Overview
To celebrate Ryan Reynolds’s birthday in a way only Mint would, we decided not to make him a cake, not to send him flowers—and definitely not to post a sentimental montage. Instead, we sponsored a real African rhino in his honor and renamed it “Rhyno Reynolds.” This became a humorous, unexpected, and culturally on-brand stunt that turned a simple birthday message into a scroll-stopping social moment—blending animal conservation, celebrity satire, and Mint’s distinct tone of “we take savings seriously, but not ourselves.” But the concept truly wasn't that deep, it was funny. It was simple: Rhino sounds like Ryan. That was it.
My Role: Art Direction, Social Concepting, Visual Development, purchasing Ryno (really).
The Challenge
Birthdays are noisy. Every brand is shouting into the feed with generic well-wishes, sentimental posts, or predictable humor.
Mint needed something: Fresh, Absurd (in the best way), Instantly tied to Ryan (without something he needed to shoot), Infinitely sharable and aligned with Mint’s brand ethos of effortless and unexpected. We needed a birthday stunt worthy of Ryan Reynolds—but also undeniably Mint.
Mint needed something: Fresh, Absurd (in the best way), Instantly tied to Ryan (without something he needed to shoot), Infinitely sharable and aligned with Mint’s brand ethos of effortless and unexpected. We needed a birthday stunt worthy of Ryan Reynolds—but also undeniably Mint.
Impact
High organic engagement from a single, low-lift asset
Strengthened Mint’s ongoing narrative relationship with Ryan
Reinforced Mint’s identity as the brand that “goes left when everyone else goes right”
Added a new, hilarious character to the unofficial Mint canon
Most importantly, it gave Ryan a birthday gift he truly couldn’t re-gift.
Community Engagement
Followers immediately latched onto Rhyno:
Comment threads joking about sending him a SIM kit
Requests for “updates on Rhyno Reynolds”
Fans tagging Ryan to prompt a response
The stunt sparked organic conversation and became a mini-lore moment within the Mint universe.
