What I’m taking home from Cannes—takeaways from Editor-in-Chief Jeanine Poggi

Just a week or so ago the Cannes International Festival of Creativity was held in Cannes, France. Below is a write-up from AdAge’s Editor-in Chief on her impressions. Interesting reading!

Jeanine Poggi, editor-in-chief at Ad Age, speaks on stage with executives from Sephora US, Hinge and Heineken Mexico.
It’s me! (at right) Moderating a panel at this year’s Cannes Lions

ByJeanine Poggi, Ad Age editor-in-chief

June 27, 2026 07:00 AM EDT

On my way to Cannes, Delta offered a $7,000 voucher to switch to a later flight because my red-eye was overbooked. I almost abandoned the festival altogether. In truth, I was already exhausted by the idea of yet another conversation about AI anxiety and another debate about how the heart of the festival—the creative—has been replaced by data and technology. 

I begrudgingly got on the plane (at least I had the rosé to look forward to). 

And yes, there was plenty of hand-wringing over AI, plenty of debate about how exclusive and closed off the festival has become and, of course, plenty of complaints about the unbearable heat. 

This year, though, Ad Age took a bit of a different approach to the festival. Instead of filling the week with back-to-back panels, we convened chief marketing officers, creators, agency executives and marketing leaders for smaller roundtable discussions. We gave them the space to talk more freely, and they went deep on the challenges they are facing (it wasn’t just AI):

  • In our CMO roundtable, marketers spent a meaningful amount of time talking about convincing CFOs that creativity matters. 
  • During our creator-brand discussion, creators challenged brands to stop treating them like media buys and start treating them like strategic partners. 
  • At our Leading Women Network roundtable, a conversation about career visibility quickly became one about the invisible work required simply to be in the room.

Each of those conversations, without fail, ended with talking about trust, community and what it means to build genuine connection. It was these conversations that made dealing with what the French consider air conditioning worth the trip.

Here’s what else I’m taking home from the conversations at this year’s festival:

Marketing is becoming more human, not less.

One of my favorite moments from the week came during a CMO Spotlight panel I moderated at the Palais. I asked each of them the same question:

In one word, what’s the future of marketing?

Zena Srivatsa Arnold, CMO of Sephora, answered: community.

Tamika Young, CMO of Hinge, said: heart.

Marta Moreno Gómez, senior marketing manager, Heineken and international premium brands, Heineken Company, chose: human.

Three different answers, but the sentiment was the same: the future of marketing is built on stronger human connections.

Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, described a world that’s becoming more insular, where consumers increasingly rely on smaller networks and trusted voices. His advice to marketers: shift messaging from “we” to “me.” Build trust by making people feel seen, understood and represented.

That same thinking surfaced elsewhere throughout the week:

Pinterest’s “Less URL. More IRL.” activation reflected a desire for deeper, real-world connections. Netflix centered its Cannes presence around fandom. Even conversations about creators weren’t really about creators—they were about the communities they’ve built and the trust they’ve earned.

Again and again, technology was discussed as an enabler, not the strategy itself.

The creativity conversation has changed

For years, one of the recurring debates at Cannes has been whether creativity—the very thing the festival was built to celebrate—has taken a back seat to performance marketing.

That conversation is still happening.

But this year, it felt secondary to a different one: how marketers can convince the rest of the organization that creativity is a business driver, not just a marketing function.

It showed up in different ways throughout the week. The new Creative Brand Lionsrecognized companies that have built creativity into the way they operate, not just those that produced a standout campaign. Procter & Gamble’s Marc Pritchard spoke about using AI to accelerate creativity, not replace it. And across conversations with marketing leaders, the focus was less on choosing between brand and performance and more on building organizations where creativity can consistently drive business results.

The question is no longer whether creativity matters. It’s how organizations create the conditions for it to thrive and how marketing leaders make the case for it across the business. Creativity is increasingly being viewed not as a campaign outcome, but as an organizational capability.

Creator marketing has grown up

Five years ago, most creator conversations revolved around reach, engagement and follower counts. That isn’t what I heard this week. 

Brands talked about bringing creators into annual planning before a brief exists. Creators described themselves as consultants, product advisors and entrepreneurs. Compensation discussions extended beyond sponsorships to licensing, equity and long-term partnerships.

Edelman argued that brands should be investing less in celebrity and more in trusted creators with deep credibility inside smaller communities. The common thread was trust. 

AI is moving from novelty to infrastructure.

Last year, many of the conversations around AI centered on disruption.

This year, marketers were asking much more practical questions: How should teams be organized? What work belongs in-house? Which workflows should AI handle? Where does human judgment still matter most?

