News from the Nest: Ciclope 2026 Recap from Little Bird & Friends

By Becca Falborn, CEO & Founder/President, Little Bird

Every October, the masterminds of advertising flock to Berlin for the 3-day long Ciclope Festival. It’s a meeting of the minds in commercials, ads, branded media and beyond; with panels discussing topics ranging from AI and creative briefs to just pure passion for the craft. For me, Becca Falborn, CEO of Little Bird, a creative representation company with a roster of companies from production through post, the biggest benefit to Ciclope is simple - just being there. 

This year was my third time attending Ciclope with the largest attendance from my roster: Caravan, Cowboy Bear Ninja, Cutters Studios, Let It Rip Pictures, and Maverick Media Group all came along. What I find to be so beneficial with this festival, is everyone can go into it with different goals and come out with their own golden goose egg of wisdom, insight, and experience. So, what was mine? 

I’ll start with the talks that stood out to me the most - The panel about the iconic Coinbase campaign, “Coinbase: How an Idea Survives the System” that was live action and NOT produced with AI. Hearing the costume designer, Ameena Kara Callender speak about how she made the actors look like they were characters from a video game of sorts with tailoring, paint, and these stocking-like-sock-masks. It’s the pinnacle of showcasing pure creativity and talent and what I personally fear is the industry is starting to lose in the rapid demand and expectation to incorporate AI technologies as opposed to allowing creative minds to truly unravel and produce something real, tangible and amazing. 

The other talk I found to be especially interesting was, as always, Jason Kreher’s with iconic director Jonas Åkerlund: “The 90% Rule: Jonas Åkerlund and the Divine Dissatisfaction”. For those of you who don’t know who Jonas is, he has directed probably every iconic music video and performance from the biggest names in music since the 90’s and 2000’s: Christina Aguilera, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Blink-182, Blondie, Duran Duran, Lady Gaga, David Guetta, Kesha, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Metallica, Moby, Ozzy Osbourne, P!nk, the Smashing Pumpkins, Rammstein, Britney Spears, the Rolling Stones, U2 and Ghost. Jason on the other hand is equally as iconic in the advertising industry and is currently Chief Creative Officer at DE-YAN, previously holding roles as Partner at Maximum Effort, CCO North America at Accenture, and CD at Weiden and Kennedy. 

If you’ve kept up with my recaps in the past, you know Jason’s been featured and remains a staple in the Ciclope program (rightfully so - never change, Jason). The chemistry between Jonas and Jason was palpable and welcoming. The two have worked together over the years and very closely recently, preparing for this moment on stage together. After showcasing Jonas’ iconic reel of work, you felt like you were sitting in a living room with these two, reminiscing about realness, creative, and process of craft. Despite being in an audience of hundreds of people, close to a thousand probably, it felt intimate. Jason shared something that Jonas shared with him, being the pinnacle of creativity he is, “I’ve never wanted to be hot shit, I just want to be the shit for as long as possible” and I feel like a lot of people needed to hear that humbling message. There’s ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys, but if you’re always really good at what YOU do, you don’t have to be pompous about it. Consistency and self awareness really is key in maintaining success in an endearing way. 

Now, enough from me - as mentioned, our roster came through strong in Berlin this year. So I wanted to expand this writeup with their insights as well as some industry friends we spent time with, asking the following question:

“The highlight of the trip was getting to see how great creative people go about doing their work. I loved the entertaining and informative talks by Tor Myhren at Apple and by director Pablo Rochat, and I feel like they will affect my own process. I think it would be largely beneficial for the organization to release the program and attendees on the app a bit earlier in future years.” 

“The new venue was fantastic. The space itself is very inspirational and it was much easier to access all the talks I wanted to this year. I always encourage folks to attend Ciclope, it's a real celebration and an examination of craft.” 

“Berlin in particular... a little chaotic, a little artsy; professional, prepared & unprepared at the same time - a little bit like this year's Ciclope. A one of a kind mix of production & creative minds from around the world talking craft, debating the future, and networking like the next big project depends on it. And of course, finally meeting those familiar faces from shoots and Zoom calls.
This year is not as easy to put into words, but it left me thinking about where our industry is heading, the challenges ahead, and how we make sure the future is still driven by creativity rather than algorithms. Loved the panel with Michel Gondry, bringing his usual dose of beautifully positively weird artist energy.
Hearing Alma Har’el talk about carving her own path, challenging the mainstream, and taking things into her own hands was equally inspiring. It was a good reminder that we need to keep experimenting, playing, taking risks, and more often ignoring the algorithm. People like Pablo Rochat, Ramaj Djafari, and many others show us what happens when imagination gets the freedom to run wild. Not everything needs a strategy deck. Sometimes, you just need a good idea and the guts to make it happen.
Listening to Lauren Greenfield was truly special, a fascinating social study of the world we live in that I believe everyone should see. Good talks, fresh insights, and, most importantly, the chance to reconnect with the people who make this industry what it is.”