David Kolbusz is Chief Creative Officer at Orchard, with a career across Droga5 London, Wieden Kennedy New York, BBH London, Goodby Silverstein, Mother, and TBWA Toronto.

In this episode, we talk about what actually makes advertising work stick. Mental hooks that live in your head. The difference between chasing culture and understanding it. And why David thinks the industry needs to be more honest about the myth we repeat, that “the work comes first.”

We also break down recent examples David loves, including a meme-driven taco ad and KitKat’s Break Squad, as a way to talk about creative restraint, timing, and leadership in modern advertising.

Kevin Frank has lived the full arc. Apple Creative Director for nearly a decade, then Executive Creative Director at LinkedIn, where he helped turn the team into Ad Age In House Agency of the Year and a two time Best Places to Work honoree.

After LinkedIn, he hit pause on the corporate grind and moved to Paris. He taught at The American University of Paris, mentored creative leaders, wrote a book on leading creative teams, and even joined an Elvis cover band, because why not.

We talk about what it means to lead creatives when nobody teaches you how, how craft survives inside massive systems, how to build a team that runs like a machine without losing its soul, and what a real reset looks like when you have the courage to take one.

Creativity isn’t a “nice to have” - it’s infrastructure for growth.

Simon Cook, CEO of Cannes Lions, shares what the world’s top leaders are learning about turning creativity into a repeatable system that drives brand building, innovation, and business growth - even when budgets tighten and AI reshapes the rules.

In this episode, we cover:

• From polishing trophies to leading Cannes Lions: Simon’s path (and what he learned along the way)

• Why Cannes is shifting from celebrating outputs to rewarding the inputs behind great work (the new Creative Brand Lion)

• What 50 global CEOs said about unlocking the next chapter of growth through creativity

• How to build “conditions for success”: culture, rituals, accountability, KPIs, and creative infrastructure

• Creators at Cannes: what the creator economy means for brands, platforms, and agencies

• AI integrity standards: protecting trust, authenticity, and authorship in creative work

If you’re a CMO, founder, agency leader, or anyone trying to make the business case for creativity, this one’s for you.

Follow Second Wind for more conversations at the intersection of creativity, marketing, and growth.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:43 From agency to Cannes

04:55 Creativity as infrastructure

06:15 The Global CEO Forum

11:25 Reframing creativity as innovation

16:35 Creators, brands, platforms

22:15 Access, ERA, talent pipeline

28:40 AI integrity standards

34:55 Legacy: creativity as a system