Pritchard described AI as a way to uncover insights faster and accelerate creative development, not replace it. One participant in our roundtable captured the sentiment in a single sentence: “You still need people with excellent taste.”

That may have been my favorite quote of the week because it recognizes what technology still can’t replace.

Leadership isn’t just built at work

But the conversation that personally had the biggest impact on me came during our Leading Women Network roundtable. 

We started by talking about networking, personal brands and career visibility. We ended up talking about everything it takes just to be in the room.

Women shared stories about partners rearranging schedules, grandparents flying in to help with childcare and the weeks of planning required simply to spend a few days in Cannes. One participant admitted she rarely talks publicly about those realities because she worries they’ll be interpreted as a lack of commitment. I suspect that’s true of many women leaders in this industry. 

We spend a lot of time talking about how people become leaders. We spend far less time talking about what it takes to make leadership possible in the first place.

That conversation was a reminder that visibility isn’t just about raising your hand or building your network. For many leaders, it’s supported by an invisible layer of planning, tradeoffs and care work that rarely gets acknowledged but makes showing up possible.

The conversation that matters: Trust

If there was one thread running through nearly every conversation I heard, it was trust.

Edelman talked about consumers relying on smaller circles and trusted voices. CMOs talked about community, heart and being more human. Brand leaders talked aboutgiving creators more ownership. Marketers also talked about earning buy-in from their own organizations.

As the industry becomes more complex, technology alone isn’t going to solve the hardest problems. Those solutions come from people sharing ideas, challenging one another and learning together.

That’s why Ad Age keeps bringing this community together—not just to report on what’s changing, but to create space for people in the industry to make sense of it with one another. 

I’m glad I didn’t take that $7,000 voucher. 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

The Souls of Charity

A short story about Charity Hospital New Orleans and its aftermath from Katrina

Prologue

NOLA. Its spirit stays with you long after you’ve gone. The sights, smells, music and culture all linger, sometimes even after one’s memories fade. Those thoughts, dreams, even nightmares can embody your neighbor’s flesh and blood even when that neighbor passed away long ago. Caution: Some photos may be too unnerving or unsettling for some viewers.

A little history . . .

Charity Hospital of New Orleans, LA has long been the medical headquarters for many patients. Some of whom, it is said, never left. If that is so, how many souls stayed behind after the hospital permanently closed? What of them? When alive they endured many horrific events with Hurricane Katrina. Many a sane person would have gone crazy during those times, not able to rid themselves of the nightmarish memories they must still have.

I wonder, do souls have nightmares? Do they wander around aimlessly and body-less seeking answers? Do they seek revenge of some sort? Do they yearn to inhabit other living or dead bodies to continue life anew?

Seems like this would be the stuff of an episode right out of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone. While interesting to ponder, the hospital sat empty and abandoned for a long time without anything being done to recessitate it. A surreal set of circumstances led to its demise and only in New Orleans could an old, empty hospital reemerge as a haven for lost souls. Spirits, ghosts, whatever you like all need a place to gather, a place to call home. In NOLA’s Charity Hospital, they evidently found it.

But the story doesn’t end here; it merely continues. To what end, you may ask. Well, we don’t know . . . yet.

Chapter One

It was a dark and gloomy night in the French Quarter so we thought we’d stroll down a few blocks and see some old buildings. We eventually got to the section of Tulane Avenue where one of the oldest abandoned buildings in the area has sat empty for decades-Charity Hospital New Orleans.

Staring up at the 1939 built 20-story Art Deco building, one gets a feeling that the intimidating structure is not too keen on the idea of letting visitors inside its hallowed halls.

Nevertheless we marched slowly but steadily onward to see what had been left behind when it was evacuated because of Katrina in 2005.

In a word, not much. Yet there was a lot that remained. Indeed, some rooms we passed looked like time itself had died that horrific day. Other rooms appeared as if the patient had hardly gotten out of the room before the flood waters rushed in. And then there was the Autopsy Room.

The turn-of-the-century flooded autopsy theatre in the basement of Charity Hospital. Reddit.com
“Administration” Photo by Michael Alford

We drew closer not believing what we thought we saw. The patient appeared to be the only “living” creature in the room. Then suddenly one of the “surgeons” unexpectedly looked up and floated in our direction. It was obvious that he/she/it wanted us out of the room – NOW! We didn’t hesitate except for me; I felt like my shoes were glued to the floor. I kinda shook it off a bit and yelled “we’re going, we’re going!”

