The next breakthrough in production. A new guide for creative excellence. The next-gen KPI. The human tool that unseats the algorithm. ADFEST 2026, Humanity+ kicks off its sessions announcements with four game-changers for the advertising industry at a time when that’s exactly what it needs.

THURSDAY 19 MARCH | 10.05-10.40

Candies From a Stranger: Bridging Worlds in International Productions

Takehito Kuroha, Director & Executive Producer, CONNECT THE DOTS, Tokyo

Gita Karmelita, Producer, CONNECT THE DOTS, Jakarta

Suthida Sihasavetra, Producer, CONNECT THE DOTS, Bangkok

The next breakthrough in production isn’t AI. It’s cultural intelligence. And that’s why CONNECT THE DOTS was born. AI can write scripts and build storyboards, but it still can’t explain why a client in Tokyo won’t say “no” directly. And in global production, those details cost time, money, and trust. Technology has expanded creativity across borders, yet one obstacle persists  invisible cultural gaps and wrong assumptions lead to wasted budget, slow approvals, wrong partners, and projects that never reach their full potential. Because work is global but communication isn’t.

In this session you will meet CONNECT THE DOTS, the “glocal” collective of freelance producers across Asia with a tailor-made approach to help agencies and production companies work abroad, and understand its point of difference. Instead of guesswork, cold emails, or networks built on chance, its cultural mediators guide clients from the first conversation - clarifying needs, translating expectations, and connecting them with collaborators who truly fit the project. The results are smoother workflows, fewer surprises, stronger relationships, the ability to achieve more while spending less, and opening doors to regions and partnerships you never thought about.

Takehito Kuroha is a director and producer with experience shooting across all continents. Born to an Italian-Japanese family, he began his career as an assistant director and translator for Japanese shoots in Europe, gaining early insight into how differently cultures communicate, collaborate, and solve problems on set. As his career grew, he observed the same issue again and again - the global production ecosystem rarely reflected the nuanced needs of each project, nor the cultural differences that define smooth collaboration. In response, Tak joined forces with freelance producers in Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and other Asian countries to co-found CONNECT THE DOTS, not as a typical service company network but as a mission-driven collective, building a team of cultural mediators capable of bridging languages, expectations, and working styles.

Gita Karmelita is an Indonesian film and advertising producer recognised for her rare ability to connect people, cultures, and creative visions across borders. She entered the industry young, and emerged as the trusted producer for local brands while also producing feature films, expanding her understanding of global audiences and multicultural collaboration. With more than 15 years of experience, Gita is now one of the most established and sought-after freelance producers in Indonesia and co-founder of CONNECT THE DOTS. She is valued not only for her production expertise, but especially for her empathy, cultural fluency, and ability to work effortlessly with teams from different countries.

Suthida "Ann" Sihasavetra is a producer known as a driven force and problem solver for international clients filming in Thailand. She manages productions of all sizes, from small-scale shoots to large, complex campaigns, for global brands such as P&G, Heineken, and Shell. Throughout her career, Suthida observed that international productions often face challenges with local logistics, regulations, and cultural nuances. This insight led her to join CONNECT THE DOTS in Thailand, where she ensures that international production in Thailand is efficient, culturally informed, and successfully executed, regardless of its size.

THURSDAY 19 MARCH | 15.40-16-15

Making People Believe: Storytelling in the Age of AI

Oliver Atkinson, Managing Director, Casual, London

We’re drowning in content, but no one is concentrating. The attention economy is broken, and GenAI is only accelerating the flood. Even when you’re noticed, 95% of decisions happen subconsciously - meaning most communication never lands. So how do you create work the brain can’t ignore? With humanity’s oldest technology: story. Stories aren’t just entertainment; they trigger the brain’s internal “this matters” signal. When narrative hits emotionally, it releases oxytocin and dopamine, the chemicals that drive trust, memory, and action.

This session will show that happening live. 40 wearable monitors will be distributed, that track oxytocin and dopamine-linked immersion in real time as content plays. Attendees will see first-hand which moments spark engagement, and which ones lose the audience, revealing why immersion predicts behaviour far better than likes or clicks. They will also learn how to design campaigns that sync with how the brain actually processes meaning, and how a stagnant brand increased revenue 56% in one quarter by applying a single psychological insight.

