2026 Winner

Facing a surge of AI slop threatening to flatten originality in the creative industry, Advertising & Design Club of Canada wanted to defend the value of human creativity through the 76th ADCC Awards. Rather than ignore AI, the campaign confronted it head-on, transforming discarded generative outputs into eerie, collapsing human forms that visually revealed their lack of soul. By leaning into AI’s uncanny limitations, the work underscored a clear message: while machines can imitate, they can’t originate. The result was a culturally relevant campaign that reinforced the irreplaceable role of human instinct, taste and intuition in producing truly award-worthy ideas.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Executive Creative Director, Design: Hans Thiessen
Associate Creative Director, Designer: Justin Kowalczuk
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Hannah Au
Senior Motion Designer: Jesse Shaw
Account Director: Tianna Fung
Client: Michelle Ovcaric, Alexis Bronstorph