“And the Sky was Grey” by Michael Alford

As if these images didn’t make for an uneasy feeling in us, we made our way down this one hallway to see what more could be observed. That’s when we heard it; a soft, eerie-sounding voice whispering “Get out. Leave us alone. We don’t want you here.”

We all just froze. At first we didn’t know what to do or say, if anything. Finally, someone in our group said simply, “Let’s proceed anyway. I’m not going to let a strange voice scare me outta here.”

Well, we continued on, this time ascending two more floors. Alas, it was just as bad and desolate as downstairs. Some rooms appeared as if a bomb had gone off. Others looked like they had only recently been vacated. 

Photo: Abandoned Southeast
Abandoned Southeast Photo (If one didn’t know any better, one might think that Housekeeping was running horribly late.)

Proceeding down the hallway we came to what appeared to be an operating room. As we peered inside we could see the patient on the table surrounded by ghost-like figures all dressed in surgical gowns.

Back in the hallway we all were grasping for breath and, yes, looking like we’d just seen a ghost! But before we had a chance to recover, approaching from the other end of the hallway were various other ghostly figures heading our way.

Adobe Stock

Upon seeing this, we wasted no time in locating the nearest stairwell and ran up, I don’t know, what seemed like several flights of stairs. We came out and were grasping for breath. At this point someone just spouted “to hell with the research, let’s get the hell outta here.”

“Okay, everyone, calm down. We’ve just had the wits scared out of us. If this were Halloween, it would be funny. C’mon, let’s proceed down this hallway and . . . “.

Chapter Two

Just then low screams came from a few doors down. When we got there we witnessed a shadowy figure sitting on the bedside with an ax and a pool of blood clearly visible on the floor with a severed hand laying in the blood.

“Oh my God,” blurted Selma. “Somebody do something! He’ll bleed to death,” she said.

“What makes you think he’s alive?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s not. He’s been that way for decades,” says a voice emanating from a nearby chair on the far side of the room.

This time, this ghost appeared more visible than his counterparts before. His features were distinctive but his body had an iridescent glow to it. He was there and yet he wasn’t.

“Excuse me, sir. Do you know this person?,” I asked. “Yes,” said the ghost. “He was my brother, Warren. He died years ago,” stated the ghost.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said I. “By the way, I’m Joe, this is Selma, Thad and Fred. We’re just exploring the hospital before it gets torn down. We honestly didn’t expect to come into contact with anyone here. But we have; at least we think we have,” I stated.

“My name is Walter. I died some years ago, too. As for meeting folks here, you have indeed come in contact with them. If they’ve seemed to be a little skiddish, they are. They’re not used to visitors especially when the hospital closed some years ago. Everyone in New Orleans thought Charity had been completely evacuated; alas, it was not, as you have seen.

“Oh sure,” Walter continued. “Every body was taken out of Charity but some of those died before being taken out. Those souls decided to stay and remain with the friends they had made while here.”

“So what about you, Walter?,” I asked. “Well,” he started, “I kinda look after this place and my friends. We’re not leaving as we have no place to go. Our families have accepted our deaths and have moved on. Why would we want to go back after all these years and disturb their peace? No sir, not gonna do it!,” Walter stated flatly.

When we reconvened out in the hallway we thought about what to do next.

We all thought it best to leave then so we began toward the stairwell. As we started our descent, we could hear in the distance jazz music from the downstairs coffee shop where a jazz quartet played . . . decades ago. All would be dead by now.

Chapter Three

As Selma led the way and was making the turn on that flat “transition” area between floors, she was startled by the sudden appearance of a cloud-like image swinging an ax and, in the blink of an eye, thrusting it into the mid-section of Selma’s body.

As soon as it began it was over, with the image disappearing into and through the wall. Selma was writhing in pain lying down in a pool of blood grasping for breath. There was little we could do. In moments she would be dead.

Walking down fifteen flights of stairs in a building without power or air conditioning is taxing enough. When you add on carrying a dead body under these conditions it makes for a grueling exercise.

The remaining three of us just knelt there beside Selma, all stunned and in shock. Before we knew it, Fred jumped up, hysterical, and screamed, “I’ve got to get out of here; we’re not wanted!”

With that, he jumped up and proceeded to run downstairs, from the fifteenth floor, but seemed to trip as he was rounding the corner of the stairwell, broke through the railing and fell to the lobby and to his death.

Thad and I exchanged horrified looks and just remained there, motionless and not saying a word.

Chapter Four

Then I stated as calmly as I could, “Ok, let’s proceed together, steadily down the stairs to the lobby. It’s just the two of us now, Thad; there’s nothing more we can do here.”

“But what about Selma? We can’t just leave her here; she deserves better.,” Thad remarked.

