Advertising is Fiction: From Commercials to the Oscars and Back

Christian Norlyk, founder and creative director of the Jalabert agency, shares the story behind a creative journey that has taken the company from a startup with no business plan to an Oscar nomination. In a fascinating talk, the bureau's courage to make unconventional decisions is unveiled – such as when they won a new client by pitching just a single sheet of paper with one sentence, which resulted in 14 days in New York where they had to say yes to everything. Or when they applied speculatively for the "Short Films with Oscar Potential" pool because it felt like the only right choice.

The talk unfolds the central idea that drives Jalabert's work: that the boundary between advertising and fiction has never existed. In reality, it always comes down to one thing – stories that people want to experience. Christian shares insights into how ambition and creativity can transform a small agency into something that reaches the biggest stages.