The illustrations weren't softening the message. They were reframing it.
The audience was the hardest room in advertising: not consumers, but the people who make sustainability campaigns for a living. Jope's message was aimed squarely at them. Brands are woke-washing, consumers know it, and the industry needs to hold itself to account. His first public address as CEO was an accusation.
The challenge was landing that without putting the room on the defensive. Visuals as confrontational as the argument would have turned it into a lecture, so we went the other way. Rune Fisker (Agent Pekka) drew warm, playful illustrations full of life: people dancing on Earth, farmers farming, forest scenes, vivid colour throughout. The words said hard things; the visuals gave the room somewhere hopeful to land. The illustrations weren't softening the message. They were reframing it.
The Drum, Ad Age and Campaign all covered it as one of the most discussed sessions of the week.