“You’re right, Thad, she does,” I injected. So we both picked her up as gently as we could and proceeded resuming our trek downstairs. I suggested we take a moment’s break on the tenth floor to gather ourselves.

We reached the tenth floor and rested some. We were both sweating profusely but had nothing to wipe the sweat from our burning eyes.

Almost there we thought. Adrenaline had started to kick in and traversing the next five flights wasn’t nearly so difficult as we suspected it would be.

We each winked at one another and allowed a wry smile on our faces; we were close to getting out of here. We then took a few more steps then stopped. Froze. We heard something that sounded like crackling wood. Before either one of us could say anything, the floor of the stairwell began to give and in a flash both Thad and Selma’s body fell the remaining five floors. If she was still alive she wouldn’t have survived the drop. Thad wouldn’t have either.

Chapter Five

So now it was just me. Five floors to the lobby and exit. I was shaking so badly I could hardly stand. I managed to steady myself as best I could and slowly, holding onto the railing, got down to the second floor but I had to stop once more to catch my breath.

A few more steps and I’m home free, I thought. When I got to the landing area between first and second floors I just stopped again and thought about what we’d just accomplished. Just a few more steps . . . And then from behind I felt the unnerving sensation of being pushed. Before I knew it I was head over heels tumbling downward and unceremoniously heading for the first floor.

For what had to be only a few seconds, it felt like I was tumbling through infinity. Then, suddenly, I felt motionless, I wasn’t falling anymore. I guess I was laying on the concrete floor but I didn’t feel a thing. Didn’t even feel my heart pumping. My breathing? Don’t think I was. My mind was slowing down, now almost to a standstill.

Is this what it’s like when . . . you’re. . . dying . . .

A final thought to my story. Four new souls entered Charity Hospital to see what happened inside thanks to a wicked woman named Katrina. During their journey they met some very interesting residents, all of whom called Charity home. Never mind that the hospital has been closed for decades and that there are no living residents inside. As there have been since Katrina there are now only souls, the souls of Charity.

Epilogue

The historic Charity Hospital building in New Orleans is undergoing a massive $600+ million redevelopment with Tulane University serving as the anchor tenant and become the heart of Tulane’s Downtown Medical School. The iconic New Orleans hospital served the community for a century as the City’s safety-net hospital, saving hundreds of thousands of lives and training thousands of doctors and nurses. Old Charity will become the flagship building for Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, as well as housing for biomedical research labs, Tulane’s Innovation Institute and their School of Professional Advancement. The revitalized structure is expected to open around 2027.

The project is moving forward through a complex, years-long journey to revitalize the 90-year-old, 20-story structure that has been largely vacant since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

  • The Vision: The billion-square-foot facility is being renovated to include state-of-the-art medical and life-science labs, approximately 300 apartments, commercial offices, and retail space. 
  • Tulane University’s Role: Tulane has committed to occupying at least 500,000 square feet of the massive building for public health, biomedical research, and teaching purposes. 
  • Funding and Politics: The redevelopment faced a major political battle when the New Orleans City Council allocated $20 million in bond/trust funds to help speed up the construction. Mayor LaToya Cantrell previously vetoed this ordinance out of concern for other city budget priorities, but the City Council successfully voted to override the veto to keep the project on.

Hurricane Katrina flooded Charity’s basement, shutting down the hospital and trapping roughly 360 patients and 1,200 staff members inside. Weeks later, a team of volunteers, contractors and the military cleaned out the lower floors to get the hospital “medical ready,” but it would never reopen.

For a closer look at how this monumental structure is being reimagined, you can explore the Charity Hospital Redevelopment Project or read about Tulane’s plans on the Charity Redevelopment page. 

The 90-year-old, 20-story Charity Hospital building that has been vacant since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (Photo by Lance Traweek.)

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

More stories can be read at https://ideasnmore.net/short-stories

10 QUESTIONS

Wieden+Kennedy’s Jessica Apellaniz on Mexico finding its creative voice

This is a recent interview I found enlightening and interesting. I trust you will, too.

The chief creative officer of W+K Mexico also discusses crafting one’s creative process and the real magic of creativity. (W+K)

Jessica Apellaniz became Wieden+Kennedy Mexico’s first chief creative officer when the agency opened its Mexico City office in 2023. Since then, she has shaped the office’s creative vision and work for clients including Nike, Ford, Uber and Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Previously, she served as Ogilvy’s CCO for Latin America, leading award-winning campaigns for brands such as Coca-Cola, KFC, Mondelēz and American Express.

