Filmmaker Friday Spotlights Chicago’s Ad Legends at Kinowerks

Filmmaker Friday, the monthly community series founded by filmmaker Armin Korsos, packed Kinowerks Studios for a standing-room-only conversation with three of Chicago’s foremost advertising voices: Dave Loew, a multi-award-winning creative director whose work for Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Allstate has earned 34 Cannes Lions among many others; G. Andrew Meyer, the creative force behind Altoids’ ‘Curiously Strong’ and Corona’s ‘Find Your Beach’ campaigns; and Tony Gold, a Chicago-based creative producer and filmmaker whose background in video games, film, and advertising fuels cinematic, offbeat campaigns for brands like Samsung, Nintendo, McDonald’s, and Skittles—turning weird ideas into beautiful stories that actually work.

The evening, hosted in Kinowerks’ state-of-the-art facility and presented in collaboration with Kevin McGlone, co-founder of Agency Afterhours, explored the evolving balance between artistry, collaboration, and business in modern advertising.

From the jump, the panel made one thing clear: budget size does not define impact. “We spent $20 million on the Super Bowl ad for Workday… We spent $20,000 for the Chicago International Film Festival, but they were both a lot of fun, and the clients were appreciative, and the work was good,” said Dave. His perspective carried the weight of decades leading award-winning creative teams and purpose-driven campaigns that range from Fortune 500 brands to nonprofit initiatives for organisations like the Girl Scouts of America and Alliance for Peacebuilding.

G. Andrew traced the thin line where campaigns cross into culture. “People were stealing [our Altoids] bus shelters… selling them on eBay… what I do isn’t art, but we’re getting a little bit close if people are stealing the work.” For him, that blurring of boundaries is the essence of great advertising. “For me, advertising is always a war of art and commerce… our job is to be the go-between that can make those two dissonant things harmonious.”

Image credit: Adam Stuart

If the industry’s old model was big towers and bigger headcounts, the night argued for a different future—smaller, sharper, faster. “You won’t necessarily get better ideas from more people,” said Dave, whose career at agencies like Leo Burnett and Ogilvy has proven that clarity of vision and tight collaboration consistently outperform size.

Tony agreed from the production side. “People tend to come from all sorts of places to production… the best producers… have a breadth of experience… and understand how hard things can be, from all angles.” His north star is simple and human. “We actually get to go out and make something together… those experiences are really marked in my memory… having personal experience with people… is everything.” His verdict on structure: “The best things come from small teams that are intense and… focused together on creating something.”

​Image credit: Adam Stuart​

That ethos mirrors what is happening across Chicago’s ad scene, where lean shops are punching above their weight. The conversation highlighted quality-obsessed teams that have reshaped expectations in the city over the past decade, including Highdive and Quality Meats Creative—proof that excellence now favours agility over bureaucracy.

Beyond scale and structure, the panelists stressed standards. Craft still matters. Accountability still matters. “Accountability’s a thing… if I can’t put you in a room with a blank piece of paper and a pencil and nobody else, and you can’t come out with something in an hour, you shouldn’t be in the business,” said G. Andrew.

For Armin Korsos, the event reinforced Filmmaker Friday’s broader mission to champion Chicago’s full creative ecosystem. “Chicago is an advertising city at its core. With so many agencies here, we want these rooms to be where filmmakers and ad creatives cross-pollinate, share playbooks, and raise the bar together.”