‘Taste’ isn’t the word leaders should chase

taste isn’t – Antoni Porowski, speaking at the Business Insider suite at Cannes Lions, says the tech and ad worlds are fixating on “taste,” arguing the better path is specificity. Using examples from his own campaign work—especially Gortons fish sticks—he explains why perso

Antoni Porowski has a problem with the buzzword that’s been floating around Silicon Valley and the advertising world lately.

“The word taste makes me uncomfortable,” Porowski said during a live discussion in the Business Insider suite at Cannes Lions.

He traced that reaction back to his school days in Montreal, when a sign read: “Generality is the enemy of art.” He said he likes specificity because something broad “isn’t going to be sticky to people.”

Broad storytelling, he added, doesn’t help an audience connect. “They’re not really going to be able to relate to it,” he said. In Porowski’s view, when a campaign goes personal and specific, the debate becomes part of the engagement. “If I go personal and specific. I think that’s where I’m able to tap into what my perception and concept of taste is. and whether people disagree with it. they’re still commenting. so there’s still engagement.”.

That argument is grounded in the way he approaches brand collaborations—especially one campaign with Gorton’s fish sticks.

The fish sticks test case started with a request that was, on its face, oddly exact. The brand’s ask included the inclusion of 12 fish sticks. Porowski described it as a directive that some executives believed would work, even if it “didn’t necessarily make sense.”

Instead of carrying out the brief as written, Porowski said he found the personal connection. He grew up in a Polish household where most meals were made from scratch. The only exception, he said, came from a babysitter who couldn’t cook—who served him fish sticks, peas, and ketchup.

From there, Porowski told the brand he wanted to go a different way. “I think we need to go full camp,” he recalled telling the brand. “Let’s do a full fisherman outfit. I’ll wear the waders. and instead. why don’t I have a long fishing line and have Gorton’s fish sticks hanging from the fish line?” He said the idea came out on Halloween. which “they approved.”.

Porowski said he’s been using that kind of personal approach to campaigns ever since.

Even so, he doesn’t present collaboration friction as rare or unusual. “The truth is there are brands that really have strong guidelines and points that they really want to nail,” he said.

When the pushback gets heavy, Porowski said his first move is to change the format of the conversation. “And if I experience a lot of pushback, I always ask for a Zoom,” he continued. He said the goal isn’t just to charm the other side—it’s to explain the passion behind the decisions. If he can “relay my honest passion for what it is that I’m fighting for 99 times out of a hundred. they’re going to be like. ‘Okay. let’s do it.’”.

When a brand is persistent, he said he’s just as persistent about getting the shots he wants. “I ask, ‘Can we get the shots that I want to get?. Let’s get the ones that you guys want and then let’s have a conversation.’ I’m not kidding you. I don’t think there’s been a single time where they were like. ‘No. no. we’re still going to go with ours. ’ which has been incredible. ” Porowski said.

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