There are major conferences every year that always inform/teach me. Cannes Lions, SXSW, and CES (consumer electronics show).

At its core, CES is a trade show. Brands and entrepreneurs gather with two main goals: to make sales or to find investors.

After attending CES for 17 years as media, I’ve picked up a thing or two about the show and the tech world in general. First and foremost: 90-95% of the products you see at CES will never make it to market. The ones that do usually end up being first-generation models—great for early adopters but more of a “wait and see” situation for the rest of us.

But what really draws me in year after year are the keynotes. They give a peek into the future of these companies—their vision, their plans, and the next generation of tech.
I still remember Bill Gates, at the tail end of his time at Microsoft, delivering a keynote in 2008. He showed off a phone that could scan your surroundings with the camera and overlay clickable business options in real-time. If you pointed the phone at a street, it would highlight all the nearby restaurants, with options to get more info. Mind-blowing. Fast forward to today, and I think we’re getting close to that kind of augmented reality in our hands, but back then, it felt like a glimpse into a very sci-fi future. Not quite flying cars type of future, but very cool useable tech.

The big keynote standouts this year were NVidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, whose presentation honestly broke my brain. The tools introduced for AI were powerful, and can’t wait to see them come to market. Here he is showing off a new super computer coming soon.

And then there was the Delta presentation at the Sphere with Ed Bastien, just because it was the first time anything like that had been done—and it was capped off by a 30-minute performance from Lenny Kravitz.

Also memorable was Linda Yaccarino’s talk,

along with Accenture’s CEO, Julie Sweet, both of which are available on YouTube now, and included here.

Oh, and Sony’s always a crowd favorite, especially this year when they finally allowed pre-orders for a car they had been teasing for years in cooperation with Honda.
It felt like a big moment. The most tech I’ve ever seen in a car. Would you brag to your friends that you’re driving a Sony?

But let’s be real—walking the show floor is always the most fun part. It’s where you encounter all those innovative products that you might not otherwise come across.

As media, we also get to attend three key events before the show officially opens: Pepcom, Showstoppers, and CES Unveiled. These events are my personal favorites because they give us the chance to handle and experience the products up close, and let’s be honest, get fed (always a bonus). Over the years, I’ve discovered some truly game-changing products at these events—things I use daily now.

Then there’s the C Space, the marketing section. It’s where the ad folks hang out, and while the discussions are always interesting, I feel like most of those conversations would be more productive if they were happening on the show floor, engaging with the actual products their clients are creating. Sure, it’s great to catch up with people, but nothing beats seeing and understanding the product and its vision firsthand.

Looking back, it’s funny to think about how things have changed since my first CES. Back then, we bloggers were treated like the red-headed stepchildren of the media world. We were shoved into a room with plastic-wrapped sandwiches and a pile of swag. But it didn’t take long for people to realize that bloggers had no corporate filter. We weren’t beholden to editors or PR teams. If something was great, we’d shout it from the rooftops; if it was awful, we’d call it out. That raw, unfiltered approach eventually led to bloggers being treated as real journalists. And it was then that the press room got an upgrade: quiet spaces for interviews, great Wi-Fi, more swag… and yes, more food.

As an ad guy, the insights I’ve gathered over the years at CES are invaluable. It’s not just about the tech. It’s about building relationships, understanding where industries are heading, and sometimes, just having fun with friends old and new. The trip’s a grind: two days of press events, a day and a half on the floor, and then it’s back home. But every year, I leave feeling inspired and energized for the year ahead.

Was there an AI presence? Of course there was! Especially in the NVidia presentation. It was presented as the tool that it is, and when you listen to the CEO of Accenture, Julie Sweet, you may get a clearer picture of how it may affect the workforce.

Here’s to CES #18 in 2026—can’t wait to see what’s next.