ADFEST Pattaya 2026 opens with the spotlight on human potential

Humanity seems to be at the centre of ADFEST 2026, even as AI and tech-led factors transform that way humans create meaningful experiences.     

Being held under the powerful theme ‘Human+’, ADFEST 2026 happening in Pattaya from Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st March 2026 at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), Royal Cliff Hotels Group, is founded on a clear conviction: true, enduring value lies not only in tech tools, but in how people are empowered by them. 

According to the statement shared by ADFEST,  Human+ calls for a people-first approach, one that amplifies the essential human qualities of creativity, curiosity, culture, empathy, resilience and compassion. “The ‘+’ represents the powerful forces and energy that elevate humanity. It is a framework for expanding human capacity, meaning and impact. At its heart, creativity ensures that as the world evolves rapidly, humanity remains at the epicentre of progress.” 

Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of ADFEST, states, “Human+ perfectly reflects the spirit of ADFEST. At its core, ADFEST has always been about people, the human connections, human insights and human creativity that drive our industry forward. Even as we embrace AI and technological advancement, genuine inspiration and collaboration can only happen when humanity remains at the centre.” 

This year’s ADFEST theme, Human+ has been brought to life in an animated film, created and produced by GEEK PICTURES, in partnership with The Post Haus and Primary Color Music. The striking film underlines ADFEST’s undertaking to re-examine how technology can expand creativity and enrich lives in a positive way. 

Over 770 delegates from 56 cities are gathering at PEACH to exchange ideas, challenge conventions and inspire the next wave of creative breakthroughs. 

ADFEST 2026 features 61 world-class speakers from 20 countries, who will present 27 sessions, 7 interactive workshops and mentorship programs.  

The event also hosts the Production Hut and Craft Hub as well as exclusive networking events. This year’s festival will also showcase immersive exhibitions and film screenings of all Lotus Award entries, culminating in two prestigious awards ceremonies on 20th and 21st March 2026. These ceremonies will unveil the winners of the ADFEST Lotus Awards, Young Lotus Workshop, and the celebrated Fabulous Five New Directors. 

From Insights to Impact: Creative Data that Amplifies Ideas 

Ian Forrester of DAIVID and Matus Balogh of CreativeX took the stage to tackle one of the industry’s most pressing tensions: the growing volume of creative output and the shrinking clarity about what actually works. Together, they presented a framework for unifying creative, media, and measurement data into a single workflow, making the case that fragmented data sets are producing what they called the creative data paradox: the more data collected, the less teams actually understand. “Sometimes the more data we have, we actually know less, because we’re drowning in signals,” Balogh said. Using Boots as a case study, across more than 3,500 creative assets, the session demonstrated how emotional data, when measured at scale, can consistently predict real media outcomes and tell teams not just what performed, but why. 

Feeling Is the New KPI 

Chris Gurney of Crisp Group, Vittorio Badini Confalonieri of Benetone Films Advertising, Sam Koay of Koay Films, and Seiya Matsumiya of Black Cat White Cat Music came together to make a case for feeling as a measurable creative standard. The panel argued that as AI continues to level the playing field on execution, the idea itself, and the emotion it carries, becomes the last meaningful differentiator. 

 “For many years, we have been obsessed with execution and craft. But that came at the expense of the idea. Now, AI has levelled execution to something really small. So what’s left? We can finally go back to asking ourselves what it is that we want to say and why we want to say it this way.” The session closed on a question the panel left deliberately open: if feeling is a KPI, is it time to add it to standard campaign evaluation?