Kim Jung-ah Becomes First Female Vice President at Innocean, Leading Award-Winning Hyundai Ad Campaign

On June 12, at Innocean's headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, Kim Jung-ah, the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) and newly appointed Vice President, posed beside a piece that symbolizes the role of advertisers in connecting a complex world. She stated, "Advertising means to spread widely, and that is not an old saying anymore. The realm of advertising is expanding through all activities related to the brand."

On June 17, during the prestigious Cannes Lions 2025 awards ceremony held in France, the host announced, "Grand Prix winner, Team Innocean Seoul," and Kim Jung-ah, 52, was the first to take the stage with a beaming smile. As the head of the planning and production for the short film-style advertisement 'Night Fishing' created in collaboration with Hyundai, Kim has recently been on a winning streak. Innocean secured the Grand Prix in the Entertainment category among 30 categories at Cannes Lions, receiving the highest accolades from 735 entries worldwide. Previously, Innocean also won the Grand Prize at the Clio Awards, one of the top three international advertising festivals, and received both silver and bronze at the New York Festivals.

'Night Fishing,' produced by Innocean last June, is a 13-minute short film that does not prominently feature Hyundai's electric vehicle, the Ioniq 5. Instead, it was created using seven built-in cameras embedded in the Ioniq 5, capturing footage that could not be saved or adjusted. This innovative approach even led to the film being screened in theaters. The global advertising community has praised 'Night Fishing' as a "recklessly brave attempt."

Kim, who majored in Korean Language and Literature at Ewha Womans University, began her advertising career in 1996 at Cheil Worldwide. In 2022, she made history by becoming the first female vice president of Innocean, which was established in 2005. She was also recognized as the top creative director in Korea by the global advertising magazine 'Campaign Brief Asia' in both 2020 and 2021.

Despite recent reports of advertising companies declaring bankruptcy and claims that the "era of advertising is over," Kim disagrees. She believes, "We are in an era where the boundaries between content are disappearing, allowing for an infinite expansion of advertising. YouTube, musicals, baseball, and advertising are no longer separate realms."

For Kim, Innocean's competition does not come from other advertising agencies. She explained, "We are competing against the phenomenon where an abundance of content makes it easy for audiences to skip over it. Our challenge is to create content that is hard to escape from." She emphasized that whether something is labeled as advertising is not important; what matters is that people find it enjoyable and moving.

When asked about current trends, Kim noted, "As more people are hurt by external factors, the absence of dopamine has become a stronger source of dopamine. Just like the phrase 'Aboha' (A Very Ordinary Day), people are excited about gentle content."

Reflecting on her 29 years in the advertising industry, Kim recalled her most memorable advertisement: the 2013 Hyundai Sonata ad. Similar to 'Night Fishing,' the Sonata does not appear in the ad, which showcases the view of rain from inside the car. Kim shared, "When everyone was questioning, 'What kind of ad is this?' then Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai praised it as a brave advertisement. He even gave me a Sonata to take the hood and sunroof to the recording studio to capture the sound of water falling, and that memory is vivid."