Mekanism

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Mekanism is a San Francisco–based creative agency that develops and produces marketing campaigns, commercials and branded entertainment for multinational companies. It opened a New York City office in 2008 and serves clients worldwide. The company was founded in 2000 by Tommy Means as part of the San Francisco firm Complete Pandemonium. In 2003, Mekanism became an independent, fully integrated creative production studio focused on branded content outside traditional TV ads. Key early partners included Pete Caban (Head of Digital and Strategic Development) and Ian Kovalik (Director/Creative Director), with Jason Harris joining in 2005 as executive producer and later President/CEO.

Mekanism built a reputation for reaching younger audiences with offbeat, shareable stories, often working for other ad agencies that needed viral ideas for emerging media. The agency won Cannes Golden Lions in 2004 and 2005 for campaigns for Napster and Sega, contributing to a rapid rise in business. Revenue grew from about $472,000 in 2003 to roughly $9.6 million in 2007. In 2008 the New York office expanded the company’s footprint.

Over the years Mekanism worked with major brands such as Microsoft, Nike, Axe, Frito-Lay, PepsiCo, Nordstrom, Google, Muscle Milk and GE. In 2011, it created its first Super Bowl ad for Brisk Iced Tea starring Eminem, which became the most-viewed YouTube video after the game. The 2012 “Hovercat” campaign for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals went viral, highlighting the power of cat videos for good causes. In 2013, the Nordstrom “Youphoria” campaign further boosted the agency’s profile, and Mekanism became the Agency of Record for brands including Method Home, Muscle Milk, Pepsi, Brisk, Amp Energy Drink, Art.com and Virgin Mobile.

By 2013 Mekanism’s revenue was $28 million. The agency’s work continued to draw attention in industry press such as Ad Age, Creativity and AdWeek, and its campaigns and culture were featured by Fast Company and The New York Times. Fast Company even dubbed Mekanism “marketing’s twisted troubadours,” and The New York Times called it “the Pixar of agencies.” Harvard Business School studied its approach to viral marketing in 2012 with the case “Mekanism: Engineering Viral Marketing.”

In 2022 Mekanism’s client list included Peloton, OkCupid, Jose Cuervo, Fanatics and the NBA App. That year, Plus Company Canada acquired Mekanism. In October 2022, Eleven—owners of brands like CommonSpirit Health, Pella and Kraken—joined Mekanism, with the New York office hosting Plus Company’s New York operations and the San Francisco office becoming Plus Company’s regional hub. In April 2025, Mekanism merged with Camp Jefferson and Jungle, two Plus Company agencies, to form Mekanism Canada.