“A CEO Once Killed an Idea Because He Thought It Was Making Fun of His Girlfriend”
Little Black Book is the official media partner of the Dead Ad Society, the hungryman-founded award show that resurrects killed ideas.
Launched in 2024, this revival of hibernating concepts sees entered scripts being performed live by an improv group at the awards show. This year it will take place on September 18th at The Mint in Los Angeles after kicking off in New York City last year. A panel of judges crowns a winner, which is then brought to life by hungryman and a collection of companies – including Work Editorial, Sonic Union, ARC, Synapse and the Screen Actors Guild – that support the show with funding, time and resources. Last year's winning script was recently launched as a finished production for KUL MOCKS, a non-alcoholic beverage brand.
“We called it an anti-award show,” says Caleb Dewart, managing partner of hungryman. “It’s supposed to be wild. The scripts were performed live - a glorified table read. It was messy, imperfect, and that was the point. That’s the heart of it.”
Entries for this year’s show are open until August 15th, 2025 at 4pm PDT.
Little Black Book is catching up with this year’s jurors for honest conversations about the ideas that got away – the ones that died, came back, and the ones that stayed dead.
Up first is Mark Gross, co-founder and co-CCO of Chicago-founded agency Highdive (which recently opened in New York).
LBB> Is there an idea you’re still emotionally attached to, even years later?
Mark> Years ago, when I was a GCD on Bud Light, one of our writers, Jeb Quaid, had an idea I absolutely loved – impromptu sax solos. It was a spoof on ‘80s sax players like Kenny G and the first time I read it, I was in tears. I still remember it vividly to this day.
LBB> What did the death of it teach you about the business? Or about yourself?
Mark> It taught me humility and how to accept defeat. I quickly learned that no matter how much you love an idea, there’s always someone on the other side who doesn’t see it the same way. And that’s just part of the business.
LBB> What do you look for in a dead ad that makes you say, ‘This deserves to live’?
Mark> Dead ad or alive ad, I always look for the same things: something that’s never been done, something simple, something that elicits emotion, that breaks the mould, and that tells a great story.
LBB> How are you feeling about judging scripts in real time, in front of a live audience?
Mark> I love it. That’s how ads are meant to be experienced – viscerally, in real time, in the moment. That’s how we absorb them when they air, so that’s how they should be judged.
LBB> How will you approach judging a script that’s being performed live? Do you think the crowd will sway you?
Mark> Absolutely. Crowd reaction is hard to ignore. If something moves a room, that says a lot. And honestly, I sometimes doubt my own taste – hello, imposter syndrome – so having the audience as a gut check is a welcome crutch.
LBB> Dead Ad Society is part award show, part séance. What’s your mindset heading into the room?
Mark> Pure excitement and anticipation. Whether it’s this show or another, seeing great work for the first time is exhilarating, motivating and humbling. You see a killer idea and think, ‘Damn, that’s brilliant’. Then comes the motivation to up your own game – and the humility that follows: ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’.
LBB> What’s the most ridiculous reason an idea of yours was killed?
Mark> A CEO once killed an idea because he thought it was making fun of his girlfriend.
LBB> What’s your theory on why great ideas often don’t survive the process?
Mark> Clients are often too afraid to take risks. I have no doubt our teams can write the best ads in the world – it’s selling them that’s the hardest part. Convincing clients to be brave is the real battle.
LBB> Outside of this award show, have you ever seen a killed idea come back to life and succeed later?
Mark> Many times. My partner Chad is amazing at holding onto unsold ideas and resurrecting them later. One idea we had ended up becoming a Super Bowl ad. The impromptu sax solo idea? It eventually became a Jersey Mike’s online video. A good idea is never truly dead.
LBB> Have you ever been the one to kill an idea, and regretted it?
Mark> Ha, not really. Nothing I’ve killed has come back to haunt me by becoming something huge.
Is that bragging about my idea-picking skills? I hope not.
LBB> If you had to hold a funeral for a dead idea, what song would play?
Mark> ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ by Bon Jovi. I’m from Jersey!
To find out more about and enter the Dead Ad Society, click here.
