D&AD Judging Week 2016: Thoughts on entertainment

London – LS:N Global spoke to a selection of D&AD judges on how branded content, virtual reality (VR) and the digital world are changing entertainment.

• The Branded Content judging panel examined a variety of branded content, from ads to music videos
• For each judge, the brand should be secondary to the storytelling

When we consider the future of entertainment, it is likely that brands will comprise a major part of the future media landscape. Branded content, where a brand is behind the messaging, is changing the definition of entertainment.

We spoke to judges Paul Bennun, non-executive director at Somethin’ Else, Murray Bell, founder of Semi Permanent, Kerstin Emhoff, co-founder of Prettybird, and Jimmy Smith, chairman and CEO of Amusement Park Entertainment, on the relationship between brands and entertainment. Each claimed that no matter how technology changes, entertainment must be about good storytelling, whether a brand is behind it or not, and all had reservations about VR. ‘Storytelling and entertainment are fundamental to human life,’ says Bennun. ‘We are never going to run out of stories.’