David Droga is a legendary advertising creative and executive. Hes also CEO of Accenture Song, one of the largest advertising and marketing services firms on the planet.For those two reasons, we kick off Brand New World with Droga at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Why there and then? Its the worlds biggest convergence of media, marketing, entertainment, technology, and brands, and a mirror of whats happening and a bellwether of whats to come, on a global scale. Theres no better time and place to start a conversation about how brands, and the marketing and advertising industries, are approaching AI at this crucial and nascent moment.In this episode, I talked to Droga about what Accentures $3 billion commitment to AI means for his work, how it compares to the first digital revolution two decades ago, where it may be headed in the not-so-distant future, and the impact it will have on the art of persuasion and pop culture.On AIs existential threatsFundamentally, I think we have to look beyond job preservation. This is not about preserving specific jobs within an agency. What we look at is what it unleashes for the skillsets that you have, and how you can parlay that into new things.AI is going to open up possibilities that we dont understand quite yet and allow us to do things we wish we could have done, or didnt anticipate being able to do. And if we have that attitude, then we will move forward.On AI vs human creativityNot all creativity is worth saving. I know thats a provocation, thats probably going to annoy some people. But I really mean it, because just turn on the TV. Look at most advertising. Look at most of the stuff that follows you online. Who wrote this shit? Whos creating this stuff? Does that need saving? A lot of its written by something more alarming than AI, which is research and conformity. And thats why its bland.Now, whats interesting about that is, that it does not erase the need for incredible things, innovative things. Things that touch you and [allow you to] experience the new. Theres always room for things that are really, really wonderful and delightful. Thats where our role as creators and shapers is always going to be needed and necessary. Thats where my optimism is.Listen to the full episode for more.