Ad New Year is that brief moment after The Loeries when the industry resets after a busy award season and looks forward to new work. In this episode, we look back on the past year and on tackling new challenges. This episode features guest host Fran Luckin, CCO at VML, along with Jacquie Mullany, ECD at FCB Africa, and Saf Sindhi, CCO and co-founder of the new independent agency Bananas. This episode centres on the importance of fostering a positive work culture, navigating the impact of AI on the advertising industry, and maintaining creativity in award-winning work. The conversation also highlights personal experiences from the past year, including challenges, strategies for motivation and innovation, the rise of independent agencies, changing criteria for creative judging, and the role of joy and humour in creative projects.