What do spare rooms and advertising have in common? Not much, unless you think like Brian Chesky. When Chesky co-founded Airbnb, he didn’t try to build a slightly better hotel booking site.
He questioned the entire premise: did people really want hotels, or just a safe, comfortable, local place to stay? He reimagined the travel industry from scratch by breaking the problem down to its fundamentals of space, trust and access.
The result was a global platform that changed how people travel and connect.
That approach, known as first principles thinking, is often associated with engineering and science, but it’s just as powerful in the creative industries.
In fact, it might be one of the most underrated tools available to us. It would not only make for better work, but it would go a long way in building stronger, more relevant businesses.
At its core, first principles thinking is about questioning assumptions. It means stripping away inherited logic and instead reasoning from the ground up.
Interrogate the brief
This approach can be transformative in an industry like advertising, where conventional wisdom often guides decision-making and legacy processes go unquestioned.
When we default to what’s worked before, such as the formats, templates and creative shortcuts, we risk producing safe, expected work that is ultimately forgettable. But when we interrogate the brief, the audience, and the medium with fresh eyes, we give ourselves the opportunity to solve problems in truly original ways.
Too often, agencies are tasked with surface-level asks: “Make a viral campaign,” or “Do something that breaks the internet.” But these briefs are usually proxies for something more profound. It’s a desire for relevance, connection or transformation.
First principles thinking urges us to dig beneath the noise and ask: what is the core human need we’re solving for here? Is it belonging? Joy? Identity? Status? If we start from that human truth, the work becomes more resonant and far more valuable to both brand and audience.
Lose the cookie-cutter
The same thinking applies to the media and platforms we work with. Each medium has its own qualities. Sound stirs emotion, movement drives engagement and interactivity gives control.
Rather than applying cookie-cutter strategies across formats, we should ask: what does this medium do best? What makes it distinct? It’s about unlocking the true creative potential of a platform by respecting its core strengths, instead of doing novelty for the sake of novelty.
Advertising is about more than delivering content. It’s about creating an emotional experience. A well-executed idea makes people feel something. It can be something that causes excitement, pride, curiosity, empathy and more.
Yet in our race to meet KPIs, we often forget that emotional response is still the most powerful metric of all. First principles thinking pulls us back to that truth. It reminds us to design for impact and not just impressions.
Moving people and markets
It also asks how we define value. Value isn’t just measured in likes or conversions in the creative context. It might be the sense of wonder a piece of work evokes, the cultural relevance it sparks or the utility it offers in people’s lives. What matters is how meaningfully we connect.
And if we begin with that end in mind, that emotional, functional or cultural value, we’re far more likely to create something that moves people and markets.
Importantly, this isn’t just a creative tool; it’s a business imperative. The agency model itself is full of inherited assumptions. Why do we work the way we do? Why are briefs structured this way? Why do timelines, teams, and hierarchies look the way they do?
At Futureborn, we try to challenge many of those assumptions. We’ve built a model that blends agency, consultancy, production and innovation lab. This is not because it sounds progressive, but because it enables faster thinking, deeper experimentation and better outcomes for our clients.
We’re pushing the business towards an evolution where we put first principles at the forefront of our work.
Rapid change and cultural shifts
In a time of rapid change where new technologies emerge monthly and cultural shifts happen in real time, the ability to think from the ground up is essential. The brands we work with are navigating uncertainty and seeking partners who can cut through complexity with clarity, creativity and conviction.
First principles thinking gives us a framework to do exactly that.
Ultimately, brave work requires brave thinking. And brave thinking starts with asking better questions. Not “What’s worked before?” or “What are others doing?” but “What actually matters here?” “What truth are we speaking to?” and “What’s the simplest, boldest way to make someone feel it?”
The future belongs to those who are willing to rebuild, not just refine. To those who choose to question before they create. Because when we start from first principles, we make work that matters.
Simon Spreckley is a renowned digital pioneer with over 20 years in creative leadership. Former Executive Creative Director at Hellocomputer, founder of Thoopid Games and Ritual Studio, and a pivotal figure in Hoorah Digitals transformation, Simon now leads FUTUREBORN. His work, recognized by major awards including Cannes Lions and Loeries, focuses on blending innovative technology with strategic creativity.
