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Jason Apaliski is executive creative director at Pereira O’Dell, where he’s spent more than 15 years. Previously, he was an art director at AKQA.
Favorite project you’ve worked on? There have been so many memorable campaigns over the years. One brand I love working with is Adobe. They are a brand that truly understands their audience and how to engage them by tapping into culture—they also have massive creative ambitions, which is the best type of client to have. Some of my favorite campaigns we’ve created in partnership with Adobe include our Cover Art Song contest with Lil Nas X, What Whack Wears contest with Tierra Whack, and our most recent campaign, ”Create What’s True to You” with Billie Eilish.
What’s your favorite ad campaign? One that sticks out in my head is Wendy’s “Keeping Fortnite Fresh” campaign from a few years ago. Fortnite had just introduced a new mode called Food Fight, inviting fans to choose either Team Burger or Team Pizza based on the world’s two most popular restaurants, Durrr Burger and Pizza Pit. You would think Wendy’s would be Team Burger, but they astutely observed that Durrr Burger only had freezers for their patties, so they aligned with Team Pizza and made it their primary objective not to be the last person standing but to make sure not a single burger freezer was left in the game. Talk about living the brand truth of “fresh, never frozen beef.” It was so simple and smart, but most importantly, it was a great example of how a brand can show up in a way that not only respects an audience’s culture—but adds something ridiculously fun and memorable to it.
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One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? I love cooking. It’s a great creative outlet that has almost instant results. Sometimes it turns out amazing, other times meh, and occasionally you get something that is only worth a compost bin. But the process of creating something from nothing is so fulfilling, no matter the outcome. Oh, and I have long hair and a beard now. Probably time to update my profile image.
What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? AI. For both. There is so much potential, and the technology is absolutely mind-blowing. It’s really a game changer for creative and non-creative types everywhere. The idea that with a few simple words you can create mind-blowing images and videos was unthinkable just a short time ago. It helps us test out and get to creative ideas much quicker. Is it always good? No. But that’s not the point. It’s about embracing a maker’s mentality and blurring the lines between ideation and creation and honestly just playing with things as a point of inspiration. Pereira O’Dell was one of the first agencies to create an AI Lab to do just that—to experiment and just play with things as they emerge—for ourselves but also our clients.
And for as amazing as all of it is, it’s also not a savior or a replacement for true human creativity. It won’t solve all of your marketing problems. It won’t eliminate creative jobs. But it will be a fundamental tool for anyone in the industry for many years to come.
What’s one marketing-related podcast, social account, or series you’d recommend?
Right now, I love @midjourney.gallery on IG. It’s so amazing to see what people are capable of making with the help of emerging AI technology, and always a great source of visual inspiration for me.
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