Apellaniz began her career in production, including a stint at MTV Latin America, before moving into copywriting and creative leadership. One of the few women to hold a regional creative leadership role in Latin America, she has also been an advocate for building more representative and inclusive teams across the industry.

We spoke with her about deadlines, crafting one’s creative process, Mexico’s creative voice in the region and the real magic of creativity.

Jessica, tell us … your first job in advertising, and your current job.

My first job was actually at Blockbuster, which tells you how long I’ve been around. My first copywriting job was at Terán\TBWA, working on Palacio de Hierro, basically a headline paradise. More than 20 years later, I helped found W+K Mexico.

An ad or campaign that inspired you coming up in the business.

Telecom’s “La Llama Que Llama.” I loved the absurdity of it. Funnily enough, they just brought it back, which makes me feel inspired and old at the same time.

The last ad that made you jealous.

“Viva La Vulva” and “Never Just a Period.” I used to hate getting the “girly brief” just because I was the girl in the room. After Libresse, all I wanted was a tampon brief.

A recent project you’re proud of.

“Who’s Waiting for You?” for Victoria Beer is a film that reminds us someone is waiting on the other side. It made me think of death not as an ending, but as the day I get to hug my dad again.

Something exciting that’s happening in the Mexico creative scene.

I think Mexico is finally finding its own voice. Argentina became known for brilliant scripts, Brazil for extraordinary craft. We’re embracing our own maximalism—proudly rooted, beautifully messy and deeply human.

One thing that can make anyone a better creative.

Craft your creative process. Figure out how to get yourself into that state where ideas can roam freely. The process is different for everyone.

How you personally get inspired. 

I walk with headphones on. I read books that somehow connect to whatever I’m working on—and, of course, deadlines—they’re underrated creative directors.

What most brands still don’t understand about creativity.

The biggest misunderstanding is that creativity is the output. The real magic is in the way it helps you see the problem differently.

Something people might not know about you.

I’m an introvert, an overthinker and dyslexic. Which means every idea gets tested a thousand times before it leaves my head.

Where advertising is headed next.

We might finally see Dan Wieden and Phil Knight’s dream come true: advertising that doesn’t feel like advertising at all.

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

So Sayeth Mr. Einstein

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

Does Talking to Strangers Fuel Creativity and Innovation?

Why the most valuable skill at work might be talking to strangers

Young charming woman talking to attractive stranger at the cafe. Adobe Stock

A new book reviewed by Michael Lee Stallard for SmartBrief argues that we could be missing valuable connections. Beyond career advancement, Sandstrom presents evidence for something even more profound: that speaking with people outside our immediate circle fundamentally changes how we think.

When we talk only with the people we already know — our team, our department, our usual lunch group — we tend to reinforce what we already believe. Our thinking becomes narrow and self-confirming. But when we engage with strangers, we encounter different experiences, different frames of reference and different ways of seeing the same problem. The result opens up the possibility of what researchers call convergent thinking, which is the ability to draw connections across seemingly unrelated domains and synthesize them into something new. 

I think of this as “mosaic thinking.” Picture a mosaic, a piece of art composed of small fragments such as colored glass, stone or ceramic tiles. Mosaics dating back to ancient times can still be found in houses of worship in Italy, vibrant and whimsical mosaics created in the 20th century by the Spanish architect and designer Antoni Gaudí adorn buildings and park benches in Barcelona, and you’ll find mosaics on the walls of subway stations in Manhattan and the renovated LaGuardia Airport. Individually, the fragments seem unrelated, but when assembled, they form an image none of the individual pieces could have produced alone. This is precisely what happens in the mind of someone who is genuinely curious about the people they meet. 

Every conversation with a stranger, therefore, has the potential to produce a “tile” — a small piece of new knowledge or perspective that, over time, accumulates into a richer, more creative, more innovative way of thinking. There may also be times when a seemingly innocuous comment someone else makes is the “aha moment” for you, and you recognize why a certain tile won’t fit, or you finally see how the tiles can come together.

In an era when organizations are desperate for creativity and innovation, this is not a soft benefit. It is a competitive advantage — and it starts with being willing to say hello.

A talking cat giving life advice to a confused adventurer Adobe Stock

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

Focus on Partnerships, Not Paychecks: Why Agencies Must Reinvent Themselves 

adspeak logo card
ADWEEK’s podcast episode.

In a recent episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, executive editor Alison Weissbrot leads a Brandweek panel featuring Nadja Bellan-White, group CEO at M&C Saatchi; Coltrane Curtis, founder and managing partner at Team Epiphany; and Kern Schireson, chairman and CEO at Known. 

Together, they discuss the need to redefine agency-client partnerships. As budgets tighten and AI reshapes workflows, they explain why legacy and fee-based models are no longer viable. 

