Built with an unconventional business model and uncompromising creative prowess, the Minneapolis-based advertising agency Pocket Hercules’ 20-year anniversary proves that bureaucracy and bloat have no place in America’s commercial creative landscape.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — When the Minnesota creative agency Pocket Hercules opened its doors on October 31, 2005, it did so with a simple yet radical idea: keep things small, smart, and senior. At a time when advertising agencies were growing through mergers, expanding payrolls, and compounding bureaucracy, founders Jason Smith and Tom Camp envisioned something leaner—an agency where seasoned creative leaders worked directly with clients. The idea caught attention not only for its humility but for its potency.
Within one year, Jack Supple joined the agency as a partner. Like Smith and Camp, he was a veteran of Carmichael Lynch, where all three had built national reputations for powerful, emotionally charged storytelling. Together, they built an agency that led with copywriting—a craft-first approach that prioritized emotional connection over clutter and flash.
“A major driver of our success, beyond having our creatives interact directly with clients, is our writers’ ability to distill complex ideas into short, emotive copy,” said Smith. “It’s becoming a lost art across the industry, but not at The Pocket.”
From day one, Rapala VMC—the legendary fishing lure company—believed in their approach. The client followed the creatives from Carmichael Lynch to Pocket Hercules, beginning what would become one of the longest-running partnerships in independent advertising. For nearly two decades, the agency has continued to find fresh, authentic ways to express Rapala’s simple promise: helping anglers “catch more and bigger fish.”
Over the years, Pocket Hercules’ client list has read like a cross-section of American ingenuity and craft: Harley-Davidson, Pearl Izumi, Marvin Windows, Toro, Northern Tool, EDCO Steel Siding, Maxim Crane, L&M Radiator, Gorilla Glue, ZEISS Optics, Viracon Glass, Delta Dental, Shimano Fishing & Cycling, eyebobs, Key Surgical, CASE Construction, and Red Wing Shoes, among others. Each partnership has reflected the agency’s signature mix of heart, intelligence, and unpretentious creativity.
True to its entrepreneurial spirit, Pocket Hercules has also been unafraid to invest in its own ideas. The agency launched several agency-owned brands, including the now-iconic Lakemaid Beer, proving that creativity can be both a service and a product.
Today, as Tom Camp and Jack Supple enjoy well-earned retirements, Jason Smith remains at the helm—continuing the independent, craftsmanship-driven ethos that defined the agency from the start.
As Pocket Hercules celebrates its 20th year this Halloween, it still lives up to its name: small in size, mighty in ideas. The strength and endurance of this kind of unique business approach in a landscape where many boutique agencies crash as hard as they burn is a testament to what the agency’s founders knew all along: the great work of a few talented creatives trumps the clutter of many every single time.
Someone tell the larger agencies. Maybe they should be doing it like “The Pocket”.
