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The Biggest Misconceptions About These Roles in Advertising
Clio Awards’ top-ranked talent share what people get wrong about working in creativity, PR and beyond
The Clio Awards have long celebrated the industry’s most awarded work and the organizations behind it.
With the launch of the inaugural Global Talent Rankings, that recognition now extends to the individuals whose creativity, leadership and collaboration brought those achievements to life. Based on the official individual credits submitted with winning 2026 Clio Awards entries, the rankings recognize top-performing talent across five global regions and seven disciplines.
To commemorate the occasion, Muse asked a few of the ranked creatives: What is the single biggest misconception about your discipline?
The following has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Creativity is easy
I’ve never believed our job is to make advertising. Our job is to create work that earns attention because it matters to people. Whether it’s a film, technology, design or an experience, the medium is simply a choice. The responsibility never changes to solve a real problem in a way only creativity can. Kalpesh Patankar, Chief Creative Officer, Designer, Leo UAE
People think being a “creative” means you just sit around waiting for genius to strike while doodling on a pad and pretending it’s work. In reality, it’s a brutally practical job. Most days, I’m killing ideas, not creating them and trying to convince everyone that the simple, slightly boring‑looking idea is actually the brave one. The misconception is that creativity is chaos and vibes. It’s really about being weirdly obsessive, surprisingly logical and just stubborn enough to keep going after the fifteenth “can we see another direction?” Reed Collins, Chief Creative Officer – Asia Pacific, Ogilvy
People always think that the copywriter comes up with the idea while the art director makes it pretty. However, I always believe it’s a collaboration between both. The visual execution isn’t all about decoration but rather it’s about enhancing the idea. To me, apart from making ideas look beautiful, we as art directors make ideas inevitable. Luqman Daud, Junior Art Director, Ogilvy Singapore
Account managers are project managers
Thinking we’re outsiders to the creative and strategic process, confined to one moment, one lane. The truth is, we need to get involved, take ownership and guard ideas from day one. We know our clients’ business, we read culture in real time and we turn that into an opportunity that elevates the idea itself. We are strategic partners in creativity and business, not spectators. Natalia Díaz, Account Director, DDB Latina Puerto Rico
All is based on the client’s partnership. The best account leaders build trusted relationships and become true business advisors to their clients. With a client like [French global insurance brand] AXA, for example, my role is not just to lead projects. It is to deeply understand the business, anticipate challenges, identify opportunities and connect them with the right talent across the agency. I often see myself as a bridge between the client and the agency. When trust exists on both sides, that’s when the most ambitious ideas and the most meaningful business outcomes can happen. Claire Viala, Client Lead France, Publicis Conseil
The biggest misconception is that account leadership is simply project management and delivering exactly what clients have asked for, on time and on budget. The real value lies in looking beyond the request, understanding the deeper business problem, challenging assumptions and, most importantly, bringing the right people together to create a more ambitious solution. Juan Roman, Account Director, BBDO Chicago
Press coverage is the finish line
Most people believe PR is all about distributing press releases, or that coverage is guaranteed. But the biggest misconception is that coverage is the finish line. Not all coverage does the same work. A press release picked up by fifty small websites fills a report and changes nothing. One strong story in the right publication can shift how the market sees you. The real measure of PR is what happens after the story runs. Did perception move? Is our point of view shaping the industry conversation? That takes years, and it is the part of PR most worth doing. Chhaon Bahl, Corporate Communications Manager, Publicis Groupe ME
The biggest misconception about influence today is that reach equals impact. The era of vanity metrics is no longer the priority. True influence is about building trusted communities and putting creators at the heart of the conversation. We try to deprioritize massive follower counts for dedicated subcultures. Cultivate trust, not numbers. We aim to co-own culture by partnering to set ambitions for communities rather than dictating objectives. If everyone needs to know one thing, it’s this: make influence a dialogue, not a monologue. And that’s where the real magic happens! Holly Black, Senior Manager, Consumer PR & Influence, Ogilvy Singapore
The biggest misconception is that PR is about sending press releases or managing a crisis.
Today, PR is about shaping conversations, not just securing coverage. Culture moves at the speed of social, and brands are judged by what people say about them, not just what they say about themselves. Our job is to understand what people care about, spark stories that travel across communities, creators, media and platforms, and build credibility in ways that advertising alone can’t. The best PR doesn’t chase attention. It earns influence. Nyko Rodriguez, Director, Consumer PR and Influence, Ogilvy Singapore
Brands control the narrative
Brands are not what companies say. They’re what people remember, repeat and pass on. Nathalia Amadeu, Global Brand Director, Vaseline, Unilever
The work is done once the ad goes live
“Publish it and they will come.” We are at the mercy of Machiavellian algorithms. The battle only officially kicks off after we’ve gone live. Karl Elhitti, Head Of Social, Memac Ogilvy UAE
Strategy is complicated
The biggest misconception is that strategy has to be complicated. It doesn’t. Great strategy makes complexity disappear. It distills commercial ambition, human truth and cultural context into something so simple and so undeniable that the right creative idea almost becomes obvious. Sumegha Rao, Executive Strategy Director, Ogilvy Singapore
The biggest misconception is that strategy is a stage in the process.
It’s not. It’s the system.
Strategy should shape every decision that follows—from the problem we define to the work we make, the experiences we design and the results we measure. If strategy only appears in a deck at the beginning of a project, it isn’t strategy. It’s documentation.
Another one is that strategy is the job of those with strategy in their titles. Great strategically-driven companies are those where everyone is strategic, not just those with strategy in their titles. Educate more to do more strategy. Tahaab Rais, Chief Strategy Officer, Director, Editor and Writer, Publicis Groupe
Related: Meet the Top-Ranked Global Creative Talent of 2026
