‘Apathy a bigger threat to creativity than AI,’ says Nils Leonard
The Uncommon founder has collaborated with D&AD on a manifesto to reignite the act of making across the creative industries.
Is creativity alive or dead? That’s the question D&AD is posing with its new manifesto to kick off its 2026 awards program.
The message is a deliberate provocation to an industry at risk of overthinking itself: creativity isn’t being stolen by technology, it’s being left undone. According to the non-profit, we’re scrolling instead of doing and the threat isn’t a lack of ideas but a lack of action.
The brand manifesto, created in collaboration with Uncommon, marks the start of a new era for D&AD, one that places action and experimentation back at the heart of commercial creativity.
“Any creative, any company, any industry: we are all just the story we tell ourselves,” Nils Leonard tells The Drum. “The problem is that the story of creativity has gone from being written by the work we make to being written by thought pieces from doom-laden strategists, rants from flagellant disgruntled freelancers and a plague bell ringing press rhetoric around AI coming for our jobs.”
The Uncommon boss argues that apathy is a bigger threat to creativity than AI ever will be. “The answer is always just to make. This work is hopefully a mirror to who is and will always be the most powerful people in the mix – the creatives. We just want people to care enough to make.”
To drive home this message, D&AD and Uncommon have released a black-and-white, gothic-inspired film. When pressed on inspirations, Leonard explains that there’s a hint of Edgar Allan Poe as well as the old stop-motion vampire flick Nosferatu.
“The simple, sharp non-slick energy felt at odds with decks and blogs filled with AI. Pedro, who brought this to life, just had this really sparse, very high taste approach the team loved.”
Leonard feels that people do care about creativity but have “somehow resigned” it to a fate that we feel we have “no agency” in.
“The distraction of new threats, the creaking of the holding companies and the general level of the work is captivating to watch,” he explains. “Our thinking is a simple plea for the creative community to rise out of their torpor and do what they do best.”
Being truly creative today is a “power” in Leonard’s eyes, not a “moustache twiddle” or a nice to have or a “cute moment” in a meeting.
“It is a survival mechanic and always has been. It is how you silence critics and leave passengers behind. It is your way through, your way out, your way to matter.
“It is what they should really be paying for and it is worth whatever you say it is. It doesn’t care what your job title is, whether you have a neck tattoo or if you are in-house or not. If you believe creativity is dead, if you believe it’s alive, you are right.”
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