D&AD and Uncommon Have Choice Words for Those Who Believe Creativity is Dead – Motion design
To launch the 2026 edition of the venerable D&AD Awards, the brand and the agency team at Uncommon Creative issue a “deliberate provocation for the industry to prove whether creativity is dead or very much alive.”
Donal Keenan, D&AD COO: “Our new brand manifesto captures a belief that runs through everything we do, across our Awards, Learn, and Talent programs, because the future of commercial creativity depends on keeping the spirit of making alive.
“Creativity today is more decentralized than ever, coming from makers, creators, in-house teams and a new wave of independent studios. Our role is to ensure all these voices are equipped and inspired to keep pushing creative excellence forward.
“Yet in this abundance, creativity risks becoming diluted. Brands are finding it harder than ever to cut through and truly engage audiences, which is exactly why this provocation is needed.”
“Shut up and make. The biggest threat to our jobs isn’t AI, it is apathy. If we believe creativity is dead, if we believe it is alive, we are right.”
Lisa Smith, D&AD president and Uncommon Global CDO: “Creativity doesn’t die, it drifts. It gets buried under deadlines, data and fear of taking risks. This manifesto is a reminder to the industry that ideas are only as powerful as the people brave enough to make them real.
“As creative leaders, we have a responsibility to protect that spirit – to keep making, experimenting and proving that bold, human ideas still matter. D&AD exists to champion that pulse. To show that creativity isn’t just alive, it’s vital.”
Nils Leonard, D&AD trustee and Uncommon co-founder: “We talk like proud reporters on a slow motion car crash. Thousand word essays on LinkedIn mournfully posted late at night about how our castles made of bean bags and free Haribo are falling down around us, about how fragile creativity is, except it isn’t.
“Yes, we are the passengers on the bus falling at a thousand frames from the bridge, the problem is we are also the drivers. Technology, in-housing and influencers didn’t kill creativity, we did. It dies every time we spend more time wanging on social and every time we start believing our jobs are content solutions.
“Shut up and make. The biggest threat to our jobs isn’t AI, it is apathy. If we believe creativity is dead, if we believe it is alive, we are right.”
The 2026 D&AD Awards open for entries on November 26, 2025.
Images
Credits
Client: D&AD
Agency: Uncommon Creative Studio
