Behind the Philadelphia Ballet Shoe Campaign: A Conversation with Ashlee Hollis

Thank you so much for this honor. I’m Ashlee Hollis, President and Founder of award-winning Helm Creative Studio, a certified woman-owned marketing and creative agency with a production house based in Philadelphia, and with clients throughout the world.

As Co-Founder of The Story Factory, a space that houses stories and creates content while building people up in the process, my husband, Elijah, who is also Helm’s Chief Storyteller, and I, have set in motion a new era of storytelling in the heart of Philadelphia. Our focus is investing in the next generation and creatives, and we’ve built a foundation to value people over production and ensure creativity and social impact are the new industry standard.

I have multiple degrees in Business Administration, Digital Marketing, and Philanthropy, and have done my best to build a team culture where creatives can thrive and are focused on growth, excellence, clarity, creativity, passion, and heart. I’m fiercely dedicated to making an impact with the work that we do, proving it by ensuring that for each and every creative project we create, a portion goes back to youth and creative communities within Philadelphia and beyond.

We’re determined to continue to accelerate both the causes we care about and the causes of our clients, and we’re honored to have received a citation from the City of Philadelphia for our commitment towards positive social impact within the city, while recognizing our clients who we work with on a global scale.

While we don’t submit awards just for the sake of winning them, we recognize that winning builds trust with clients and potential collaborators. It also creates greater impact by highlighting our clients and the causes they hold dear, while enabling us to give back more meaningfully to youth and creatives.

Winning shines a spotlight on the incredible clients we work with, in this case, Philadelphia Ballet. As storytellers, being able to share the stories of those we support in their impact or pursuit of their dreams is deeply meaningful. I have the privilege of working firsthand with these artists and creatives, and filming with Ashton Roxander, Principal Dancer and the Deborah and Kurt Hilzinger Principal Dancer with Philadelphia Ballet, was no exception.

He’s kind, talented, and dedicated to his craft, with a story we believe deserves to be witnessed. In this way, we support Philadelphia Ballet’s initiative to raise funds and awareness about the importance of their dancers’ shoes.

It’s an honor to win for this video because excellence and art are inherently part of their brand and organization.

I believe the video represents the humanity behind what we see on stage. It’s important not to forget the human element that moves us, creating stories and experiences that stay with us. We live in a world filled with highlights, reels, and on-stage content featuring actors and performers all the time. As an agency and creatives ourselves, it’s an honor whenever we can pull back the curtain and speak with these artists. We love discovering what matters to them and their personal creative journeys.

For this video, we used our creativity at Helm to create a platform for Ashton’s story about the impact of having properly fitted shoes. Because of this, Philadelphia Ballet was able to secure funding for additional dancers’ shoes. It means a lot to us that we’re encouraging creativity to progress through our own creativity.

A core cultural value at Helm is valuing people over production. Part of that is meeting people where they are—focusing on them as individuals beyond what they do—and then highlighting their creativity, ingenuity, and journey as artists and creatives, as this video expresses.

One of the elements people have responded to is the rawness in the video. There’s a humanity present that resonates with anyone who performs on stage. It’s the experience of seeing someone who is inherently a performer come off stage and be featured in a personal, relatable way.

At Helm, we’re committed to focusing on personal connections, empathy, and even curiosity in every situation and through every aspect of our filming, and this commitment is reflected in the video.

We tend to focus on the positive aspects of every experience, recognizing that the unexpected can bring growth. But, I believe a challenge for this video would be explaining the importance of something, in this case, the critical need for a dancer to have shoes that fit properly, to people who may not recognize its importance.

People can often tune out things that they don’t identify with, and so in a creative and a simple way, we had to tell why shoes/pointe shoes for dancers are necessary and important. It’s something that our team personally invested in and learned about before creating the video and communicating it to others, because we knew what was at stake and we not only wanted to bring our best, we wanted to multiply the impact that was possible as an outcome.

We hope this video, along with others we created for this cause, continues to provide a platform for artists and creatives who often go unseen. While they may be visible on stage, their personal experiences can be overlooked or ignored.

We also hope to create an exponential impact through our client work with Philadelphia Ballet and other clients, as well as through the impact we aim to make as a company. We want to be known for giving honor where it’s due—celebrating human creativity and the arts.

Everyone has been incredibly excited and complimentary! It’s such an honor to share a part of Philadelphia Ballet’s story—through Ashton Roxander in this case—and to raise awareness about what’s so important in the arts while featuring creatives. We appreciate the priority given and the opportunity to highlight this art form.

One of the most important things I would emphasize to other creatives is to create content that you care about. When you do, the love you have for your work becomes visible and palpable. In a world increasingly integrated with AI, create content that is original and focuses on human experiences—content that highlights humanity.

At Helm, we emphasize valuing people over production. We don’t create content just to win awards. Instead, we choose projects that mean something to us and that we’re passionate about, and then we submit them for awards.

In the creative industry—and really across all industries—we’re seeing a growing distinction between “human” and “AI” content. I observe the creative world increasingly leaning on AI in their processes and even in their ingenuity. That’s why sharing stories from a human perspective—focusing on emotions and empathy—has always been critical, and it’s becoming even more important as we move forward.

I believe it’s essential for creatives to hone their craft and excel at their skills, rather than simply embracing the AI movement or its marketed convenience. Instead of relying on bots, maintain your own standard of critical thinking and minimize dependence on AI to tell a story, even if you choose to use it in the creative process—which Helm does not.

My candid advice at this moment is to put a watermark on everything you create to prevent it from being parsed.

I’ve been taught to find the “it” in the try—you’re always starting at zero when you attempt something new, so you can only go up from there. It’s worth submitting what you create, but choose different pieces for different categories. Take the time and effort to carefully consider what would best represent your company or brand.

Don’t apply for awards just to win awards—know your company’s or personal creative culture, and apply for awards that align with what you want to be known for. Create content that reflects what you want to be associated with, not only now but also in the future.

I would encourage fellow creatives, marketers, and advertising professionals to be true to their culture. Instead of copying what others are doing or trying to aspire to be like someone else, know what you want to be known for and build accordingly. Don’t focus on being someone else. Focus on creativity—its process and who you become as a result—over competition.

I would like to dedicate this award to our small but mighty team and our incredible client, Philadelphia Ballet. We’re incredibly honored to continue collaborating with them, and we’re grateful to Ashton for sharing his story in such a meaningful way.

It’s a powerful storytelling piece that raises awareness about the importance of funding nearly 2,500 pairs of shoes each year to ensure Philadelphia Ballet’s dancers can perform at their best, while also highlighting the humanity behind the artistry.

As we prepare for the Semiquincentennial in 2026 and all the incredible events to be hosted in our home city of Philadelphia, our team is expanding its reach and pouring even more creativity into short films and storytelling videos. Amid all the excitement for the future and the celebrations to come, Helm remains committed to keeping humanity and storytelling at the center of it all.