Oliver Atkinson is the Managing Director for EMEA at Casual, a global production group specialising in behaviour-led brand storytelling. Under his leadership, Casual has been named the UK’s number-one brand video production company five years in a row. Oliver has led BAFTA-winning series for major UK broadcasters and partnered with Fortune 500 and Global 2000 brands on award-winning global campaigns. His work is grounded in behavioural science and emerging neurobiology. He focuses on how attention, emotion and memory shape the way people connect with stories, and how brands can use these principles ethically to create content that genuinely moves audiences and drives action — especially for marketing and communications leaders who want work that respects their audiences as much as it engages them. He also hosts The Audience Connection podcast, where he interviews leading thinkers in creativity, behavioural science and communication.

FRIDAY 20 MARCH | 16.15 – 16.50

GUT Instinct: Intuition vs Algorithm

Jessica Davey, Managing Director, Asia, GUT, Singapore

Meyvi Wedelia, Creative Director, GUT, Singapore

This session is an exploration of what it means to use your gut in a data-driven world. In a world dominated by data, AI, scale and white noise it can be easy to lose sight of one of our most powerful human tools - intuition. The gut is our second brain, with 500 billion neurons vs the brain’s 86 billion, but it is frequently ignored and misunderstood. GUT Asia’s Managing Director, Jessica Davey, and Creative Director, Meyvi Wedelia, will take attendees through a unique perspective of the power of intuition, what it means for creativity, bravery and most importantly, for our industry as it goes through a pivotal moment of transformation. They will talk about what makes intuition fundamental to creativity in Asia, a region that represents such a diverse range of cultures, communities and audiences, illustrated by recent creative campaigns, cultural insights and provocations for the audience. The session is an exploration of what it means to use your gut in a data-driven world.

Jessica Davey moved to Shanghai from Melbourne, Australia, in 2004 and started a career spanning over 20 years, five countries and local, regional and global roles. She has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Google, Coca-Cola, Unilever, L’Oreal, Samsung, Heineken and Nestle, and prides herself on building deep partnerships with clients through solving business problems with creativity. Her roles have included Global Managing Partner, Chief Marketing Officer and Global Client Lead and now Managing Director for GUT Asia, through which Jessica has worked across all facets of the industry, bringing together cross capability teams, deep specialists and performance while putting creativity at the centre of everything.

Meyvi Wedelia has helped global giants such as Google, YouTube, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and AB InBev move beyond advertising and into culture in a 16-year career, making their global voices feel more at home in markets as nuanced as APAC. The See It Be It alumna has worked and led teams in APAC, Europe, and South America, bridging cultural nuance with global scale, spoken and judged at the YouTube Works Awards and MMA Smarties, and her work has picked up applause from Spikes Asia, The One Show, One Asia, MAD STARS, and more.

FRIDAY 20 MARCH | 16.50 – 17.25

Grandma Famous vs Croisette Famous: A Clarification of Creative Excellence

Eric Monnet, Global Director of Creative Excellence, WPP, London

There’s a shadow army in our industry. You may have heard of them. Maybe you’ve seen them in festivals, sometimes on stages. They’re attending creative councils and CCOs around the world are asking for their views on the work at all time: they’re the Creative Excellence people. They guide great work into winning work. But winning awards is just the tip of the iceberg for them. At this session, you will meet Eric Monnet, Global Director of Creative Excellence at WPP and Chief of Staff to WPP’s global Chief Creative Officer, who will inform and inspire you with an inspiring overview of all the work done ahead of any award subscription, the evolution of the discipline alongside the industry’s love & hate fascination for awards and what you need to get to the best work of your career.

Eric Monnet is an advertising nerd and while he started his career as a Strategic Planner and a Business Leader, he moved quickly to the creative side where he transformed creative excellence from an executional tool to a living and breathing core that orchestrates the various disciplines that impact the creative product. Eric worked in global networks such as TBWA, McCann Worldgroup and DDB in Paris, New York and London before joining WPP. He created the conditions for his companies to win global accolades such as Creative Company or Network of the Year in award shows around the world and is the proud recipient of the Advertising Club of New York’s President Award.

ADFEST 2026, Human+, will be held Thursday 19 – Saturday 21 March 2026 at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand.

A must for the ambitions of all industry professionals., ADFEST’s 3-day event brings together the industry’s top minds, rising stars and most innovative ideas. With star-studded speaker sessions, workshops, screenings and networking events, register now to join us at the region’s most celebrated creative festival.

ADFEST is open fo delegate registration. For more information on delegate packages and fees, click here.

ADFEST is a not-for profit entity that believes passionately in its role to nurture and support the creative industry in the Asia Pacific and MENA region. It is 1 of only 7 regional creative festivals included in the WARC Creative 100 Rankings, 1 of 12 awards included in the Campaign Brief Asia Rankings, and 1 of 22 awards included in The Drum World Creative Rankings.