Questions I wanna answer, but no one has yet asked about

1.“Di, how do you actually combine that emotional ‘spark’ with the hard numbers that big agencies expect?”

— You are asking a very important question in modern advertising. That “creative spark” is what gets you into the room. For you, maybe it was a commercial that grabbed your attention as a twelve-year-old. All you need to do is back that emotion up with undeniable results in order to stay in that room.

2. Di, how do you let curiosity drive your strategy?

— When you start a new project, don’t just look at the brief. Look at the human behavior behind it. No matter where you are, your best tool is your ability to observe.

You should ask: What is the one thing this audience doesn’t know they want yet? You can use that insight to craft campaigns and make collaborations with brands that seem irrelevant but actually increase brand visibility, and so much more.

3. How do you define a great creative piece?

— Like “Pass the Heinz.” You can learn from Heinz that a good creative piece may not even include the product itself in the visual. The visual is just a pile of fries on a plate, but when combined with the copy, you’ll instantly realize you need something to eat them with.

Great creativity doesn’t just fulfill a request; it anticipates a need or a desire that the audience hasn’t recognized yet.

4. To you, what does culture mean in advertising?

— Culture is the bridge between a brand’s message and a local audience’s heart.

Many beer advertisements in the U.S, well, are just about the U.S. They are not selling the beer itself, but making the beer as part of the culture’s roots. You drink beer because you’re a hard-working person, because you enjoy the beach, or simply because you love your country.

Pitch Budweiser’s 2026 Super Bowl ads to their department in Japan, then wait for that “hell nah” response.