Pierce Thiot, Maximum Effort Creative Executive, Dies at 40

Pierce Thiot, a creative executive at Ryan Reynolds' production and marketing company Maximum Effort and a two-time Emmy nominee, has died at age 40. Maximum Effort confirmed that Thiot died on 24 August 2026 of a pulmonary embolism at his home in Orem, Utah. He served as Head of Creative for Brand and Entertainment at the company, which Reynolds and George Dewey founded in 2018. Deadline

Reynolds posted a tribute on his official Instagram account, @vancityreynolds, on 28 August 2026. The statement, attributed to Reynolds and Dewey, read: "Pierce Thiot was a shining light of creativity, kindness and hard work." Instagram

Thiot joined Maximum Effort in 2022 and spent nearly five years shaping campaigns for brands including DoorDash, L'Oréal, Mint Mobile, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Coyote vs. Acme. His work ranged from a Lay's Groundhog Day ad built around an endless time loop to Reynolds' "fight Big Wireless" spot for Mint Mobile. He also contributed to ads for The Devil Wears Prada 2, Lancôme and TJ Maxx, and worked on DoorDash's 2026 Super Bowl campaign featuring 50 Cent. Deadline

Before Maximum Effort, Thiot played a key role in launching the streaming service Apple TV+ (now Apple TV), leading integrated global campaigns for its series The Morning Show and Servant. He was a creative director at TBWA/Media Arts Lab, where he earned an Emmy nomination for Apple's 2019 ad "Make Something Wonderful," part of the "Behind the Mac" campaign. That spot won a Cannes Gold Lion for film the same year. Deadline

While at TBWA/Media Arts Lab, Thiot worked on Ariana Grande's Apple Music "Memoji" video and created Emmy-nominated work for Gatorade and Airbnb's #LiveInTheMovies campaign, along with the Shot on iPhone world-building series for the Apple TV+ drama SEE. From 2016 to 2018, he served as creative director at the agency Anomaly, where he helped launch the Netflix series Black Mirror and worked on global campaigns for Beats by Dre. Deadline

Thiot also made script contributions to National Geographic's docuseries Underdogs, narrated by Reynolds, and to the upcoming Animal Oddballs. He was a co-writer on Underdogs, which won an Emmy. Business Insider named him to its 2016 list of "The 30 Most Creative People in Advertising Under 30." Reynolds and Dewey's statement noted that Thiot had worked on brands including Apple, Nike, Gatorade and Coca-Cola, and created the viral sensation "Will It Beard?" He worked with his creative partner Kathleen Swanson for more than a decade. Deadline

Maximum Effort called Thiot a creative genius whose ideas helped shape the company and define its distinctive approach to storytelling.

Thiot is survived by his wife, Stacy, and their children Adelaide and Jackson.