Goodvertising founder Thomas Kolster on creativity’s commitment problem

Thomas Kolster is a speaker, impact entrepreneur, sustainable marketing advisor and author of books including Goodvertising and The Hero Trap. Here, he offers some unconventional advice for creatives to follow if they want their work to truly make a difference.

Love and impactful creativity have more in common than you think.

Sure, you fall in love at first sight, but somehow the relationship falls apart as that initial fascination turns into shopping lists and guys forgetting to put up the toilet seat.

I see a lot of this pattern in creativity, too. Everything is exciting at the beginning, but over time, the level of effort and care starts to dwindle, which is why most creatives are terrible at impact. We’ve been brought up on delivering ideas, ideas, ideas. Jotted down on napkins or Post-its, almost to prove their disposable nature. OK, I sound old. Today you just prompt AI and get 100 before breakfast. What we haven’t been trained to do is ensure those ideas connect to meaningful change.

There are signs of hope. Over the years, I have watched the Impact category significantly change from being dominated by campaigns in traditional media to breaking free and becoming whatever impact needs: a product, a paragraph changed in an insurance policy or a collection of law proposals. We need more of this, so to help encourage that mindset, below you’ll find some lessons in love which double as advice for impactful creativity.

Download the D&AD Trend Report 2026 to discover six trends shaping the creative industry, including Institutional Conviction, which analyses how corporations are taking real risks on problem-solving work with no guaranteed return.