Bold Creativity: Key Findings
- Fear holds bold ideas back when clients resist risk instead of embracing curiosity, experimentation, and cultural relevance.
- Prototyping builds belief by turning abstract ideas into tangible, testable experiences that earn buy-in.
- Culture drives resonance when bold work aligns with real behaviors and conversations people already care about.
The average person sees up to 10,000 ads per day, according to Digital Silk, a leading web design agency. That’s around 625 per hour.
That said, these figures reflect exposure, not the ones that are actively noticed and remembered.
The challenge for agencies isn’t just making something new, it’s making something people can’t ignore.
That kind of work takes more than a clever idea. It requires:
- Bold clients
- Creative conviction
- Willingness to turn limitations into opportunities
That’s exactly what BBH Singapore set out to prove with Unthinkables!, a daring internal project that used a product, not a pitch, to grab attention and spark conversation.
In Singapore, where chewing gum has been banned for over 30 years, BBH Singapore marked the nation’s 60th birthday by launching a legally compliant candy that looks, tastes, and chews just like the real thing.
For Copywriter Natalie Shauna Tan and Art Director Jia Min Tan, the project wasn’t about provocation for its own sake.
In an interview with DesignRush, they share how the project challenged them to move beyond shock value and focus on turning unconventional ideas into work that earns real attention.
“If an idea is impossible to ignore, people will talk about it,” Jia Min says.
That belief shaped every decision behind Unthinkables!.
About the Experts
Jia Min Tan, Art Director
Jia Min Tan brings a designer’s eye and a storyteller’s sensibility to her role at BBH Singapore. With experience across branding, visual identity, and campaign art direction, she’s drawn to work that transforms ideas into something people genuinely connect with.
Before joining BBH full-time, she honed her craft through internships at Bravo and the Harvard Business School Club of Singapore’s mentorship program.
Natalie Shauna Tan, Copywriter
Natalie Shauna Tan is a writer at BBH Singapore, where she helps shape ideas for global brands like Samsung, Singapore Tourism Board, and UOB. Her path into advertising included stints at GOODSTUPH and UltraSuperNew, where she gained early experience writing for clients across Asia.
4 Tips on What It Takes to Make Bold Ideas Work
What turns a wild idea into real, talked-about work? For Natalie Shauna and Jia Min, it comes down to four things that help bold thinking become real.
Spot the Clients Who Are Truly Ready
Not every brand is built for boundary-pushing ideas. According to Natalie Shauna and Jia Min, readiness isn’t about budget or scale, it's about appetite.
“All it takes is a little context to reframe the ‘risks’ that come with bold ideas,” Natalie Shauna says.
Spotting the right client mindset early can make or break whether a bold idea gets made, or shut down before it starts.
Here’s how they spot the clients who are truly ready, and the ones who aren’t.
The green flags:
- A willingness to go beyond safe, familiar ideas.
- Curiosity about culture, not just their own category.
- Openness to experiment and iterate.
The red flag: fear-driven thinking. If a client sees only danger in the unfamiliar, the “unthinkable” will never happen.
Just remember: Having the right client isn’t always enough. The team still has to bring bold ideas to life in ways people can see, touch, and believe in.
Build Prototypes to Turn Fear Into Belief
Big ideas die quickly when they stay on slides. The fastest way to bring people along is to make the work tangible.
With Unthinkables!, the team created an in-house lab, running more than 60 formulation rounds with exotic flavors and chew-enhancing ingredients before partnering with a sugarcrafter.
The packaging also went through countless redesigns until it instinctively felt like gum.
View this post on Instagram
“Daring ideas can be hard to imagine, but making them real helps people believe,” Natalie Shauna says.
Prototypes shaped the final product and convinced stakeholders the impossible was within reach.
Choose Ideas That Belong in Culture
Not every unconventional idea deserves to leave the sketchbook. The ones that do share a common thread: they tap into culture in a way that feels natural.
Natalie Shauna and Jia Min stress that ideas shouldn’t feel like ads forced onto people. They should feel like part of conversations already happening.
That’s the filter they use to decide which “wild” concepts are worth pushing forward.
“We pursue unconventional ideas when they tap into culture or behaviours in a way that feels natural, becoming part of conversations people are already having rather than forcing advertising at them,” Jia Min says.
This way, bold ideas get remembered because they resonate.
Make the Work Undeniable
Even the best-laid plans won’t matter if no one notices. For BBH, amplification is about undeniability.
With Unthinkables!, that meant turning a banned product into something people actually wanted in order for it to gain traction and get noticed.
That philosophy shaped everything about Unthinkables!: the chew, the packaging, the cultural wink of making “gum” in a gum-banned country.
For BBH, this wasn’t just about candy — it was a reminder that bold creativity still cuts through when it’s done with clarity and intent.
Why Bold Creativity Matters Now
As we discussed, safe creative often blends into the background and gets ignored. That’s where you can win big by going bold.
Unthinkables! made its mark by being:
- Rooted in culture
- Backed by tangible prototypes
- Crafted to spark real conversations.
View this post on Instagram
The takeaway for brands and agencies? The boldest work doesn’t aim to shock. It earns attention by being timely, tangible, and impossible to overlook.
Do that, and your work won’t just get seen. It’ll get remembered.
Bold Creativity: Quick FAQs
What makes a client ready for daring creative ideas?
It’s less about budget and more about mindset: curiosity, openness, and a willingness to explore the unfamiliar.
What shaped the making of Unthinkables!?
A lot of trial and error. The team tested more than 60 flavor prototypes, explored countless packaging options, and even set up an in-house lab before teaming up with an artisan sugarcrafter.
How do you decide which “wild” ideas to pursue?
The filter is culture. If an idea feels like part of conversations people are already having, it’s worth chasing. If it feels forced, it stays in the sketchbook.
What lesson has changed how BBH pitches bold work?
Prototypes. Once an idea is tangible, it stops being abstract and starts feeling inevitable.
How do you make sure bold ideas get talked about?
By making them impossible to ignore. As Natalie Shauna and Jia Min put it, “If an idea is impossible to ignore, people will talk about it.”
