Will Mayer
Will Mayer (March 22, 1994) is an American creative director, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. Based in New York City, he is a co-founder at Better Half.[1]
Early Life and career
Will Mayer’s unconventional career began at 13 when the passing of his father instigated an early search for independence and meaning through his chosen medium of film direction. He began as a freelance director for Vans; soon, he was responsible for shaping their internal content studio. This refined his understanding of craft and communication through the moving image.[2]
Upon joining the Director’s Guild of America at 19, he built award-winning campaigns for Uber, New Balance, Samsung, and Google and collaborated with athletes such as Russell Westbrook and Shaun White. In creating these campaigns, he noticed a pattern, a vision he shared with a colleague and creative director Alyssa Bonanno. It was the future of production, where campaigns could be intimately tailored to the platforms on which they live. This led to the birth of their studio, Better Half in 2018.[3]
Within a year, Better Half had immersed itself within the creative leadership of Equinox, Disney, Nike, and Playboy and reached seven figures in profit. In 2021, Better Half expanded to New York, and was honored with several awards, including the YouTube Works Grand Prix and a Cannes Bronze Lion.
Mayer’s vision for Equinox as a client resulted in his appointment as Executive Creative Director—making him, at 26 years old, the youngest Vice President in the company. Mayer built out the entirety of Equinox’s in-house digital production studio, developing it as an creative ecosystem that he oversees through all touchpoints. He guided Equinox’s creative voice through strategic campaigns post-COVID, largely aided by the exceedingly young and digitally native team he formed.
Mayer currently resides between New York and Los Angeles. In all that he does, he continues to push forward, already imagining the future forms of Equinox, of Better Half, and of digital creativity.
Clients: Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, Axe, BMW, Bolt Threads, Converse, Disney, Everlane, Equinox, Facebook, Fender, Freeform, Gatorade, Google, Habitas, John Elliott, KIND, Korres, MillerCoors, Netflix, New Balance, Nike, Match Group, Pandora/SiriusXM, PayPal, Playboy, Redbull, Saint Archer, Samsung, Skoda, Soul Cycle, Spotify, Uber, Vans, Vogue, WeTransfer.
Agencies: Weiden & Kennedy, 72 & Sunny, Droga5, Leo Burnett, Preacher, VML, FCB Chicago, Fallon, Octagon, Code & Theory, Freeride, B-Reel, and Crispin Porter Bogusky.
