shots Out of the Box London 2025 – full line-up revealed
After weeks of tantalising teasers, the full line-up for this year’s Out of the Box event has landed - featuring creative heavyweights and professional pot-stirrers including Amy Kean, Asad Dhunna, Chris Boyle, a stable of agency Heads of Production, the APA and IPA... and filmmaker Dexter Fletcher.
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Following a steady stream of session reveals, shots Out of the Box has now unveiled the complete programme for its London 2025 edition, taking place at The Londoner, Leicester Square, on Wednesday 19 November.
Avoiding keynotes and clichés; Out of the Box is about honest conversations (and that means the audience, too). This year’s sessions get into the real issues facing creativity today – from budgets and production pressures to humour, inclusion and the impact of new technology.
Tickets are available now, including a very tasty breakfast and lunch from The Londoner’s kitchen - plus ample opportunities to deliberate, cogitate and digest between sessions.
APA + IPA: Together on stage
Steve Davies, Chief Executive, APA
Eliot Liss, Head of Production, IPA
Two trade bodies. One stage. Plenty to unpack.
Kicking off the day with a candid, possibly combustible discussion, the APA and IPA join forces to explore how the business of making ads is evolving. From producers fighting for fair budgets and creative freedom, to agencies navigating tighter margins and faster turnarounds, no topic is off-limits.
Expect an open-floor Q&A that invites the audience to grill both sides on the issues shaping commercial production today.
Airheads: When did everybody become so stupid?
Amy Kean, CEO & Creative Director, Good Shout
In a world awash with misinformation, deepfakes and illusionary online “reality”, Kean asks the uncomfortable question: when did we all get so easily duped?
Exploring how technology manipulates belief and behaviour, this talk examines what the rise of fake content means for creativity - and whether a world built on fabrication might be one we secretly prefer.
No laughing matter: The serious business of comedy in advertising
Jonny Parker, CCO, VCCP
Simon Connor, Creative Director, VCCP
Alice Goodrich, Creative, VCCP
Amid global gloom, humour has never been more vital. This lively session sees the VCCP team unpack why laughter remains one of advertising’s sharpest tools - cutting through noise, humanising brands and forging emotional connection.
Expect insights, examples and a few well-timed punchlines on how to make audiences smile (and care).
Heads of Production: Ask Me Anything
Chair: Eliot Liss, IPA
Amy Cracknell, M&C Saatchi
Richard Adkins, Wieden+Kennedy London
Poppy Manning, Omnicom Production
Peter Montgomery, Droga5
A panel of top producers tackles the pressing challenges facing modern production - from pitches and workflows to talent retention and tech integration.
The floor is open for audience questions, ensuring no issue goes unaddressed in this straight-talking industry forum.
The End of the Beginning
Chris Boyle, Private Island
AI’s first act was about discovery; this one’s about consequence.
Director Chris Boyle explores how experimentation gives way to expectation as technology becomes fully embedded in creative craft. Where does the human imagination fit when the machine is part of the process?
What in the name of DEI is going on right now?
Asad Dhunna, Founder + CEO, The Unmistakables
Once the industry’s moral compass, DEI has become one of its most polarising acronyms.
Dhunna cuts through the culture-war noise to reveal what’s really happening beneath the headlines - sharing fresh data, candid insight and a vision of how inclusion might evolve in a rapidly changing creative world.
In conversation with Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher, Director, Curate Films
From Lock, Stock to Rocketman, Dexter Fletcher has spent decades in front of and behind the camera, crafting some of British cinema’s most recognisable moments. In this on-stage Q&A with shots co-editor Jamie Madge, the actor-turned-director reflects on lessons learned across his career - from Eddie the Eagle to Sunshine on Leith and Bohemian Rhapsody - before delving into his growing passion for commercial filmmaking through Curate Films.
Expect insight, anecdotes, and inspiration, all delivered by the unmistakable voice of McDonald’s...
Full schedule
09:00 | Registration & Breakfast
09:45 | Welcome – shots co-editors Danny Edwards & Jamie Madge
09:50 | APA + IPA: Together on Stage
10:30 | Airheads: When Did Everybody Become So Stupid?
11:20 | No Laughing Matter: The Serious Business of Comedy in Advertising
11:50 | Heads of Production AMA
12:50 | Lunch
13:50 | The End of the Beginning
14:20 | What in the Name of DEI Is Going On Right Now?
14:40 | In Conversation with Dexter Fletcher
15:30 | Ends