Instead, success hinges on empathy, trust, and aligned incentives tied to outcomes. The panel shares practical strategies, from embedding test-and-learn budgets to understanding board-level pressures and deploying agile “tiger teams.” 

What you’ll learn:

They emphasize deeper specialization, real human connection, and shared accountability as the foundation for resilient, high-performing partnerships in a rapidly evolving marketing landscape.

  • How to shift from legacy fee-based models to incentive-aligned partnerships 
  • Why understanding your client’s board-level KPIs is non-negotiable 
  • The “Three Ideas Framework” for managing risk and building trust 
  • How to build genuine relationships through human connection and empathy 
  • Why agency expertise depth matters more than breadth 
  • How to balance internal restructuring and team protection with client excellence

Three agency leaders on why legacy and fee-based are no longer viable.

Nadja Bellan-White is the Group CEO at M&C Saatchi, and a “human-first” marketing leader known as a go-to fixer for complex brand transformations. With 25+ years in integrated marketing, she blends data, creativity, technology, and media to drive meaningful customer connections. She has led transformations for global brands including American Express, IKEA, and Coca-Cola, and partnered with African governments to spur growth. An AdColor Legend Award recipient, she brings a sharp focus on context, culture, and creativity to every engagement.

Coltrane Curtis is the Founder and Managing Partner of Team Epiphany, a New York-based influencer marketing and PR agency he launched in 2004. What began as a one-man shop has grown into a 70+ person, multidisciplinary agency with offices in New York and Portland. With roots at MTV and deep experience across brands like Nike, HBO, and Coca-Cola, Curtis blends cultural fluency with sharp strategic execution. Known for building powerful brand and celebrity partnerships, he has been recognized by Inc., Forbes, Adweek, and AdColor, and serves on the American Black Film Festival board.

Kern Schireson is the CEO of Known, a next-generation agency built on data-driven strategy and systemic innovation. With deep expertise in incentive alignment and AI-powered optimization, he is helping redefine the modern agency model. Kern champions using technology as a force multiplier for enhancing, not replacing, human creativity, while embedding rigorous test-and-learn frameworks into client partnerships. His approach focuses on aligning incentives and enabling continuous iteration, driving measurable, breakthrough results for brands navigating an increasingly complex marketing landscape.

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

Kotex confronts art world taboo with ‘Art’s Missing Period’ campaign

The art world has succumbed to controversy via a graphic outdoor display of the menstrual period. Continuing education of health issues is in the public interest so why is this display so disturbing to some?

Singapore – Kotex has launched a global campaign highlighting the absence of menstrual blood in mainstream art, positioning it as a long-standing form of cultural censorship.

Developed with DAVID London and Ogilvy Singapore, “Art’s Missing Period” brings together works that were previously rejected by galleries or removed from public display due to their depiction of menstruation. 

The campaign reframes the issue as one of visibility, arguing that while violent imagery involving blood is widely accepted, menstrual blood remains excluded.

Kotex revives banned art showing period blood

“Visibility shapes culture, and we set out to change both,” said Genevieve Gransden, Executive Creative Director at DAVID London. 

“This is not just a campaign. It is a restoration of voices, narrative and art that deserves to be seen,” said Selma Ahmed, Executive Creative Director at DAVID London.

The campaign includes a short documentary directed by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Kathryn Everett and narrated by journalist Noor Tagouri. 

The film examines how depictions of blood tied to violence are widely shown, while menstrual blood is treated as taboo, and features accounts from artists who have faced rejection linked to the theme.

Beyond film, Kotex has rolled out mobile billboards and street posters outside major museums, including the Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. 

The placements position the campaign directly at the doorstep of institutions central to shaping public art discourse.

QR codes embedded in these placements direct audiences to a virtual gallery hosting more than 40 artworks centred on menstruation. 

The online platform, launched on April 6, 2026, will run for one year and is designed to provide a dedicated space for artists and exhibitions exploring the subject.

The campaign marks Kotex’s latest effort to address stigma around periods, shifting the conversation from product messaging to broader cultural representation.

Thanks to Sharona Nicole Semilla of Marketech APAC for contributing this article

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.





How AI made the end of the creative process the beginning

Creatives can lead in the AI era by reclaiming foundational skills such as editing, packing, lighting and overall execution.  Adobe Stock

An opinion piece I found interesting and thought it best to share. Hope you find it worth the read.

The traditional creative process began with a client brief. From there, strategy was developed, and only then would the creative process start. Teams brainstormed, then collaborated with creative leads until a deck was prepared. Once the client approved the deck, there was a sense of relief: the idea was greenlit. 

