For April Fools’ Day, Adweek Surprised Rising Ad Talents With Unexpectedly VIP Zoom Calls

This year, traditional April Fools’ Day gags feel pretty out of sync with the state of the world, as a global pandemic continues to leave people locked in their homes and riddled with anxiety. So Adweek decided to go in a very different direction and create a surprise that anyone would love.

We invited a small group of students, entry-level creatives and other emerging talents to call into one-on-one video chats via Zoom, then let them in on the secret: They would actually be talking to some of the biggest names in the industry.

Here’s a look at how it went:

The VIP guests joining the fun were:

• Isaiah Mustafa, Old Spice ad icon and a star of It: Chapter Two.
• Wendy Clark, CEO, DDB Worldwide
• Cindy Gallop, equality advocate and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn
• Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and CEO of VaynerMedia
• Fernando Machado, global CMO of Burger King and two-time Adweek Brand Genius honoree

The emerging talents we surprised were:
• Emma Havighorst, college senior and podcast host of Generation Slay
• Gabby Hollowell, copywriter
• Stephanie Torres, social content specialist
• Arielle Kimbarovsky, senior, Boston University
• Mary Buzbee, creative
• Lauren Meadows, art director

Adweek wants to thank each of the participants for making time for this moment of much-needed positive energy, which also resulted in some truly fascinating and uplifting conversations.