Human+ Drives the Conversationon ADFEST 2026 Day 2

ADFEST 2026 is gearing up at PEACH, Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand. This year it is welcoming 770 delegates from 56 cities who have been streaming through its doors since the start of the three-day festival. 

ADFEST 2026 runs from 19th March to 21st March 2026 and hosts a packed program to keep eager delegates busy, including 61 back-to-back speaker sessions, regular broadcasts at the breakout stage, 7 interactive workshops, the Production Hut hub and an exhibition of all the entries submitted for the Lotus Awards as well as live presentations of the awards to the winners.

PROGRAM SESSIONS

On the second day of the festival, the main stage is the place to be for a full agenda of speaker sessions and content. 

Ted Lim from DIFF Creative Consultants and Andreas Moellmann from FUTURE INC kicked off the day’s proceedings with “The Uncomfortable Truth about The Future of Creativity”. As agencies continue to consolidate and AI accelerates, this session asks the big question: what will creativity look like tomorrow?

Following closely, Stephan Schwarz from LePub Singapore and SJ Heng from Heineken Asia-Pacific took to the stage for their session titled, “How Creativity Can Spark Real-World Connections”. They demonstrated how deep cultural understanding can transform brand campaigns into platforms for real social interaction.

Naoki Tanaka from Dentsu Lab presented the next session, called, “Designing Inclusive Futures: Uniting Technology and Creativity to Move Brands and Society”. It reveals how brainwave-driven performance art can expand participation, accessibility, and the role of technology in shaping culture.

Before lunch, delegates were privileged to see “Short Films for ADFEST 2026 by the Fabulous Five”, showcasing the films created for this special award category. A panel moderated by Michael Ahmadzadeh, Partner & Executive Producer from electriclimeº, APAC & MENA discussed the inspiration behind the films. The panel features all five new directors, Ariyaporn Boondeepathum, Irvine Prisilia, Karin Nogami, Lisa Aoki and Nagi Tajima.

The first session after lunch was presented by Toyota, Honda Motor and Hakuhodo titled, “TIGER and DRAGON. When Giants Unite”. The team on stage includes Kenichi Yagi from Toyota Mobility Foundation, Tokyo, Hideaki Takaishi from Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Prompohn Supataravanich from Hakuhodo First Co., Ltd, Bangkok. and Koji Suzuki from Hakuhodo Inc, Tokyo.

“A Global Brand’s Challenge Beyond Borders” was up next, presented by Joohee  Lee from Cheil, Korea. This session explored how Big Tech companies can move beyond specs and stereotypes to create emotionally resonant ideas that travel across 200 markets.

Warunyoo “Big” Sorasetsakoon and Prasit “Pop” Kunanuphanchai from BBDO Bangkok followed on to the stage, presenting “When People Become the Brief Again”.

The next session was run by Jessica Davey and Meyvi Wedelia of GUT Singapore with “GUT Instinct: Intuition vs Algorithm”. They revealed how trusting your gut can unlock braver, more culturally resonant creativity across diverse Asian markets.

Delegates finished the day’s sessions with “Grandma Famous vs Croisette Famous: A Clarification of Creative Excellence” presented by Eric Monnet from WPP, the final speaker of the day. This session explores how Creative Excellence has evolved beyond trophies to shape the industry’s highest standards of craft.

BREAKOUT STAGE

On Day 2 of ADFEST 2026, the Breakout Stage is reserved for delegates that want to view “Juries Insights” – footage of award discussions, straight from the judging floor.

In the morning, juries shared nuggets of information for Digital & Social, Digital Craft, Design, Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus Award categories.

After lunch, delegates were able to view the inside story from juries for Film Craft, New Director, Brand Experience, Commerce, Direct, Entertainment, Media and PR.

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS

Four interactive workshops took place on Day 2 of the festival, all attended by delegates who pre-registered for each event.

On Friday, 20th March, in the morning, delegates joined the “Plus Humans: The In-Game Ads Awards, Live Judging in Session”, run by Rey Tiempo of Co-Op Play & Game On. He taught participants to understand what makes in-game ads tick & judged their output at the end of the session.

This was followed by “D&AD Conditions for Creativity”. In this practical workshop, Donal Keenan from D&AD unpacked brand-new D&AD research which reveals what it takes to deliver creative excellence. Delegates then collaborated to put one of the insights into practice; leaving the session with a tangible way to effect change in their creative work.

In the afternoon, Steve Davies from Advertising Producers Association (APA) ran “The World Producers Summit”. It brings the region’s top producers together to gain valuable insights on the production industry. Those attending were there to brainstorm possible solutions to common issues and explore new ways of working across the industry. This is a popular annual event at ADFEST that champions the culture of inclusivity and collaboration between creative resources.

The World Producers Summit was closely followed by a pre-registered session, “Producers+”. This interactive session connects senior production leaders through focused one-to-one meetings that are designed to spark meaningful collaboration and cross-border growth. This session was moderated by Yann Williot from ME Group & Echo Films and Nancy Tran from ME Group & May Production.

LOTUS ROYALE LOUNGE

The Lotus Royale Lounge at ADFEST is a meeting space for the festival’s most loyal delegates who have attended the festival at least three times. VIPs will have access to the VIP Delegate Registration line, VIP zoning at the award presentations, a VIP table at ADFEST parties and priority registrations for workshops. At the Lotus Royal Lounge, they can enjoy benefits including scheduled massage services, coffee, soft drink, and snacks. The Lotus Royale Lounge is located at the 2nd floor of PEACH, to the left of the escalator.

Follow all the latest news and events via #ADFEST2026 #HumanPlus on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and TikTok (www.tiktok.com/@adfestofficial). To view the full program, visit www.ADFEST.com