Mukund Olety believes that creativity thrives well beyond the advertising industry. It exists in policy changes, business decisions, community-led solutions, and ideas designed to create measurable change in people’s lives.
As Chief Creative Officer for The Coca-Cola Company Europe at VML and a globally awarded creative leader behind work for other brands including Nike, McDonald’s, and Mercedes, Mukund brings that perspective to the jury room at the 2026 D&AD Awards in London, where he serves as juror for the Impact, Future Impact, and Sustained Impact categories.
Speaking with adobo Magazine Founder, President, and Editor-in-Chief Angel Guerrero, Mukund reflects on the ideas and initiatives that stand out this year — from long-term societal interventions to purpose-driven innovations and grassroots solutions that challenge how the industry defines creativity and impact.
adobo Magazine: D&AD’s theme this year asks, “Is Creativity Dead or Alive?” From the perspective of the Impact category, what did this year’s work reveal to you about the state of creativity today?
Mukund: Creativity is alive, kicking, and bursting at the seams. It’s not being confined to boxes, boundaries, or set formats. Copywriting is not writing 300 words in an ad — sometimes it’s just writing three words in a policy document, right? For me, creativity is not doing a PSA to talk about periods and equality. It is about just putting one more item in the list of uniforms, right? So I think the way we are defining creativity is changing.
I think the greatest thing is that because of all the things AI can do, it’s pushing humans to think of ways of using creativity that were not explored before, right? Nowhere in the world would a creative person have looked at a policy document of an insurance company before, but now they are, and they’re trying ways of making a meaningful difference through that, right? So I think we’re in a great place, and it’s a great time to be creative. We’re doing great for the world and for our brands. I think creativity is alive.
adobo: What distinguishes the strongest entries this year from campaigns that may have good intentions but lack genuine impact?
Mukund: I was judging Impact, and that means every single piece of work that was entered came in with good intent, right? But was that intent solely for the purpose of recognition or for the purpose of actually doing good in the world? That’s a sense you get — whether this NGO or brand is actually committed to what they are doing, right?
Sometimes it’s a one-year exercise. Sometimes it’s a five-year exercise, right? And because we also judge Future Impact, it’s also about the potential to create impact, right? So I think we saw it through three different lenses. One is sustained impact — have you been consistent with the cause and working towards it? Then, impact itself — is the work you’re doing making an actual, tangible difference to people’s lives on the ground? We were very serious about looking at actual impact, numbers, and all of those things in Impact. And then Future Impact is purely based on potential — is this solution real, can it be done, can it be scaled? You award based on that potential.
adobo: In judging the Impact category, how do you evaluate the balance between creativity, measurable outcomes, and long-term societal relevance?
Mukund: When you talk about equality for women, you might be making a campaign that will shift a mindset for now, but that mindset shift will impact society in the long run, much like education, right? The campaign might have an immediate spike in numbers or metrics now, but that education will impact a larger society over time.
We saw pieces, for example, from New Zealand, which spoke about giving extra seats to the Māori, an underrepresented minority community in New Zealand, right? If you add more seats in government, imagine the kind of impact that would make in that country for those people. When you make a difference at a policy level, at a government level, I think that has a deeper impact across society.
adobo: Many brands are increasingly aligning themselves with social and environmental causes. What separates authentic purpose-driven work from campaigns that feel performative or opportunistic?
Mukund: It’s a deeper conversation about where brands come in when it comes to making a difference in society. And if it comes across as a form of virtue signaling, greenwashing, bluewashing — whatever you want to call it — I would question the authenticity of the brand itself. It has ramifications that go beyond just one piece of work, right?
But when brands are committed and they speak in a language of actually doing good, sometimes it can do great things for their business too. That’s even better. And sometimes it is so linked to their business that it becomes a natural fit. It is a natural fit.
adobo: Were there entries that you felt weren’t genuine to the brand?
Mukund: I really don’t want to call out entries, but I think there will always be work that you need to weed out and question, like, why is this brand doing this? Is there a motive behind it? Is it a genuine sense of purpose, or is it done just for the purpose of winning recognition?
adobo: The most effective impact campaigns often begin with deep human insight. What role does empathy play in creating work that resonates and drives action?
Mukund: I’m just going to go by what happened in the jury room. I think it’s easy for us all to relate to problems that are first-world problems, right? They’re easy to relate to. But can you open yourself up and soak in the things that you don’t know? Can you empathize with people even though you haven’t lived their lives, even though you haven’t seen it in the newspapers in your country, even though it’s not close to you?
I’m super happy that the jury went beyond their own sense of relative purpose and saw issues for what they are in the world. One-third of humanity might be experiencing something that you are totally unaware of. When you start acting like a sponge and soaking these things in, empathy grows. I saw the shift happen in the room, where people became open to causes they weren’t even aware of before the discussions.
adobo: What pressures or shifts affecting the advertising and creative industries should agencies and brands be paying close attention to, especially when it comes to responsibility, representation, and ethical storytelling?
Mukund: I think brands and agencies are becoming more conscious, and I think we should always question ourselves. I think the censorship should come from within rather than from an external body or from getting called out on social media. We’ve seen years where that has happened, and it’s ugly for the industry. It’s not right.
I think censorship should come from within — asking ourselves, “Am I doing the right thing? Are we doing the right thing as an agency?” Conscience. I think that’s the word I would use. It’s about being aware and saying, “Let’s do the right thing,” and sticking to it. It might not result in wins this award season, and that’s fine. But in the long run, you’re creating an impact that’s larger than anything else. I think that’s what we need to stand for and stick to.
adobo: When you looked at the Future Impact category, did you see some really exciting things?
Mukund: What Future Impact opened up for me was seeing entries done by individuals. It was a great category to judge because where else would you see one individual trying to change the world, right? One small organization trying to change a whole community.
There was this group of students trying to create an innovation that would protect soil nutrients and make the land viable for the next season. There were also projects identifying ways to help people suffering from Parkinson’s disease, right? These are things driven by individual spirit, instinct, and drive.
I think it’s a great category. It’s a pity, though, that not many people entered. I wish more people would enter, especially because I was told it’s super cheap to enter — and if it’s not cheap, it should be made cheap. I think this is the place where creative excellence from individuals, small organizations, and people who genuinely want to make an impact can benefit, especially at the prototyping stage.
adobo: Were there any campaigns this year that changed the way you think about the role of creativity in driving social or cultural change? What specifically made those ideas feel powerful or transformative?
Mukund: A couple of things stood out in the room. One was the AXA work, “Three Words,” only because of the kind of difference a big company or brand can make, even at a financial cost to the business at that point in time. But the larger impact — and even the long-term impact on their own business — was far greater than the three words they added. That, for me, was a standout piece.
There was also the “period uniform” idea, where sanitary underwear became part of the school uniform. In parts of the world, young girls can’t go home and say they’re having their period or ask for sanitary napkins, right? This shifts the default. We’re changing the default from having no hygiene products to making them part of the uniform. That changes society. You’re taking conversations into homes through schools.
There were also pieces that have stood the test of time, like AnNahar in the Middle East doing fantastic work in standing up against oppression and government pressure. That’s the greatness of creativity — you can stand up to a bully and say what you want to say in a way that shifts mindsets, communities, and populations.
Then there was the Gulf of Mexico Bar, which stood up to a bully — Donald Trump — and said, “I don’t accept what you want to bring to this world.” Even in a small way, even if it meant putting the brand at risk, they stood up. Those are the standout pieces for me — where people are making a genuine impact, sometimes at a much greater cost than what they originally set out to do.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of the 2026 D&AD Awards.
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