How Marketers Can Reclaim Collective Joy in an Increasingly Vaccinated World

Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Columnist Network series, which explores the tactical thoughts and actions from Adweek’s community of high-level experts. Today, Stephanie Nerlich, CEO of Havas Creative, encourages creatives to meet the moment by harnessing joy in their campaigns. Below, in her own words, she highlights the role of marketing at the threshold of a brighter future. With the vaccine rollout underway and summer around the corner, I’m feeling a sense of reawakening and energy. Although not all is right in the world, many countries are opening back up. New CDC guidance says masks can come off if you’re vaccinated, and people are beginning to ease back into the activities they love. As delighted as I am personally, I’m even more excited by what this means for our business. I’ve been thinking about how getting back to the things we love can reenergize our creative thinking and output, and I’m optimistic about what this reemergence into the world means for our teams, clients and most importantly, our work. No doubt the wonderful, euphoric anthem that Extra debuted last week is inspiration. I was (mint) green with envy when I saw that work because not only was it crafted beautifully, but it also did what great advertising can do—it perfectly captured the mood of the nation and ultimately delivered something even more important than just driving gum sales. The ad showcased what advertisers have always known: Great advertising can meaningfully impact culture. After all, advertising taught the world to sing, fought racism and showed girls they could play. Advertising made diamonds synonymous with showing love, established orange juice as the drink of the morning and created the coffee break. Advertising has always existed to change the way we think. And we at Havas (and all advertisers) are ready to get back to doing just that. The country’s reopening could not come at a better time. Let’s face it: We’re all exhausted. Despite how resilient our people have been—working incredibly hard, delivering award-winning work and making a meaningful difference each day—the past 15 months have been difficult for us all. Combating burnout while still delivering best-in-class creative is an important and ongoing conversation I’m having with our leadership across the group. We’ve taken strides to address critical pain points and come out stronger, but certain challenges, like navigating a pandemic, have been beyond our control. While our leaders are hard at work keeping our creative teams motivated, there’s nothing quite like the places we explore, the people we hug, and the things we do to fuel our passions and inspire great work. And, of course, this has us all talking about the future of work. As one of my leaders recently said, “Creativity survives remotely, but it thrives in communities.” Now that communities are becoming a reality again, it’s important to reexamine our approach to creativity and make sure we’re providing the space for people to tap back into the experiences that inspire and make us happy. While we’re all probably a bit hesitant to say things are back to normal, we’re ready to move forward. New beginnings are here. The weather is turning, people are getting back into their former routines, cities are coming alive again. What better way to demonstrate this reemergence than through fresh, fun and fearless creative campaigns. While we all need to take heed to implement critical learnings from the past year, we are looking for light, bright and authentically joyful content. As we reengage in society, we’re once again able to use our adventures—daily and otherwise—to help shape tomorrow’s creative ambition. Now, more than ever, we must not take the little things for granted. After all, it’s often the little things that ignite big ideas. Enjoying a meal with friends, appreciating the beauty in a museum exhibit and attending a summer concert can be the foundation of a great idea. Lastly, we as leaders must manage expectations around the future of work, the workplace and how we foster creativity as people figure out how to navigate this new world. We need to be flexible and support creative inspiration in new and fresh ways, including our buildings and spaces. While nothing will return to exactly the way it was, we can, and should, embrace those things that will positively impact our work—and not being afraid to share joy again is one big step.