Most Contagious 2020 /

From fluids to feelings: the team behind Bodyform’s taboo-busting Womb Stories campaign on what it takes to push past functional benefits and make work that your daughters will be proud of.

Most Contagious meets Mean Tweets in this session as Fernando Machado, the man who made Burger King’s divisive Moldy Whopper campaigns, faces his harshest critics.

A ‘sea of sameness,’ a tough sales target, and three partners who just couldn’t quite get it together: Join us for a talk-within-a-talk-within-a-talk about how to make the complex look simple and how Adam&eveDDB created an ad that sold televisions, a movie and a gin.

How does the world’s biggest brand show up with some optimism in the crappiest of years? In the face of a health and economic crisis how do you demonstrate empathy without looking naïve – and back it all up with action as well as words?

Covid-19 has consumed 2020, but advertiser-turned-activist Will Skeaping will be on stage to remind us why ‘the climate and ecological emergency is the new setting for all stories – the next big looming coronavirus-on-meth that will change everything in all our lives for ever,’ and what our industry should be doing about it.

If we dished out awards at Most Contagious, Uncommon would get Agency of the Year. No contest. In this session, co-founders Lucy Jameson, Nils Leonard and Natalie Graeme, will explain how they built an agency that nailed the mood of 2020 with a succession of campaigns selling everything from telly to mental health to, well, nails.

How the Criminal Justice System Has Failed Transgender Americans. 12 Ways You Can Help Eradicate White Supremacy. The headlines are direct and evocative, but the source might surprise you. In this session we’ll interview Ben & Jerry’s European MD on how a brand can use its voice to create ‘linked prosperity’ for suppliers, employees and customers.

If you want to know what building the future looks like, a Chilean startup using AI to make plant-based alternatives to dairy and meat products is a great place to start. Join co-founder Matias Muchnick to find out what they do, how they do it, and what the success looks like for a company that’s tackling one of our biggest sustainability issues.

Tom Standage, deputy editor and head of digital strategy at The Economist, will tell us what we should all expect from 2021: the macro trends that will influence business, brands and consumers in the year ahead.

In this talk, Oriel will discuss the creation of One School, the first online portfolio school for Black creatives that he founded this summer. He will pass on tips and advice to anyone thinking of starting their own diversity program and explain why the industry's lack of diversity starts at school.

With more and more brands compelled to push parts of their business online, we’ll look at the challenges and opportunities this presents: who’s making it work, and how have they made that happen? As almost every aspect of our lives now has a virtual equivalent, we’ll examine the implications for brands and their agencies.

In this session, we’ll look at the arguments fuelling concerns about rampant capitalism and ask: what must brands do next year to help drive positive change?

The rise of social ecommerce has changed the way that people shop, and what was once a simple swipe up on Instagram has evolved to enhance the entire retail experience. In this session we’ll outline why social shopping is here to stay.

More brands are using their advertising to advocate divisive social and political issues, but do they really understand the effect these messages have on their customers and business? James Swift explores the burgeoning body of academic research for answers. Whether you think brand activism is a good citizenship or corporate conceit, this talk will help you weigh the risks and rewards.