Rob Campbell is back to talk friction. This might get spicy!

Rob Campbell is bringing Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus and Metallica to SOS26.

AI. Process. Efficiency. Is there even room for creative thinking to disrupt and innovate anymore? State of Social Hall of Famer Rob Campbell says there is. And he’s back for State of Social ’26 to rattle your creative cage, then liberate you from it.

Colenso BBDO’s Head of Strategy Rob Campbell, back by popular demand.

Rob is one of the world’s finest strategists. He’s the creative mind behind some of our industry’s most memorable and effective strategies and campaigns for brands like Nike, Spotify and Gentle Monster. And fun fact: he has more guitars than sneakers (and he has A LOT of sneakers).

At SOS23, he challenged us to step outside our creative comfort zones and into a more ridiculous, creatively chaotic world. This year, he’s going to turn our friction-filled world on its head.

Rob’s keynote: Not Dead Yet.

If you feel the suffocating pressure of technology and process-driven methodology, you’re not alone. If you feel like they’re making your creativity increasingly irrelevant, if not redundant, Rob does too. But he has the antidote: you need to think like an artist.

In his provocative keynote, Rob will draw on the creative might of Metallica, Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton to explain how to save our creativity, our industry and our clients. To think like an artist and play at the speed of culture. To beat the fear of failure with creative curiosity. To be more innovative.

Rob isn’t the only State of Social Hall of Famer to return for State of Social ’26: Friction. He joins Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s Sophie Winter, PR Specialist Saira Manns and Bonfire’s Will Bal in our 2026 line-up. And we’re just getting started.