Creative LIAisons: Create and Make Challenge
The stakes were sky-high for future stars on Day 3 of the Creative LIAisons program. After two days of soaking in insights from industry titans, participants dove into the ‘Create and Make’ workshop challenge, powered by BMF, Superplastic, and TikTok.
The nail-biting "Create and Make" challenge began with an immersive workshop led by Tara McKenty, Creative LIAisons 2024 moderator and chief innovation officer and executive creative director at BMF Sydney. Nancy Bennett, experiential creative producer at Superplastic, joined Tara in guiding teams through experience mapping. Tara introduced the Crazy 8 rapid ideation exercise, followed by Anthony Dever from TikTok, who guided teams in storyboarding their shortlisted concepts. Experts then provided valuable insights and feedback during creative consultation sessions.
SEVEN HOURS OF INTENSE IDEATING AND CREATING
12 teams—each comprised of mentees from different backgrounds—had less than one day to ideate, craft, and pitch compelling content to an esteemed jury. Working in a time crunch, and having 10-12 creatives all on one team, led each team to find the best ways to work together, work efficiently, and use their individual strengths to arrive at a common goal. "There are many ways to get to great ideas. This workshop arms participants with shortcuts to get to the best creative innovation. I use these techniques myself," shared Tara.
12 TEAMS, TWO HOURS OF CREATION, ONE WINNER
After an intense workshop, teams had just two hours to dream up a new operating company for the fictitious villainous Supercorp, a part of Paul Budnitz's wildly successful Superplastic Universe. Known for its animated characters like Janky and Guggimon, Superplastic commands a massive following of over 26 million fans across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. With collaborations with giants like Gucci and Fortnite, and millions in real and virtual product sales, the pressure was on. Teams had to pitch this fictional entity via a TikTok video, crafting new characters with intriguing backstories and innovative product concepts.
The jurors were astounded by the creativity, humour, and craftsmanship that emerged in just two hours, with entries tackling themes from fake news in the media to cancel culture to hypersexualization. "Thank you, everyone, for the impressive work; you all simply blew me away by how far you exceeded my expectations," expressed Nancy Bennett. "We hope to do this again with Creative LIAisons next year."
Winning Team Doom Dolls, pictured and listed below, created 'Foul Play,' a fictitious Supercorp whose purpose was to "empower Slackivists to piss off Billionaires." Their creativity led them to Doom Dolls: a collection of voodoo dolls representing the world's most hated Billionaires. Leaning into the gen Z's love of escapism by using gaming and social media, they created a way in which gen Z can get out their frustrations with the elite. Adding to the excitement of winning this workshop, Team Doom Dolls was awarded with a party bus ride to an evening of golf and drinks at Top Golf by Superplastic, BMF and TikTok.
Team Joys R Us also received a special mention for their provocative idea that took evil to the next level by creating vibrating sex toys for kids, as a means to call out the hypersexualization of children.
REFLECTIONS FROM THE LIA COMMUNITY
"The program’s commitment to diversity gives attendees the opportunity to collaborate with other young talent from various backgrounds. This opens each individual up to a diversity of thoughts and perspectives." said Tara McKenty, Creative LIAisons 2024 moderator, chief innovation officer and executive creative director, BMF Sydney.
"Winning was super unexpected, but just as awesome was the experience to work with such a diverse team the whole day. Everyone brought in their different angles. As someone who’s been working in the industry for eight years, this has been a good career refresh." said Josep Jover, senior art director, DDB Group Aotearoa Auckland.
"At first, the intensity left me feeling lost. But something magical happened as I collaborated with my team: I realised I was lost, but not alone. We fed off each other’s energy and eventually found our way." said Hanely Jimeno, creative copywriter, VML Madrid.
