Too often, our industry pits agencies and clients against each other: agencies chase brave, award-winning work, while clients prioritise business results. But must it be either-or?

In When Bravery and Business Collide at ADFEST 2025, Carlos Camacho, Chief Creative Officer, and Belynda Sim-Mak, Head of Strategy at GUT’s newest outpost in Asia, tackled this head-on: “Bravery isn’t binary.” In fact, they argue that when creativity and business needs collide, the magic happens.

For sceptics who think they don’t have “brave enough” clients, Carlos and Belynda remind us: “Nobody is born brave.” They cited Mercado Livre, Latin America’s biggest online marketplace, which initially resisted bold ideas. Over time, however, they embraced campaigns like the Grand Prix–winning Feed Parade, which recreated Brazil’s Pride Parade on Instagram after COVID-19 cancelled the real event. The result? International creative and effectiveness awards, a spot on TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies list, and a client now hungry for their next Grand Prix.

So, where does bravery begin? Carlos and Belynda shared six challenges brands can explore:

1.    It has to be first: something nobody has done or solved before.

2.    It’s hard to pull off.

3.    It has to stand against something, whether a clear enemy or tension.

4.    It stands for something, authentically.

5.    It speak truth, about the product, brand, or consumer or culture.

6.    It feels zeitgeisty: it captures the spirit of the time and couldn’t have been done a year ago.

Bravery can come from solving an unspoken problem. Take Heinz Hidden Spots, inspired by a simple insight: 80% of gamers eat while playing, but multiplayer games make it hard as they cannot be paused. So, Heinz partnered with Call of Duty, mapping out in-game “safe zones” where players could grab a bite. They even turned game maps into burger wraps. Soon, gamers worldwide started mapping their own Heinz Safe Spots, impacting 12 million players across 13 countries and racking up half a billion impressions.

Bravery can also mean speaking an uncomfortable truth. When NotCo needed to prove that NotMayo tastes just like real mayo, GUT didn’t do a staged taste test. Instead, they asked the biggest haters of mayonnaise to try it. Their disgust turned into a campaign that skyrocketed social engagement by 220x and boosted purchase intent by 14%.

But bravery isn’t just for creatives. “Marketing can be brave. Strategy can be brave. Media can be brave too,” Carlos and Belynda emphasised. They backed it up with examples:

·       The Artois Probability saw marketers bravely embracing, instead of shying away from their heritage, with a piece that married algorithm with art history.

·       Self-Love Bouquet by DoorDash saw strategists bravely turning away from the traditional Valentine’s Day audience – couples – choosing instead to sell a bouquet with 11 roses, and 1 Rose™ intimate toy to solo lovers.

·       Mercado Livre’s Ballboards bravely transformed the traditional medium of pitch-side billboards into ball cannons, underscoring their promise of ultra-fast delivery.

So how do you know if you’re brave enough? The duo introduced GUT’s Bravery Scale, a framework to help clients assess where they stand and how far they’re willing to push. “Every client – and every person – has their own path to bravery. Know where you are, know where you want to go, and start.”

As they wrapped up, they echoed the words of GUT founder Anselmo Ramos: “Life’s too short to make shitty ads.” No gut, no glory. So if you’re wondering when to collide bravery and business, the answer is simple: now.