Three layovers and 18 hours of flight time sandwiched between two major pitch presentations. Not exactly the ideal window for a trip across the world. But when Anselmo Ramos (co-founder, Gut) —an old colleague and the jury president of this year’s Andy Awards—called me to join him in Croatia as a judge, I couldn’t resist.

It wasn’t just the invite. It was the people. When I heard it had all my old friends/contemporaries like Icaro Doria (president and chief creative officer, DM9), Menno Kluin (global chief creative officer, Iris), Ronald Ng (global chief creative officer, MRM), Fernando Machado (operating partner, Garnett Station Partners), Ali Rez (chief creative officer MENAP, Impact BBDO), and about a dozen of the sharpest, most revolutionary creative minds in the business, it became a no-brainer.

I thought to myself, “If not anything else, this will be a mental vacation.” And I was right.

Croatia welcomed us with rain and a chill in the air. But the room we entered was warm with laughter, wild ideas, fierce debates, and indescribable energy that only exists when creatives come together. It didn’t feel like work. It felt like play…the kind of play that makes you remember why you chose this madness in the first place.

Well, madness may be the wrong word, as it was also fused with deep logic. One person would passionately champion a campaign, building such a beautiful case we all found ourselves nodding along. Then someone else would step in with a razor-sharp argument against it, and suddenly that felt right too. It was fascinating how both perspectives could be equally convincing. That’s what made it so special: it wasn’t about being right or wrong. It was about seeing the same thing from a dozen different eyes, and appreciating the depth behind it. Not just the work, but the thinking of the jury itself.

For three days, we forgot about job titles and targets. We remembered what it meant to be storytellers. Dreamers. Weirdos. We remembered the joy of disagreement. The joy of being wrong. The joy of being together.

Javier Campopiano (global chief creative officer, McCann Worldgroup) made us laugh every time he fell behind in our spontaneous Mexican wave. Thasorn Boonyanate (chief creative officer, BBDO Bangkok) handed out menthol inhalers to wake up our tired brains. Anselmo Ramos insisted we all inhale them together, like a bizarre creative ritual. Icaro wandered around with his Leica, capturing poetic little moments. Fernando scribbled down quotes from our conversations—fuel for future t-shirt designs. Chaka Sobhani (president and global chief creative officer, DDB Worldwide) and Richard Brim (chief creative officer, adam&eveDDB) were always sneaking out for cigarette breaks and catching up on life. Ali and I found ourselves talking about India, Pakistan, politics and cricket. Ronald, always calm, always kind, only spoke when he had something meaningful to say. Which, somehow, was every time. On our last night, Richard introduced us to a card game called The Mind. We ended up playing it till 4 am, completely hooked. The beauty of it? Either the entire team won, or we all lost together. It felt like the perfect ending to our trip.

This experience reminded me of the early days of advertising when the business felt like a rebellion. Back when creatives were authentic and free. When we sold ideas by jumping on tables, cracking eggs on our heads, and singing in meetings because we believed that ideas needed feeling, not formatting.

Today, things are different. Creatives wear blazers. We talk business. We have to. The industry has changed. But here, in this old town in Croatia, I saw a flicker of that old magic again. And it felt like coming home.

One afternoon, walking through Zadar, we came across the 'Pillar of Shame'—a medieval post where people were once chained, mocked, and punished. And laughingly, we decided that the silliest one among us would be made to stand in the centre of the room with the rest of us chanting, 'shame, shame, shame.'

I’ve come back from Croatia with a full heart and a reminder of why I’m in this business. For great effing ideas that can make you feel. And maybe, just maybe, we need to start doing that again. 

So here’s to the Andys and Gina, Julia, Ariel, Enas and Madhu for creating a space where the madmen still exist. And for reminding us that the best kind of creativity will always come from the ones who care a little too much. 

Maybe we as an industry need to be sillier together, just so we can stand around the room and say 'Shame, shame, shame'.

The author is founder and CCO, Famous Innovations and was on the jury for the Andy Awards for which Manifest is a partner.