Bianca Fernandez never thought she’d be on reality TV—then came an Instagram DM from someone working on a new advertising competition show, NBC’s On Brand with Jimmy Fallon .

“I remember calling my mom and being like, ‘Do you think this is legit?’” Fernandez told ADWEEK. “‘But also, if this is legit, how perfect is this for me?’”

It was so perfect, in fact, that she won it all. On the show’s Season 1 finale that aired Oct. 31, Fallon and his co-host, Bozoma Saint John, announced Fernandez as the show’s first Innovator of the Year. Along with a cash prize of $100,000, her concept for the final client, Therabody, will be produced as a commercial.

“It’s pretty surreal,” said Fernandez, a Gen Z marketer based in New York. “Going into the experience, I had truly no idea what to expect, but

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