AI fundamentally altered this process. Now, once an idea is approved in a deck, AI sets creatives on a new journey—an extension of the original process. 

What felt like the end is now just the beginning. 

Greater need for clear vision

I won’t argue the well-worn territory that AI is just a tool and that people must lead creative processes. But having established the importance of humanity to lead, it’s important to determine where people fit in the new creative process for situations where AI will be used.

It’s been asked: Is our new role solely to be the very best prompt writers we can be, knowing that the output will be determined by precise inputs, phrased in a way the computers can metabolize? 

I don’t think we simply become “creative prompters.” It’s not about being on a pedestal and giving direction; it’s about being where the work is actually shaped. This exciting shift makes us creatives more professional again, relying on technical knowledge rather than just intuition.

In the AI era, approval marks the start of a new creative process, where creatives need to become a kind of artisan again, despite using technology. Specifically, evolving creatives must know exactly what to ask for—providing references from art, cinema, fashion, architecture and advertising itself—to direct the AI. 

Jarring? Perhaps. Beautiful? Indeed.

Precision and exploration

Traditional creatives are all about precision, while AI is about exploration. In the AI era, creatives must double down on precision while being open to exploration. That means rethinking the creative role altogether.

This shift requires creatives to adopt more than a sensibility; they need technical expertise and holistic vision. Here are the fundamentals you need to succeed:

1. Story fundamentals

Creatives must be articulate about what they feel and think in executing the approved concept: Clear story references, resources and vision that once belonged to directors or producers must now come directly from the creative’s mind. 

To become true craftspeople again, creatives must be immersed in advertising history while studying modern techniques and resources. This forces you to rely on technical knowledge rather than just intuition, experience or criteria. Transcend the suggestion that creatives will become prompters. Go beyond that; it’s more than just giving well-referenced instructions.

In a way, this is where the terms “creative” and “creator” converge. With each iteration of instructions, the work is being shaped, changed, evolved and improved. It’s precisely about shaping the work as it’s being created.

2. Visual fundamentals

Creatives need strong visual literacy even more in an AI era. Studying other arts like photography, cinema, fashion, architecture and design is a foundation. Bring clear aesthetic references from the idea stage to define the original visual look. On a more technical level, understand and apply concepts like composition, lighting, tone, texture and more.

When creatives acquire these skills, they move beyond simply prompting visuals and begin shaping them. Each iteration becomes an opportunity to refine the idea. Again, creatives become both thinkers and makers, using AI not just to generate images but to actively build a distinct visual language as the work is being created.

3. Direction fundamentals

Finally, creatives need strong direction skills: the ability to translate an idea into vision, then vision into reality. It all comes down to what the audience sees. Creatives must speak the language of camera, editing, pacing, cinematography, lighting and overall execution details.

Refine this skill by thinking like directors earlier in the process. Move from proposing ideas to actively shaping how those ideas come to life. In this, AI becomes a collaborative execution partner; with each iteration, creatives can guide performance, refine tone and evolve the work in real time, ensuring the final result reflects a cohesive, intentional vision.

Amid the AI revolution, embrace your own renaissance. The traditional era’s end is your new beginning, too. 

Because AI transformed creative approval, making the end the beginning, creatives must evolve from executors into true creative professionals. Reclaim foundational skills and you’ll lead in AI-driven execution. Clear references, resources and vision—what once belonged to directors or producers—now come directly from the creative’s mind.

David Castellanos is creative lead at Erich & Kallman.

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

The ‘Svedphone,’ a phone that can only call and text? Hmmmmm!

Svedka, the vodka brand, addresses both digital burnout and Y2K nostalgia with the Svedphone, a stripped-down flip phone designed to encourage real-world connection. With only call and text functions, the device playfully rejects smartphone overload in favor of being present during social moments.

Positioned as an extension of the brand’s “Fembot” platform, it turns anti-tech sentiment into a physical product tied to nightlife and festival culture. Released in limited drops, the campaign reframes “less technology” as a more social, and more fun, experience.

Svedka’s Fembot may be a robot, but she’d prefer you mostly interact with other humans.

Stripped-down flip phone designed to encourage real-world connection

Looks like “fembots” may be with us for a while. This is really going back to simplicity but how will it play in today’s smartphone environment? Will it be taken seriously by folks who want just a really simple phone or be viewed just as a promotional stunt by the vodka maker?

Who knows. The buying public can be very fickle at times.

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

Another Take on Dachaus, Auschwitz: Why does it still matter?

