Observed Signal · Jun 23, 2026 · Interview · Source: The Drum · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
David Founder Urges Agencies to Rediscover Human Creativity
Fernando Musa, founder, partner and chairman of David and CEO of Ogilvy Brazil, told The Drum at Cannes Lions that advertising agencies must refocus on human-led creativity rather than outputs, tools or awards. Musa — whose David Miami was named The Drum’s Miami Agency of the Year 2026 and who cited recent shortlists and wins for Kotex and Dove — argued that the true creative spark happens early in the process and arises from human emotion, difference and friction. He said AI and automation are useful for removing repetition and speeding research, but warned they risk encouraging lazy, ‘vanilla’ thinking if humans stop making original connections. Musa urged agencies to reorganize around care, conviction and cross-disciplinary creative thinking rather than treating creativity as siloed to a single department.
Opinion/interview focusing on agency creativity and the role of AI; useful perspective but limited direct operational or technical impact on the wider AdTech/MarTech ecosystem.
Track Adobe Signals & Market Shifts in Real-Time
Polaris7 autonomous intelligence agents track regulatory filings, primary sources, executive changes, and deal flow 24/7. Create your free Explorer workspace to monitor these entities.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Fernando Musa is founder, partner and chairman of David and CEO of Ogilvy Brazil.
- David Miami was named The Drum’s Miami Agency of the Year 2026.
- Musa spoke at Cannes Lions and in an interview with The Drum about creativity and AI.
- Musa said AI can speed research and remove repetitive work but warned it may encourage laziness in human creative connections.
- He argued agencies should prioritise early-stage creative insight and embed creativity across the organisation rather than confining it to a creative department.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Cannes Rediscovers Human Element After AI Obsession
At Cannes Lions 2026, M&C Saatchi North America chief Nadja Bellan-White observed a shift in festival conversations away from pure AI fetishism toward human insight, creativity and trust. While AI remains highly visible, Bellan-White — a judge on the Creative Business Transformation Lions jury — said the most encouraging trend was campaigns built around real human understanding and impact. The article cites broader social research (World Health Organization and the Edelman Trust Barometer) to frame concerns about loneliness, social fragmentation and declining institutional trust, arguing marketers have a responsibility to help rebuild social trust. Bellan-White warns CMOs face unprecedented complexity and urges marketing to use technology to enhance human creativity rather than replace it.
Creativity Moves Beyond the Traditional Agency Model
At Cannes Lions, marketers signaled a structural shift in how brands source creative work: CMOs are looking beyond traditional agencies to creators, studios and AI-driven production. Executives including Bose’s CMO and P&G’s chief brand officer described brands favoring modular partnerships, faster iteration and always-on asset flows rather than single hero ads from agencies of record. Panels and conversations highlighted creators becoming full creative partners, podcasting moving from niche to mainstream sponsor channel, and the need for agencies to adapt pricing, collaboration styles and production speed to remain relevant.
Jason Williams: Flashy AI Falls Short in Creativity
Jason Williams, creative director at Ingram Micro’s in-house agency and a juror on The Drum B2B Awards' Creative Aces jury, argues that AI’s fast, flashy outputs are often derivative and cannot replace human critical thinking and original idea generation. Drawing on a 30-year career creating campaigns for technology brands, Williams says creative principles endure even as tools change, and he advocates investing in process (symbolised by a yellow pad and #2 pencil) and sustained brand building rather than short-term shortcuts. He warns that pausing brand investment under commercial pressure risks losing a brand’s voice, and advises B2B marketers to avoid treating B2B like consumer marketing. Williams’ comments appear in The Drum ahead of The Drum B2B Awards entry deadline (July 23).
Track Real-Time Market Signals & Shifts
Set up custom watchlists to receive automated, evidence-grounded executive digests whenever material signals or shifts occur across your tracked landscape.