Brands, it's okay to loosen up: lessons from Advertising Week New York 2026
There's a particular kind of marketing frustration that comes from watching a carefully planned campaign struggle to get attention while an AI-generated video of two fruits arguing with each other takes off overnight. It's a reminder that audiences have their own ideas about what's worth watching, however much time we've spent perfecting the creative.
At this year's Advertising Week, I heard plenty about AI and the future of marketing. But more than anything, I kept hearing that brands could benefit from loosening up a little. The best creative often comes from trusting people who understand their audiences and giving an unexpected idea a chance.
Let creators do what they do best
One of my favorite sessions featured Hilton, the hotel giant, alongside creator Brandon Edelman and creative agency Movers+Shakers. They talked about how brands can connect with Zillennials, the generation straddling Millennials and Gen Z.
Their advice? Make something people actually want to watch.
Creators have already built relationships with their audiences. They know what makes people laugh and what keeps them watching. When brands try to squeeze five product messages into a single video, they risk losing everything that made the creator appealing in the first place. Even something as familiar as a hotel room tour can become entertaining when a creator brings their own personality and an unexpected twist.
Sometimes the weird idea is the good idea
Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign offered another great example of what can happen when communicators embrace unconventional formats.
During a session about the campaign, senior advisor Zara Rahim and filmmaker Anthony DiMieri, who helped produce its viral videos, discussed the importance of bringing in New York's humor and personality into the creative. By filming in familiar places like bodegas and halal carts, they captured the everyday experiences of the city’s residents, making the content feel distinctly New York.
What stuck with me was their willingness to experiment. Brands can get so focused on producing something polished that they overlook what makes content interesting. Sometimes an idea that sounds a little weird in a meeting is exactly what people will want to share. There's value in giving creative teams the freedom to follow those instincts.
Let AI make more room for the fun stuff
AI was everywhere at Advertising Week, particularly in conversations about agentic AI.
One thing that stood out to me was how these tools could help us spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time experimenting and having fun with the creative process.
Sometimes the most interesting work starts with a strange idea and a willingness to see where it goes.
That's a big part of what I took away from the conference. For all the tools and data we have at our disposal, understanding your audience and having a good idea still matter most. And if AI frees us up to be more creative, maybe we can afford to loosen our grip a little… and occasionally even get a bit silly.
