisible, we can make visible; what’s intangible, we can make tangible,” he says.

If JIMMY expands the agency’s creative playground through technology, LOIS anchors it in physical expression. “As AI gets more prevalent, human craft becomes more valuable,” Rogier notes. “Some brands need digital experimentation; others need to show they have a heartbeat.”

Matching Brands With the Right Creative DNA

SuperHeroes treats each collaboration as a test of brand-fit. “Not every brand should use AI,” Rogier says. “If your story is about being organic and real, then leaning into synthetic imagery can feel off-brand.”

The agency frequently advises clients on whether a concept belongs under JIMMY or LOIS. “We’ve had brands approach us wanting AI campaigns, and we’ve told them no,” he adds. “We’re a B Corp. It’s about values and long-term resonance.”

Brands can work directly with LOIS or through their existing agencies. LOIS manages creative development, artist selection, and media strategy, including paid amplification when needed.

“We’re not a classic creator agency,” says Rogier. “We offer creativity, artists, and strategy; a full-service model that ensures storytelling quality.”

Case Study: Polaroid’s ‘Capture Real Life’

“There’s a counter-movement against everything digital,” Rogier says. “You have 50,000 photos on your phone, but the one you can hold in your hand is the one that matters.”

Other projects include collaborations with Hinge, exploring vulnerability and real-world connection, and Lenovo, where AI artists from JIMMY visualized love stories shared by couples on the “Meet Cutes NYC” channel. The contrast between those campaigns underscores the dual mandate of the SuperHeroes network: to make technology feel human and humanity feel seen.

While LOIS campaigns follow standard performance metrics (website visits, conversions, engagement), Rogier sees a broader shift underway. “Creators used to be an extra line in the media plan,” he says. “Now they’re driving long-term brand effects.”

He cited research from System1 showing that creator-led content delivers measurable brand lift, a finding echoed in SuperHeroes’ own campaigns. “With Lenovo Yoga, creator collaborations directly contributed to sales growth,” he says. “It’s proof that entertainment and effectiveness aren’t mutually exclusive.”

The Attention Crisis Ahead

For Rogier, the bigger challenge isn’t technological … it’s attention. “There’s going to be an overflow of automated content,” he warns. “AI systems will churn out hundreds of ad variations, and maybe two will perform. But audiences will still have to see the 98 that don’t.”

That flood, he believes, will only raise the premium on human-made work. “We’ll see a massive attention crisis,” he says. “Brands will need to make deliberate choices about when and how they use AI. The goal shouldn’t be saving money, but making stories that people actually remember.”

He points to a recent internal project as an example of “AI done right.” SuperHeroes produced its agency showreel using generative tools to create a cinematic narrative voiced by a New York cab driver, something that they would otherwise not have been able to realize. “AI enabled the idea,” Rogier says. “It didn’t replace the human story behind it.”

A Measured Optimism

Despite the pace of change, Rogier remains confident that creativity will endure. “We shouldn’t fear the tools,” he says. “Everyone should experiment, play with them, understand what they can do, and decide for themselves where they fit.”

As he sees it, the coexistence of AI and craftsmanship is inevitable. “As AI gets more advanced, human craft will only become more important,” he says. “Choose where you want to be, but don’t sit still. Be informed.”

Looking to 2026, SuperHeroes plans to expand both JIMMY and LOIS while maintaining its earned-first DNA. “We’ll lead in showing how AI can be used creatively and how human craft still matters,” Rogier says. “The industry’s at an inflection point. There’s a lot of AI slop coming. We need great examples that prove storytelling still has heart.”

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