VML CEO Jon Cook wants more creative ad formats on streaming platforms

Ads have burst onto the streaming scene in recent years, with Netflix and Disney+ about to celebrate the first anniversary of their ad tiers. Streaming has always promised an evolution of traditional TV advertising, which has been a dominant form of reaching consumers for decades. Like many creatives, Jon Cook, CEO of newly formed agency VML, hopes to see more innovation in the space as it becomes more mature.“

Where I think we’re lacking and would like to see the biggest progress [in streaming] is being way more creative with the formats you’re able to do,” Cook says on The Current Podcast. “I’m hoping as streamers get more and more into advertising, they’re not just plopping 30-second TV formats on the front of a show you might watch. […] That will be a huge miss.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, Cook breaks down how VML came up with the now iconic social media presence of Wendy’s, the innovations he would like to see in the streaming ad space, and why he thinks there should be “pixie dust” sprinkled into every piece of storytelling.