BLKJ Havas’ Kristian Pineda: A Mentee’s Guide to Drought, Doubt and the Vegas Hangover

Kristian Pineda, Copywriter at BLKJ Havas Singapore, 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 Pineda wraps up his learnings from the week.

I’ll start things off by admitting something I don’t know if I should: I flew into Vegas feeling the furthest thing from creative. Off the back of a busy month with a new client and a gruelling pitch before going on leave, I landed in the desert with somewhat of a creative drought myself.

But somewhere between the jet lag, fireside chats and barside conversations, I picked up a few lessons.

TIP #1: Impostor syndrome is a mirage that everyone sees.
In a room with over 100 of the world’s up-and-coming creatives, impostor syndrome can feel more real than anything on the Strip. But soon I realised something weirdly comforting: everyone feels it. Yes, even that CCO on the panel who’s had more metal than the Vegas Sphere.

What matters is what you do with that feeling. Many panellists mentioned the idea of looking for work that makes them say, “Ugh, I wish I’d done that.” I found no shortage of that in the Production & Post and Music Video jury room I got to sit in, with personal favourites being “Weight of Pain” for Uzbekistan’s National Agency for Social Protection and “Sorry” for Fleurop. My “Ugh, I wish I’d done that” list grew even more as I spoke to the other mentees. And that, to me, was a sign that great work isn’t made in the absence of impostor syndrome, it’s made in spite of it.

TIP #2: Don’t be afraid to look the sun in the eye.
The idea of spending a week surrounded by some of the top creative leaders can feel intimidating. But where else do you get to hear about the legendary Alexandra Taylor’s own (in her words) “fuck ups”? Or 72andSunny’s Global CCO Matt Murphy’s love for marble sculpting, and how the friction in older art forms unlocks something that technology’s ease can’t? It’s honestly something you can’t quite get anywhere else, and certainly not this early in your career.

But just as valuable are the conversations I had outside of the scheduled talks. As a wallflower who’s not the most comfortable with approaching people, these chats weren’t so much about the extra advice or the ‘insider info’ I could gather. They were a vote of confidence that everyone was worth talking to, including me.

So, don’t be afraid to go up to anyone, say hi (and thank them for taking the time to be there), and you’ll be surprised: they’re oftentimes just as interested in what we have to say, too. And of course, don’t actually stare at the sun.

TIP #3: A North Star is everything in a changing landscape.
You probably saw it coming, and we mentees did too: AI was brought up in almost every panel and fireside chat. But what was refreshing was the fact that none of the leaders pretended to know what the future held for sure.

Instead, they held onto timeless truths. Whether it was Dentsu Creative’s Global Chief Creative Partner John Mescall saying “Worry about how great you can be at being human”, or VML Global Chief Experience Design Officer Kaleeta McDade’s advice on how “steering into a crash” is how we can navigate the chaos, I started worrying less about where the industry was headed and started figuring out what kind of creative I want to be, whichever way it goes.

TIP #4: It’s not a hangover if you don’t sober up.
Before going on this program, part of me wondered just how much I could take back from a week, and whether the feel-good emotions and motivation would wear off eventually. And as I’m finishing this write-up back in Singapore, back in the thick of the action, I don’t necessarily feel more ‘motivated’. But I find myself returning to the gems I’ve scribbled down in my notebook, speaking up a little more and listening even more deeply.

So, is my ‘creative drought’ over? It’s honestly too early to tell, but what I can say is that that week in Vegas has certainly filled up my well.

Check out more 2026 LIAisons reflections below:

Swarangi Joshi, Group Head (Copy) at Enormous Mumbai.
Kristian Pineda, Copywriter at BLKJ Havas Singapore.
Ata Zhao, Creative Director at TBWA\Shanghai.
Seth Low, Senior Creative at McCANN Singapore.
Malik Bernardo, Associate Creative Director at Dentsu Creative Philippines.
Soham Ghosh, Creative Director at Ogilvy Gurgaon.