2017 in Review: Pete Favat

In general, do you think 2017 has been a good year for creative advertising?

Yes. This year at Cannes, we saw work that literally moved humanity forward. The body of work we judged this year had a more empathetic tone to humanity and less pushing of products. It’s more of what people need in their lives, versus more “advertising.”

What piece or pieces of work have impressed you most over the last year?

We're the Superhumans, by Channel 4 - because what it did was demonstrate the things we all talk about, rolled up into one. Diversity. Inclusion. Empathy. It had the highest level of craft of a film in years. Right down to writing their own song about “yes. I can.” These people aren’t challenged, they’re superhuman. They’re beyond the rest of us. They’re a higher order. 

In-house production, both within agencies and clients, continues to be at the forefront of production minds; how has that situation evolved in last 12 months and should ‘traditional’ production outfits still be concerned? 

My advice would be to get a helmet and embrace it. Things change. One thing I love about this business is the rapid change-- how it expands and contracts. And it’s going on with production right now. Advancements in technology have made production a more readily available resource for people. So, with tech getting cheaper, more people are going to jump in and do it. For years, to open up a post-production facility would cost you multi-millions. Now you can do it with software and a Mac. Our real worry is two fuckers in a garage that don’t need us or production or anyone else. But from what I’ve seen, it’s not all bad. There’s enough production to go around, and the talented shops that do it will continue to survive on their talent.

The much-maligned, Kendal Jenner-starring Pepsi commercial from earlier this year seemed to put a dent in the ‘client in-house production’ approach; do you think that trend is still a worry for agencies? 

This is the year we saw one in-house agency get it completely right, and one get it completely wrong. There is no dearth of in-house agencies doing it right. But some of them will step in dog crap along the way, as we all do. People piled on to this because Brad Jakeman [outgoing president of PepsiCo's global beverage group, pictured below] was so vocal with his POV that agencies “don’t get it.” Looks like we’re all in the same boat.

Publicis’ withdrawal from Cannes and other shows for a 12-month period sparked conversation about the validity of those types of events; what’s your opinion on advertising’s relationship with awards?

Awards are still a bar for how the work is measured by your peer group. There are a lot of people who still want that—it has an impact. At the same time, award shows seem to not have their fingers on the pulse of what’s going on in agencies. Agencies’ margins are getting pulled back further and further. Flat is now considered good. Award shows keep adding more categories because things are expanding, but agencies look at this expansion of categories as one thing—more profit for the award shows. I personally think it’s time to rethink what award shows are. How many do we need and what do they all mean? 

I said something at the ANDYs earlier this year: if we were to start an award show tomorrow, what would it look like? So at the ANDYs, we’re making sweeping changes. There are only five or six ways to enter, down from 75+. We took away the distinctions of gold, bronze and silver. The award just means more that way.  But there does seem to be a shift happening. 

What I’ve seen lately when hiring young people is that they’re questioning, “why are awards so important?” Then I started realizing that kids in America get a trophy for everything. When it comes to award shows, has American culture destroyed what it means to actually achieve or be awarded something? I never had that question in my career, but the talent coming into our business today questions all of it.

Diversity continues to be at the forefront of industry discussions this year; do you think the industry is doing enough to promote a diverse range of people within the business? 

The industry is doing more, but it can never do enough. It’s simple, really: the more diverse your people, the more well-rounded point of view your work has built into it. This is why organizations like Saturday Morning are so important. They encourage people to use their creativity to solve the problems facing our culture and our world in new ways. I look forward to seeing more of what they do in 2018, and encouraging our creatives to get involved.

What do you think the biggest talking points of 2018 might be?

AI for sure. It’s going to be massive in branding and companies. It takes a lot of people to program it all, but it’s worth getting ahead of it.

What do you think the advertising’s New Year’s resolution should be?

Get a fucking helmet.

What will be your own New Year’s resolution, work-related or otherwise?

My personal resolution is to get a plot of land in Italy, a parachute, and seeds to grow my own food. Only kinda kidding. Why do people have the urge to do something new because it’s January 1? Why not do something new on November 12th? Why do we need a calendar to tell us to innovate or start fresh? My resolution for Deutsch is the same this year as every year. It’s all about the work.