It seems like the defining creative question of our era is: ‘Is it real or not?’ Is that a real person? Did that actually happen? Did they shoot that for real? But I think that question is going to morph into another one: ‘Does it feel real or not?’

As someone who cut their teeth in the world of documentaries at Channel 4, Dazed and i-D before traversing into the world of advertising, that feeling of real has been a throughline in my own creative process over the years. And I think that grounding ultimately led me to find my own place in adland, eventually co-founding my own agency, Soursop, where we’ve worked with a variety of brands including Nike, The Ordinary, Unicef and Gucci.

With the news from Meta that its AI will be generating the vast majority of ads in the near future, the 10% of work left for human craft will need to feel more real than ever to rise to the top. And for me, that means sticking to my core creative beliefs. Telling real stories can move people authentically. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Verité has the power to change people’s minds. The thin line between reality and fiction is where curiosity is truly sparked – and it’s never been more relevant than it is today. I call this philosophy, when applied to the commercial sphere, ‘method advertising’. Much like method acting, you can’t fake real emotions. You have to create them for real in order to move your audience, make them feel something.