Raymond Otene McKay just wants a word…

Leading indigenous Māori creative from New Zealand, Raymond Otene McKay asks: “Do we want the future of advertising decided by one homogenous group?”

This is the premise behind the talk the RUN CCO will be giving at D&AD Festival on May 10th, the UK’s largest event celebrating global creative talent.

140 years ago, McKay’s great-great uncle, King Tāwhiao, the second Māori king, embarked on a long trip to London to seek an audience with Queen Victoria. They sought to renew the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi with her directly, fearing the colonial government in New Zealand would continue to undermine it and fail to keep their promises.

They waited for four months and were never granted an audience. Māori would eventually lose most of their land, their language, and their right to live as Māori in their own country.

Five generations later, his nephew is heading back to London. Look, he just wants a word…

Alongside his D&AD Awards judging duties, McKay joins a host of speakers from across the globe to share his experience of working in the creative industries.

He’ll look at the history of denigration of Māori in advertising, how media risks re-colonising marginalised peoples, the dangers of tokenism and how RUN successfully places indigenous values at the centre of its work and relationships to produce outstanding results (and the benefits to the wider industry in following suit).