Adobe's Oscars Ad Serves Up a Vivid Extravaganza of Creativity

Most folks aren’t as creatively driven as Billie Eilish, Shepard Fairey or Gene Wilder. But Adobe’s new ad, which will air during Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast, invites everyone to open their minds, dig deep, and dare to unleash their potential. 

Developed by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the minute-long film, titled “Creativity for All,” includes glimpses of contemporary icons such as Eilish and Fairey, along with human-rights activist Malala Yousafzai. Wilder’s rendition of “Pure Imagination,” from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, provides the soundtrack. 

The vibrant, colorful and sometimes breathless montage of images serves up content culled from sundry sources (including the work of the creative luminaries themselves), with Adobe menus mixed in:

“We tried to create a film so packed with creativity that you notice something new every time you watch it,” GS&P creative director Matt Edwards tells Muse. Key themes include social justice and art (Fairey’s “Make Art Not War” lithograph fits into both of those frames), as well as advertising (you’ll notice a scene from McCann Melbourne’s “Dumb Ways to Die” toward the end).

“At its best, advertising permeates popular culture and does some good in the world,” Edwards says. The viral success of “Dumb Ways” “proves that a powerful creative idea can make something as bland as train safety entertaining and beautiful,” he adds. 

Naturally, creative professionals deserve recognition for a job well done. A companion film bestows such props (for three and a half minutes!), listing over 1,000 names of contributors for each segment of “Creativity for All,” and thanking everyone, everywhere, for using Adobe products:

“The credits film is one of the most important aspect of the campaign,” says GS&P creative director Wes Phelan. “It’s a celebration of every single person who has ever opened an Adobe program, and it recognizes the people who actually made ‘Creativity for All’—the whole community.”

What’s more, “we’ll be sending this credits film to everyone who talks about our 60-second Oscars spot—but we’ll also be posting it on social, submitting the entire list of names to award shows, and including it on Adobe channels,” Phelan says.

That’s a savvy move for a campaign designed to “democratize” creativity and encourage participation (via Adobe products, natch).

“Creativity is the great enabler, and it’s within all of us,” says Adobe CMO Ann Lewnes in a blog post. “Creativity has the power to influence politics, culture, and social norms, so it’s critical that we hear from a broader, more diverse set of voices, especially the next generation of creators.”

Toward that end, the company also launched a partnership with Teach for America, designed to deliver Adobe tools and training to 15,000 teachers and 500,000 students across the nation’s classrooms this year.

From Feb. 6-11, Adobe will donate $5 (up to $500,000) each time folks use the #CreativityForAll hashtag to credit teachers, mentors, family members or celebrities who fuel their creative drive.

CREDITS

Ad Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Client: Adobe
Title of Creative Work: “Creativity for All”

Adobe
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer: Ann Lewnes
Vice President, Experience Marketing: Alex Amado
Chief Creative Director: AJ Joseph
Director, Advertising and Production: Joel Giullian

Creative
Co-Founder/Partner: Jeff Goodby
Co-Founder/Partner: Rich Silverstein
Chief Creative Officer: Margaret Johnson
Creative Director: Matt Edwards
Creative Director: Wes Phelan
Art Director: Jason Gan
Copywriter: Clark Chamberlin

Production
Head of Broadcast Production: Leila Gage
Executive Producer: Tess Kenner

Graphics
Director of Graphic Services: Jim King

Account Services
Managing Partner: Brian McPherson
Account Manager: Meghan Mast
Assistant Account Manager: Hannah Hadley

Business Affairs
Director of Business Affairs: Judy Ybarra
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Heidi Killeen

Production Company
Director: Buck
Executive Creative Director: Ryan Honey
Creative Director: Jenny Ko
Creative Director (Interim): Georgia Tribuiani
Associate Creative Director: Richard Gray
Art Director: Kyle Strope
Executive Producer: Luisa Murray
Producer: Sunny Sattari
Producer: Ryan Mack
Animation Director: Daniel Coutinho
Animation Lead: Esteban Esquivo
Animation Lead: Peter Kallstrom
Editor: Paal Rui
Editor: Billy Kostka
Editor: Marianne Karaan
Editor: Andrew Gura
Storyboard Artist: Silvia Bassoli
Designer: Ayla Murtada
Designer: Ben Nichols
Designer: Camily Tsai
Designer: Chelsea Lee
Designer: Dae-Han Yi
Designer: Daniel Hyo Kim
Designer: Debora Cruchon
Designer: Esther Moon
Designer: Eve Hodgkinson
Designer: Jigyu (Jigs) Yoon
Designer: Jong Lee
Designer: Kenneth Robin
Designer: Kevin Kim
Designer: Lauren Gaballo
Designer: Lina Yu
Designer: Mike Payne
Designer: Mike Tello
Designer: Shannon Rollins
Designer: Soon Joo
Designer: Zoe Schneider
Animator: Jake Armstrong
Animator: Jasmine Ung
Animator: Jasper Hilgers
Animator: Junyi Xiao
Animator: Kyle Griggs
Animator: Sam Kim
Animator: Stephen Loveluck
Animator: Taylor Griggs
Animator: Zach Eastburg

Mix and Sound Design
Company name: One Union Recording Studios
Senior Audio Engineer: Eben Carr
Executive Producer: Jaylen Block-Smith

Song:
Music: “Pure Imagination”
Vocals: Gene Wilder
Writer: Anthony Newley
Writer: Leslie Bricusse
Licenses Courtesy of: Downtown Music Publishing LLC
Licenses Courtesy of: Taradam Music, Inc.
Licenses Courtesy of: The Roald Dahl Story Company Limited
Licenses Courtesy of: Warner Brothers Pictures

Music Arrangement:
Company name: Human
Executive Producer: Carol Dunn
Creative and Arrangement by: Justin Hori