Making the Ad Age A-List with Brian Bonilla, Senior Reporter @ Ad Age

Who doesn’t love a good inside scoop? As a Senior Reporter for Ad Age, Brian Bonilla is not only a captivating writer but also a crystal ball for the industry. He’s written countless articles on topics ranging from agency mergers and acquisitions to top campaigns from the biggest brands. For Brian, the challenge isn’t a lack of industry tea to cover, it’s sifting through the mountain of emails vying for his attention.

Today’s episode is our Super Bowl special. In preparation for the Big Game, we settled in for Brian’s hottest takes on upcoming Super Bowl spots, the do’s and don'ts when promoting your agency, DEI improvements in the industry, and how to make the Ad Age A-List.

Here’s a quick recap of the convo:

Why the most talked about Super Bowl spots will come from snack and sportsbook brands

Three things agencies should know about when promoting themselves 

Spots that missed the mark at last year’s big game

How are DEI efforts progressing in the industry and what’s left to do

How the agency Highdive consistently produces spots that score big with audiences

What Martin Scorsese will bring to the short-form content world with his advertising debut

Why the Super Bowl may be losing relevance despite drawing a huge audience 

What it’s like to be in the room that decides who makes the Ad Age’s A-List 

Plus, some rapid-fire questions that’ll leave you breathless

Connect with Brian on X (Twitter) or LinkedIn.

If you’d prefer to read the biggest takeaways from our conversation, catch the write-up here.

Articles mentioned: 

Meet the mayors of Drip City

https://www.bkmag.com/2023/12/14/meet-the-mayors-of-drip-city/

How agencies are marketing themselves – and why it’s more important than ever

https://adage.com/article/agency-news/how-agencies-are-marketing-themselves-and-why-its-more-important-ever/2532731

The Ad Age Super Bowl playbook: https://adage.com/events/2521696

What Gen Z Wants to See from Super Bowl Advertisers: https://adage.com/article/marketing-news-strategy/what-gen-z-wants-super-bowl-advertisers/2539226