Ogilvy Gurgaon’s Soham Ghosh: Nine Bets I’m Taking Home From Vegas

Soham Ghosh, Creative Director at Ogilvy Gurgaon, was one of the near 130 talented young creatives, selected from around the globe, to attend the LIA Creative LIAisons training program that runs concurrently with the LIA judging week at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas. Here Ghosh wraps up his learnings from the week.

1. Bet on the idea
“We work a lot like Vegas. We’re gambling… trying to solve problems with ideas.”
– Saulo Rocha, ECD, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Los Angeles

Maybe that’s why Vegas felt strangely appropriate for Creative LIAisons. If not gamblers, what are we? There’s no formula that guarantees an idea will work. You can strategize for months, polish it with the best craft and even test it. But eventually, you’re betting on something that doesn’t exist yet. That’s the beautiful, terrifying thing about creativity. So let’s take the plunge. Let’s bet!

2. Bet on life
“Do all the things outside advertising to be good at advertising.”
– Aaron Starkman, Global CCO, Rethink Communications

Where would you have found that insight if you hadn’t travelled and got lost? How would you know about human passion if you hadn’t been in the cricket stadium? How would you craft that emotional dialogue better if you hadn’t fallen in love? The more experiences you collect outside the office, the more references you bring into the room. So, next time someone on LinkedIn champions the odd hours of advertising, you know which quote to drop.

3. Bet on the boring brief
“Often the least interesting briefs can lead to the most interesting work.”
– Shelley Smoler, CCO, Lucky Generals, London

Shelley’s thought made me think about how often we wait for the “big” brief to give us permission to do big work. A great idea doesn’t necessarily need a great brief to begin with. (It does, of course, need a clear brief!) So instead of complaining about the team that got lucky with the exciting project, let’s focus on the work and let luck find it.

4. Bet on disagreement
“We need friction.”
– Andrea Siqueira, Partner & CCO, AMPFY, São Paulo

If there’s one thing we can’t beat AI at, it’s being incredibly agreeable. But in reality, more than agreement, an argument is often the gamechanger. We need people who challenge the thought, pull it apart, bring a different perspective and make it sharper. Isn’t that what brainstorming was always about? Sorry, AI. You’re too kind.

5. Bet against your ego
“The moment you think you’re the shit, you’re shit.”
– Rahul Sabnis, President & CCO, iHeartMedia, New York

Having been fortunate enough to have a few little moments of recognition myself (my first LIA Gold being one of them), I couldn’t agree more. The dangerous part isn’t being proud of your work. It’s becoming so convinced that you’re good that you stop being curious. And interestingly, almost all the CCOs mentioned the same thing when asked what they look for in people they hire – “Hunger.” Because the moment you think you’ve arrived, there’s nowhere left to go.

6. Bet on the impact
“Don’t sell the idea. Sell the impact.”
– John Mescall, Global Chief Creative Partner, Dentsu Creative

Clients don’t wake up wanting an idea. They want their business to move. The job isn’t to make your client fall in love with your idea. It’s to make them believe you want the same thing they do. That you understand their problem. That you care about their brand. So, don’t sell the idea. Sell what happens because of it.

7. Bet on instinct
“Awarding a Grand Prix is like loving someone. You don’t have to talk yourself into it. You just feel it instantly.”
– Geoff Edwards, Managing Director, Creative, GALE, New York

This was my biggest takeaway from sitting in on the jury discussions as an observer. The jury ultimately didn’t give a Grand Prix in the Cultural Catalyst category, and watching the discussion helped me understand the difference between a Gold and a Grand Prix. Between a good idea and a great one. There are arguments. There is craft. There is context. But great ideas seem to go beyond all these. Something that makes a room of very different people arrive at the same feeling. Sometimes, you just know.

8. Bet on ‘your’ AI
“The future résumé will have your skills, your experience and your AI agents.”
– Dominik Heinrich, Co-Founder, Creative AI Academy

It’s time we looked at AI agents as youngsters on our team, whose creative output and development are also our responsibility. We need to train them with our thinking, our taste, our processes, our references and our standards. The future creative may not just have a portfolio. They may have a small team of AI agents and how well we train them might become as important as how well we train ourselves.

9. Bet on imperfection
“F*ck it up.”
– Gary Steele, CCO, McCann New Zealand, Auckland

We’re entering an era where almost everything can be made perfect. AI can clean it up, make it prettier, make it sharper. But maybe the mistake is exactly what we should protect. The slightly imperfect thing. The thing that reminds you a human made it. Perhaps the next great creative skill is knowing what not to perfect.

And since I’m compiling some quotes here, there’s no way I won’t end with a ‘Hangover’ quote.

“Gambling? Who said anything about gambling? It’s not gambling when you know you’re gonna win.”
– Alan

Walking into the Beethoven Hall at Encore for Creative LIAisons felt a little like that. Somewhere between the sessions, the conversations, the jury room and meeting people from around the world who are obsessively trying to make better work, I realised something. I had already won. No, I’m not going back with all the answers, but I got to spend a week being reminded why I chose this industry in the first place. Jackpot, I tell you.