Jo Jackson, the first female CEO of D&AD, spoke exclusively with the propmark
The first woman to hold the position of CEO in the 61-year history of D&AD, Jo Jackson took over the organization seven months ago with the speech that everyone in the creative industry has a responsibility to promote progress and necessary changes, such as having more diversity and included in the market. The 2023 edition of the D & AD Awards, held in London in May, was the first under her command – Brazil won 27 Pencils and was in seventh place in the ranking of countries. In addition to the award – considered one of the most rigorous in advertising -, Jo highlights that D&AD has a very important role in promoting the market and supporting the new generations. Among the initiatives, there is the D&AD Shift program, a free course for creatives without a university degree, which will also be launched in So Paulo. If we don’t help new talent, there will be no creative excellence ahead, she says.
This was the first year of the D&AD Awards under his leadership. What changes did you make?
I took over as CEO seven months ago. We already had a structured team organizing and producing the festival. I was able to support the event in small ways, but with a great level of importance, such as, for example, bringing sustainability to production. This is one way for D&AD to show progress to the industry, by taking action, not just talking, as a responsible event producer. Regarding the line-up, we tried to bring new voices to the stage to talk about representativeness in the industry and how new creatives can learn not to stereotype advertising, for example. Covid has transformed everyone and the way they work, new creatives had to work from home, everyone had to adapt. a different creative and that’s fascinating. The approach of the new generation is completely different and has an impact on the industry.
You are D&AD’s first female CEO. a new festival era? What impact did you make?
It’s kind of crazy to think that I’m the first female CEO of the festival, as D&AD has been around since 1962. But looking at our agenda today in terms of diversity, we’re pretty proud as an organization. Having more women in leadership positions is a big challenge for the entire industry. In fact, not just women, but having more diversity and inclusion across the board. We know that this will not be resolved overnight, but definitely, as in my case and in others, I think it is a sign of change, of progress in the market.
What is behind the theme adopted for this edition, Make. Change?
There are three points we want to highlight. One is positivity, remembering to smile, have a good time and celebrate the good things, because there are a lot of good changes happening in the industry. The second is a provocation, challenging and covering people’s expectations of diversity in the market for a wider group. And the other has to do with progress, questioning and challenging changes, remembering that everyone is responsible for transforming small things like, for example, thinking twice before choosing the casting for the next campaigns. And, of course, we want to celebrate the awards, the craft and the filmmakers.
After three years online, the festival returned to its face-to-face format. What were the lessons learned from the experience?
In my case, I found it very difficult to be isolated from my team during the pandemic. I love being together with the team, exchanging ideas, brainstorming, you create a more proactive environment. You don’t have that via Zoom screens. The online festivals were great, but you don’t have the same energy as in person, people get distracted. And I think networking is another great advantage of the face-to-face experience. We are thinking of having a hybrid festival in the coming years, with a digital pass for people around the world to access the content.
Where did you work before taking over as CEO of D&AD?
Recently, I was chief creative officer at Made.com (serving brands such as Diesel, Nike, Adidas, Burberry, Microsoft and Red Bull) and also worked for a while in the hotel market. Today, I have a women’s pub in London, the Flowerhouse. I opened this pub with the aim of supporting women in the hospitality industry and helping to bring about balance in a male-dominated market.
What is the DNA of the festival today?
Since its inception, D&AD has celebrated creative excellence and there are no plans to change that. However, with changes in society, this concept has also changed. Certainly what was creative excellence in advertising in 1965 is not the same as it is today. We asked the judges to consider what creative excellence really is today. In an award, creativity must be very simple, the work is very beautiful, creative, this is what counts when it comes to winning awards. But D&AD goes far beyond the awards. For me, the main reason I joined the festival is because D&AD supports the next generation of creatives. Because if we don’t help new talent, there will be no creative excellence ahead. And we cannot trust governments to provide the best education.
We have, for example, the D&AD Shift program, which offers free evening courses for aspiring creatives who do not have a university degree, with the aim of empowering, training and connecting them with the market so that they can find job opportunities. We are going to start working with the Shift program in So Paulo, together with Clube de Criação. We should open enrollment soon. And we really want to find more partners to play with this program in Brazil. There are five months of free online and face-to-face classes. It’s a project done in conjunction with Google and also with partner brands. Of the students who graduated from Shift, an average of 74% got jobs after completing the course.
D&AD set record enrollments this year. What does this mean for the market?
This year we had the best number of entries in D&AD history. There were almost 13 thousand registrations (12,243). It was a record number not only in terms of total entries, but also in the number of individual pieces entered, because of course agencies enter the same works in different categories. It was also interesting to note which areas grew and which did not. This really is a barometer to show the direction of the industry. The most popular categories were Film, Branding and Craft Design.
What do you think of Brazilian creativity?
I was in Brazil a long time ago, in Rio de Janeiro. I think it’s an incredible industry and one of the biggest in the world. I want to learn more about Brazil, I feel like we still haven’t done everything we can in the country. I would also like to work with local brands. We are an international organization, we do a lot in India, Africa, Japan and Australia, for example.
In your opinion, what are the main challenges facing the creative industry today? Diversity? Burnout? Artificial intelligence?
I believe that, regarding diversity, there are still many challenges to be overcome in the industry. Of course, each market is different from the other, and each one is at a different level. I imagine I can speak for England.
I think there is still a long way to go. But I believe
that the new creative generations, with different experiences, such as millennials, who are occupying leadership positions, think in a more diverse way and we can already see changes. However, there is a lot of talk and companies really need to act to really transform the work environment.
Read the full interview in the June 5 issue.
