Josh Smutko and Chelsea Kauth of Omelet: The Fun Factor Makes for Better Project Outcomes

Finding balance as creative leaders

Josh and Chelsea are co-ECDs at the Los Angeles independent agency Omelet.

We spent two minutes with Josh and Chelsea to learn more about their backgrounds, their creative inspirations and recent work they’ve admired. 

Josh and Chelsea, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

• Josh: I grew up in the suburban sprawl of New Jersey and traded that for the urban sprawl of Los Angeles.
• Chelsea: I was born and raised in a small suburb of Rochester, N.Y. My neighborhood was adjacent to a farm. Now I live in a suburb of L.A., where I can assure you there are no farms in sight.  

How you first realized you were creative.

• Josh: As soon as humanly possible, I was making comics and short films. “Films” is maybe a bit generous—more like home versions of “Weekend Update” that devolved into Sam Raimi/Evil Dead 2 body horror. 
• Chelsea: When I was nine months old, I was playing with toys while Charlie Brown was on TV. Apparently the music in the show grew sad, and I burst into hysterical tears. My grandmother, who was a pianist, couldn’t believe her eyes. “The music moved her to tears!” she said. I started piano lessons at age 5.  

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

• Josh: As a freshman at Syracuse, I was checking out different majors at a job fair event. I was dead set on being a film major. But one of the ad teachers pulled me aside and gave me a strong pitch: “How would you like to make films, but with a salary?” And that was it. 
• Chelsea: While I always knew I wanted to write ads (it dates back to watching Bewitched on Nick at Nite), I didn’t know the name for the gig. In one of my freshman-year marketing classes, we watched a mini-documentary on the agency Strawberry Frog. That was the day I learned my future job title, seeing “copywriter” spelled out for the first time in the chyrons.

Your most important creative inspirations, and some recent stuff you love.

• Josh: I’m blown away by the creativity and inventiveness of so many people out there, and my window into that is Reddit. Whether it’s an incredible cosplay build, unique fan art, a super-sad comic, or just a brilliant/dumb joke, it is a blast to see what people do just for the love of it.
• Chelsea: Music and dance are the arts that have always inspired me the most. If Gaga is performing at the Grammys, I’m paying more attention to her back-up dancers and the choreography. Most recently, I’ve fallen in love with the CDK dance company out of the Netherlands. Their choreography style has permeated pop culture. First with their iconic dance to Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” and more recently for Calvin Klein and Gap. 

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.

• Josh: The Super Bowl spot that started everything. I got to work with an amazing team from top to bottom. But the best part was seeing the fans’ reactions. Seeing people genuinely moved by an ad, literally to tears. I cried, too. 

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• Chelsea: In 2012, while writing Thanksgiving-themed Facebook copy for Grey Poupon, I realized that the sophisticated dijon connoisseur would never dare enjoy their turkey gravy out of a mere boat. It must be a gravy yacht. I decided the product must exist. I pitched it to my ECD, and in weeks, we 3D-modeled and manufactured limited edition yachts, giving them away as part of our Cannes Lion-winning campaign. I still dock my gravy yacht on my dining table every Thanksgiving.

A recent project you’re proud of.

• Josh: “Heroes of Small Business” for Google checked every box. Challenging brief, invested client, phenomenal partners and very good results. We took real stories and gave them the Marvel treatment to show how Google helps them fight for what they love.

• Chelsea: I’ve had an absolute blast with our team rolling out the first brand campaign for Monopoly Go! It took a creative village, but the result was a wildly fun, successful campaign starring Jason Momoa, Keke Palmer and Chris Pratt, with Will Ferrell as the voice of Mr. Monopoly. After launch, we cooked up two quirky and entertaining content series for TikTok and Instagram.

Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago.

• Josh: This Playstation spot blew me away when it came out, and honestly still does. Such a confident tone and simple storytelling, which is hard to pull off in a space like gaming. And it got me into Lou Reed, so that’s cool, too.
• Chelsea: My favorite spot of all time is “After Hours Athlete” for Puma by Droga5. It was directed by my favorite director of all time, the late, great Ringan Ledwidge. I once got to work with him on a spot that would never see the light of day. But it was my favorite almost-commercial I ever wrote. He was the most wonderful, light-filled human being I ever had the pleasure of working with. 

Someone else’s work you admired lately.

• Josh: This Britbox spot is awesome, especially in the current climate of trying to understand the value of human-made work.
• Chelsea: The Uber Eats Brian Cox spot where he enrolls as a college freshman purely for the Uber One student discount is everything.

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Your main strength as a creative person.

• Josh: Having fun. The more fun me and the team have the better the project outcome is, always. 
• Chelsea: I’m kind of a strategy-obsessed, KPI-loving, pragmatist. Which I’d like to think helps me be a balanced creative leader.  

Your biggest weakness.

• Josh: Sleep. As in getting sleep. I’m a world class worrier just like my mom, so this is always my struggle. 
• Chelsea: Sometimes it’s hard to resist putting my sticky paws all over the creative. But I’m working on being less micro-manage-y.

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

• Josh: Ryan Lehr, who was a senior copywriter when I joined Omelet. He showed me the ropes and championed my work in a way that made me feel seen.
• Chelsea: The reason I am a creative today is because one human, John Battle, believed in me when I came to him in 2009 and told him I wanted to be a copywriter. He gave me my first shot. And to this day, Robin Fitzgerald is my greatest mentor and role model. At CP+B L.A., she taught me what it means to be a great creative, a better leader and an even better human. I still want to be her when I grow up. 

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

• Josh: Anything to help dogs find homes. My dream would be to win a billion dollars and start a franchise of dog sanctuaries, especially for older dogs. I have a senior dog now that requires a lot of care, and it breaks my heart knowing so many people can’t afford to give that care. 
• Chelsea: Wine. Drinking it. Making it. Selling it. Teaching people about it. Wine is my first love and some of my best work was co-written with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Some day, when they (and I) decide I’m too old for this shit, you’ll find me hanging out at my cute wine shop, where I hold tasting events and play classy French music.