This is not my typical blog post but an expression of an idea I had based on an old Twilight Zone episode. I turned it into a short story, sort of reminiscent of a half hour TZ episode.

Mr. Collins was on a guided tour at Dachau. While touring one of the deserted barracks, Mr. Collins wanted to lie down on one of the bunks in the dilapidated and abandoned barracks and fell asleep. When he awakened he heard loud and nasty instructions to rise for exercises. The voice said it was a balmy 5 degrees below zero. Judging from the sight of the soldiers’ uniforms and the others around him, it was no longer present day. It was 1941 all over again. It was like he was experiencing a Twilight Zone moment.

View of the Dachau concentration camp, after liberation on April 29, 1945. It shows the electrified barbed wire fence, the moat, and a watchtower. 

Mr. Collins was dazed at first, having just been suddenly awakened. Once he was able to stand by his bunk, he noticed his clothes had been transformed into the prison attire like everyone else’s. He thought he was dreaming at first; no, more like having a nightmare.

Before he could gather his thoughts, the group was ushered through the door and outside into the bitter cold. Once outside standing in the snow and ice, he thought how in the world could anyone survive in conditions like this, especially without any protective clothing. As he thought it, he had already answered his own question; they can’t. They really weren’t expected to survive.

Several of his “colleagues” did not. They passed out during this so-called exercise routine. Dropped dead.

While standing there, Mr. Collins had lost feeling in his feet and his fingers were turning blue. He didn’t know how much more of this torture he could stand.

View of barracks and the ammunition factory in one of the first photos of the Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, March or April 1933.


Dachau opened in Germany in March 1933. It was the first regular concentration camp of the Nazi regime. Prisoners were subjected to horrific conditions, forced labor, and medical experiments. Dachau became the model for all Nazi concentration camps. It was liberated by American forces on April 29, 1945.

At what seemed to be forever, the group was finally lead back into the barracks. No heat and no warm clothing. The prisoners just had to make do. Just then another Nazi official entered the barracks and announced that two of the group did not survive exercises. So, two of the bunks would be available. However, there were three additional prisoners expected any minute so an additional bunk would have to be made ready.

“Mr. Collins,” the official stated, peering directly into Collins’ eyes, “your bunk will do nicely.”

“But where will I sleep?,” asked Collins. “Oh, you’ll have a permanent resting place,” replied the Nazi as he pulled out his Walther P38 pistol. Everything then appeared to be in slow motion.

As he pointed the P38 at Mr. Collins, the trigger seemed to take forever to be pulled back. Just at the instant of the bullet exploding from the barrel, Mr. Collins let out a blood curdling scream.

Then, all fell silent.

“Mr. Collins! Mr. Collins!,” a young woman’s voice was heard directly over Mr. Collins’ face. “Wake up, sir,” she said. “You fell asleep during our tour. Please follow us and we’ll lead you to the exit and the awaiting tour bus,” she explained.

Collins, meanwhile, was shaking even though he realized his nightmare was just that, a nightmare. Before he began to walk out, he looked down and was relieved to see he was wearing his clothes in which he’d started the tour. His nightmare was over.

Little remained of what he had dreamt. Interestingly, however, no one seemed to notice the Walther P38 lying on the mattress where Collins had been. Smoke was still emanating from the barrel.

All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Shoah. It was established by Germans in 1940, in the suburbs of Oswiecim, a Polish city that was annexed to the Third Reich by the Nazis. Its name was changed to Auschwitz, which also became the name of Konzentrationslager Auschwitz.
The direct reason for the establishment of the camp was the fact that mass arrests of Poles were increasing beyond the capacity of existing “local” prisons. The first transport of Poles reached KL Auschwitz from Tarnów prison on June 14, 1940. Initially, Auschwitz was to be one more concentration camp of the type that the Nazis had been setting up since the early 1930s. It functioned in this role throughout its existence, even when, beginning in 1942, it also became the largest of the extermination centers where the “Endlösung der Judenfrage” (the final solution to the Jewish question – the Nazi plan to murder European Jews) was carried out.

At the end of the Twilight Zone episode, Deathshead Revisited, the doctor exclaims “why do they let it remain standing?”

In Serling’s epilogue narration, he says “There is an answer to the doctor’s question. All the Dachaus must remain standing. The Dachaus, the Belsens, the Buchenwalds, the Auschwitzes; all of them. They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the Earth into a graveyard. Into it they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worst of all, their conscience. And the moment we forget this, the moment we cease to be haunted by its remembrance, then we become the gravediggers. Something to dwell on and to remember, not only in the Twilight Zone but wherever men walk God’s Earth.”

More stories can be read at https://ideasnmore.net/short-stories