Condé Nast’s Agnes Chu on Vanity Fair, Starbucks and the value of inclusive stories

Ad Age is marking Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2023 with our Honoring Creative Excellence package. (Read the introduction here.) Today, our guest editor Bing Chen turns the spotlight to Agnes Chu, a veteran Disney executive who was named president of Condé Nast Entertainment in 2020. Here, Chu writes about shifting the cultural conversation through storytelling. I remember the first time I felt seen in an American movie. Three decades later, while working with Kathy Kennedy on Star Wars’ “The Mandalorian” for Disney+, I admitted that a movie she produced, “The Goonies,” defined my childhood. Not only was it a swashbuckling fun adventure (which still holds up, by the way), but it was also the first time I saw a character portrayed speaking English to his Caucasian friends and Cantonese with his parents. This was my daily lived experience, and to have a movie celebrate it as its emotional conclusion helped me experience a sense of belonging that indelibly changed how I felt about myself and what could be possible for me. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here Whether directing and producing theater with my peers in high school, making experimental 16mm films in college, or collaborating with powerhouse producers such as Frank Valentini, Melvin Mar or Supper Club on everything from soap operas to comedy sitcoms to documentary series, I have been hooked to the magic of storytelling, and I have been hooked to the art of making with a group assembled in service of creativity. As in “The Goonies,” I find it great fun to belong to a team on a purposeful adventure together. Now at Condé Nast Entertainment, I am fortunate to lead a portfolio of some of the world’s most iconic and culture-defining brands, including The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Architectural Digest, in the mediums of film and TV, podcasts and digital video. Along with entertaining, educating and inspiring audiences, we also produce branded content for advertisers, led by fellow AAPI Lloyd DSouza. Through our purpose-driven Mission Studios, we recently created “Vanity Fair x Starbucks: Bridging the Gap,” a campaign exploring the importance of foundational inclusion through the perspective of deaf barista Samin Liddick. Leveraging her daily lived experience, she guided Starbucks in the creation of the first accessible and inclusive Starbucks Signing Store in Washington, D.C., a space designed by and for the deaf and hard of hearing. Ahead of the 32rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act enactment, accessibility advocates including Academy Award winner and “Coda” star Troy Kotsur showcased our campaign to champion the need for updated reform with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Fostering a sense of belonging through our creativity—and in the process bringing together a diverse team connected in purpose—remains my biggest source of motivation and inspiration. It is through storytelling that we are able to shift the cultural conversation for ourselves and for a wider audience, quite possibly contributing to seismic change in our collective human experience. I am as grateful to see Ke Huy Quan on the screen today as I was as a child, and I am excited for the adventures ahead with my talented team at Condé Nast Entertainment as we harness creativity to spotlight lived experiences that must be shared and seen. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Condé Nast’s Agnes Chu on Vanity Fair, Starbucks and the value of inclusive stories

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