Even Horowitz, left, and Laurie Lam

There’s no way around it: AI dominated Advertising Week NY 2024, from Oct. 7-10. While the topic isn’t necessarily new to the industry, it’s also important to acknowledge that it’s not going anywhere soon, either.

The week was filled with panel discussions on topics on the AI tools that drive a higher ROI and brand lift; how tech companies are crafting compelling–human–narratives of the faces behind the technology in order to keep customers engaged; and the importance of using AI end-to-end in the marketing lifecycle.

And these talking points are based on the panel discussions that Strategy was able to attend over a hectic four days. In all, there were more than 500 panel discussions and more than 1,200 speakers.

But now that the dust has settled on Ad Week NY 2024, we thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at the top three most interesting panel discussions we attended (that we haven’t already covered).

AWNY 2024: e.l.f. Cosmetic wins big by appealing to subcultures

In the panel, “How to go viral (the art and science of social media strategy),” Movers + Shakers CEO Evan Horowitz and e.l.f. Beauty CBO Laurie Lam discussed two key campaigns that combined for more than 100 million views.

The first campaign included a 2023 true crime mockumentary on “e.l.f. pinching,” a form of intergenerational cosmetic theft, which reached 12 million viewers in AMC theaters and 50 million views on social media. The second campaign was e.l.f. cosmetic’s collaboration with water brand Liquid Death. The resulting “corpse paint” campaign garnered 50 million views on social media.

For the latter campaign, e.l.f. produced a spot that included goth teens reconnecting with their estranged goth father. The social media version of the campaign simply featured a coffin of cosmetics being lowered into a grave to funereal music.

Lam said the goth community really responded, which was a light-bulb moment for a marketer. “We realized that we actually connected with a couple of subcultures that really saw this and said, ‘oh, you’re actually talking to me,'” Lam said. That felt really great as a marketer, because a lot of times you’re trying to really make sure you’re talking to everyone.”

From left to right: Simon Whitcombe, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Radhika Duggal and Phil Cook

AWNY 2024: What sports brands are getting right

Telling the backstories of athletes in the lead-up to major sporting events, and the importance of instant, post-game feedback, were top of mind during “Going for gold: how sports brands are winning the relevance race.” The panel discussion featured Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall, MLS CEO Radhika Duggal and WNBA CMO Phil Cook.

Duggal said that, ahead of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico 2026 FIFA World Cup, the MLS marketing team is focusing on what the players have “overcome to play the game that they love. That’s the thing that’s going to captivate people,” she said. “The second thing is how do you make sure you can use data, technology and analytics to reach the right customer with the right story at the right time?”

Moderator Simon Whitcombe, who is VP, global business group at Meta, pointed out that Golden State Warriors’ star Steph Curry checks social media at half-time to get instant feedback. “How quickly are you going to your phone after winning at gold medal at the (France) Olympics?” he asked Davis-Woodhall.

“Oh, it was instant,” she replied. “And on Instagram, and I definitely wasn’t supposed to.”

Both agreed it highlighted the athletes’ direct – and instant – connection to fans with the fuss of sponsorships and brands. Removing that clutter for the sake of directness is something brands can learn from, Cook added.

From left to right: Carson Davis-Tinnell, Josh Glodoveza, Michael Vito Valentino and Janina Santillan

AWNY 2024: How to break through Gen Z’s passive scrolling

“Gen Z hates your ads (here’s how to reach them anyway).”

But why? And how? The panel included Panel COO Josh Glodoveza, editor-in-chief of NowThis Michael Vito Valentino and Janina Santillan, director of brand and social media at Adore Me. The theme was how to turn passive scrolling to active viewing.

“The larger conversation that Gen Z is having right now is that they’re dominating the creator economy,” said Vito Valentino, whose media network has 74 million followers. “It’s not just because they’re consuming content, but because they’re also creators themselves.”

Because Gen Z is filled with content consumers and creators, it’s important that brand partnerships reflect that. Gen Z consumers can easily detect when these partnerships are inauthentic, Glodoveza added. “I tell brand marketers, especially brand leaders, ‘look within your own community. Who is championing your products? Who’s actually using it without getting paid? Who has a history with your brand?'”