Advertising Week New York (AWNY) has selected social media creator Dhar Mann, known as the “moral philosopher of YouTube,” as its first chief creator officer.Announced Thursday morning, Mann — who has garnered 170 million social media followers and generates 300 million weekly views with his moral conflict-themed videos — will deliver the opening keynote and curate creator programming for the AWNY 2026 conference, which takes place from October 5 through 8.“We wanted Dhar Mann to be our chief creator officer because he was living proof of how creators and brands can work together,” Advertising Week’s global president, Ruth Mortimer, explained. “We saw that when Dhar has an idea, he makes it real.”Mann — whom Forbes and Time magazine named to their respective top creator lists in 2025 — founded Dhar Mann Studios in 2018. The global entertainment studio creates YouTube series ranging from family dramas to partnerships with creators including MrBeast and Anna McNulty.Mortimer noted Mann’s first AWNY appearance in 2025 — a panel with Damon Berger, SVP of marketing shared services at Gap, to ideate, cast and premiere a Gap campaign live onstage. The idea turned into a branded YouTube Shorts video series with Gap brand Old Navy.Mann will report to Mortimer to select creator talent from his network and curate panel themes and topics. He has begun organizing speed-dating networking for creators and brands, creator education programs and a writers’ room for senior marketers, Mortimer said.Additional AWNY creator activations will include a Meta-sponsored creator lounge, live creator pitch sessions with brands and media platforms, a creator network powered by Breakr and Get Engaged and dedicated creator tickets available for purchase on AWNY’s website.Mann will host a closing event to conclude the four-day conference, according to an AWNY statement.“A lot of creators have never met brands face-to-face — often it’s done through agencies,” Mortimer explained. “What we’re trying to do with Dhar is increase creator education, and he’s also interested in helping creators get better at doing business themselves.”Mann has led several business deals over the past year, including a multi-year micro-drama partnership with Fox Entertainment in January for 40 slated videosand a collaboration with Samsung TV Plus to produce its first original series, Unlikely Romances, in 2025.The creator also launched his What Happens Next podcast in May and served as the NFL’s chief kindness officer for Super Bowl LX. “With the rise of the creator economy, we’ve been good at putting together different people who can grow creator deals and business,” Mortimer said. “But Dhar actually does this for a living every day, and it’s valuable to get that perspective.”To announce Mann’s appointment as chief creator officer, AWNY is launching a social, OOH and digital campaign spotlighting advertising’s growing investment in creators, with U.S. creator ad spend expected to hit $37 billion this year, according to IAB’s 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend and Strategy Report. Advertising Week will also feature Mann in its original show, The Week in Advertising, alongside other social media creators, according to an AWNY statement.AWNY attracts more than 20,000 annual attendees spanning advertising, media, tech, entertainment and brand industries, with participation from more than 70% of Fortune 500 brands, according to an AWNY statement.“The creator economy grew about 17% last year, and for the last couple years we’ve been leaning heavily to the creator economy at Advertising Week,” Mortimer explained. “We had about 166 creators in last year’s program talking about their business, so it has been an emerging economy — but now it feels like it’s hitting the mainstream.”