Wednesday: June 21, 2023
The White Lotus & Ogilvy
When Creativity Drives Culture
As a big White Lotus fan, I was really excited to hear from the Emmy-winning show's creator, Mike White. I was not let down by his eccentric personality and sense of humor. This was an enjoyable talk because he opened up about his own struggles with stress and self-care. Hearing about his early career before The White Lotus was interesting because it shows how success isn’t possible without going through failure. Something I found really inspiring was how he pursued his weird ideas even when people told him he would fail. Leaving this talk, I had a lot of excitement for the new season since I gained a different perspective on the show.
Whalar
From Trending to Transforming
At Whalar, I sat to listen to Coco Mocoe, Creator, and Kevin Allocca, Global Director of Culture & Trends at Youtube, talk about the ongoing cultural conversation and trend forecasting. A key takeaway was that instead of brands chasing trends, they should focus on understanding what causes them in the first place. It wasn’t my favorite talk just because I felt it was a bit redundant, although I enjoyed Coco’s charisma and enthusiasm on the subject matter.
Dentsu
Voice of Creativity: The Musical
This “talk” was not on my schedule, but I’m glad I went anyway. Once the lights dimmed, it became an oddly scary but entertaining musical. While I was distracted by the lead singer’s strange costume for a time, the presentation contained interviews of creatives from A24. I loved hearing from their minds because each person had a unique vision and perspective. They also touched on the rise of AI and how we cannot let it take our voices away.
Molson Coors
Miller Lite's Love Letter to Beer
Molson Coors CMO, Sofia Colucci, sat down to discuss her simple but effective campaign ,“Tastes like Miller time,” that led Miller Lite to great success. Colucci stressed the 4 essential elements for creative effectiveness in the beer industry: reach, fame, emotion and creativity. In the wake of the Bud Light controversy, she also spoke about the importance of staying true to a brand’s identity and consumer base. I was very impressed by how vast and versatile the campaign was. Miller Lite released a number of limited product lines to attract consumers including beer drops, a christmas tree keg stand, and beer coal. Overall, this talk gave me a better understanding of the extensive work required to create a successful campaign.
Saturday Night Live
Shaping Culture for 50 Years
My last talk of the day was my most anticipated of the entire festival because I am an avid SNL fan. As someone who has seen almost every episode, I was starstruck to see some of the cast members in person! It was great to hear from the show’s creator, Lorne Michaels, since I had never seen him before. His serious demeanor was a surprise to me since he is the mastermind behind one of the funniest sketch comedies of all time. I was shocked to learn their insane work schedule, which only made me gain more respect for the crew for their long hours.