Filed under: 2025, Birthday, Childhood, Dad, Death, Immaturity, Mum, Mum & Dad, My Childhood, My Fatherhood, Old, Parents
So it’s June.
That means we’re 6 months into the year already – WHATTHEACTUAL?!
It’s going to be a big month for me …
I’ve got a bunch of big meetings, a bunch of big travel, the small matter of giving a talk – with Paula – at Cannes and turning FIFTYFUCKINGFIVE.
Jesus Christ … I am now, proper old.
I appreciate the difference between 54 and 55 doesn’t seem massive, but let me tell you it is.
You see over the past few weeks, I’ve been receiving letters from the UK about my pension.
I’d never really received these before so it seemed a bit strange … strange enough for me to call them to find out what the hell was going on. And that’s where 2 things happened that shook me to my core.
The first was that they were letting me know that I was approaching a time where I could either ‘cash them in’ or move them into a different scheme. Given I’ve not lived in the UK for most of my adult life, there’s not much in there so I’ve never really paid attention to it.
It was at this point I asked how could I cash it in if I chose to … to which the very kind woman on the end of the line said:
“You just contact us 6 weeks before you turn 55 and we make it happen for you”.
I paused for a moment before replying,
“We are 6 weeks before I turn 55”.
And let me tell you, she was as shocked as me with that news – albeit her shock was because she hadn’t checked my date-of-birth whereas my shock was I could cash in – should I choose – my fucking pension.
How was this possible?
Pensions are for when people are ancient.
A 1000 years into the future. How the hell am I eligible for mine now?
But I guess I am … because I am ancient.
So ancient, I’m only 5 years off when my Dad died – which is terrifying for a whole host of obvious and less obvious reasons.
Except I don’t feel 55.
In fact, I feel younger than I have in decades. I am healthier too.
But despite that – and the fact my maturity level still resides around 14 years of age – you can’t stop getting older however hard you may try, so no doubt I am on the path to playing bowls each afternoon, complaining about the kids in the neighborhood ‘for making too much noise’ and smelling of wee. Or something.
And just remember before you all take the piss out of me.
You’ve got all this coming … so don’t be too cocky, because the one good thing about getting old, is you don’t give a fuck about keeping your mouth shut.
Not that I’ve ever had a problem with that – which I’ve literally just realized why Rupert Howell used to say I was the youngest old person he had ever met.
Oh God, as Monday’s go, this one sucks balls.
Happy fucking June.
Just when you think the World couldn’t get more batshit crazy, it has.
Of course, at the heart of it is mainly privileged, old, white men … but it is reaching new levels of insanity.
First there was this:
The President of the United States said this.
And then the Whitehouse reposted it.
What the actual fuck?
That’s the sort of shit a tinpot dictator would say. Or a criminal.
Which kind-of is perfect given he’s both.
Using lies and excuses to justify his own ego and control.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so dangerous, but after basically sending his puppet, Vance, to tell Europe they are a greater threat to the World than Putin … you can see we’re in for a very rough period-of-time. And yet we will continue to see the Republican party back his every move because for all their claims of being ‘American patriots, they will always choose power over truth.
Don’t get me wrong, the Democrats have a lot to answer for all this too given they had years to get their shit together and yet couldn’t be bothered – signaling they were either complete delusionists or egotists.
I’m just waiting for Richard Nixon’s estate to demand a pardon for Watergate under the guise he was simply trying to protect his country and it is only because the rest of the country were too stupid to realise it, that he went down for it.
And if you think that’s not mad enough, then there’s this.
Yep, the Daily Mail – who continue their claims of being a newspaper – wrote this.
Hell, even The Onion wouldn’t try and pull that off, but here we are …
What’s scarier is they’re not even doing it under the banner of ‘alternative truths’ … under Trump, they feel they can just state it as truth.
We not live in a time where we value:
Dogma over facts.
Force over fairness.
Ego over consideration.
Which begs the question, ‘what the fuck is the point of having strategists these days, when anyone can just say or do whatever they want?’ Same with market research. Then there’s more important shit like scientists and law.
Of course we are, in some way, all complicit to allowing this situation to happen.
It wasn’t something overnight, it has been building up for years and years.
I just hope that the wake-up button isn’t what has been required in the past … not just because I don’t want even more suffering, but because I don’t want to see countless posts on Linkedin from people saying:
’10 things you can learn about negotiation from war’.
Filed under: 2025, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Comment, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, New Zealand, Tourism
I’ve written a bunch about how poor ‘nation tourism’ campaigns generally are.
A mass of vignettes that try and cram in every possible activity/sight in a desperate bid to appeal to literally everyone … while failing to understand they inspire no one because they’re the same as every other bloody nation, regardless of climate, geography or economy.
Of course, there are the odd exceptions … but apart from the original NZ Tourism ‘100% Pure’ campaign [which was the only nation tourism work that had a real, long-term, sustainable idea in it – rather than a good one-off execution – and even that has now been diluted to boardroom acceptable cliché and contrived blandom] it’s all pretty uninspiring, cookie-cutter stuff.
Don’t get me wrong, I know how hard these campaigns must be given the amount of ‘committee pleasing and politics’ that must go on, but it still amazes me how much an economically important category ends up being treated like some superficial toy by governments who don’t have enough understanding of their own people, let alone the people of other nations they wish to attract.
Which is all my way of saying I found this idea by Mauritius interesting.
And I mean the idea of it rather than the execution – which is, to be honest, pants.
It’s like a cross between a tourism campaign, a wealth sovereign fund campaign, a timeshare campaign, a retirement campaign and a nomad visa campaign. And while that might sound like a mass of messy audiences … they’re very clear on who they are targeting, why they are targeting them and the benefit this audience – and the nation – will get from doing it.
And while the idea of ‘a place to relax, enjoy life and not work’ is possibly the most cliched holiday destination proposition you could get, when it’s offered as a life – as opposed to a holiday destination – it becomes so much more. Because for 50+ year olds, with a bit of cash who are thinking/starting to retire … this isn’t just about having a chance to escape where they are, but a chance to escape who they are – the gift for easy reinvention and exploration – and as invitations go, that’s far more compelling than ‘spend 2 weeks somewhere you haven’t.
Creatively smart.
Culturally smart.
Economically smart.
And from a government. Who knew …
Have a look at it here:
Filed under: 2025, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Cakes And Pies, China, Colenso, Colleagues, Comment, Confidence, Creativity, Culture, Deutsch, England, London, New Zealand, R/GA, Shanghai, Wieden+Kennedy
Over the years, I’ve introduced a number of behaviours and/or rituals into the places I’ve worked.
Some have been serious … like the cultural research studies and books I’ve done, such as Dream Small or America in the Raw [to name but two] and some have been errrrrrm, less serious, like the pie-making competitions.
I say less serious, but people don’t act that way.
In fact, regardless of whether I’m talking about the teams in Shanghai, LA, London or Auckland … they all reveal they’re as competitive as fuck.
And in some cases, delusional as hell. Hahaha.
At Colenso, I introduced the Fuck Off And Pie.
Basically we define a theme – or an ingredient – and people have to make something that reflects it.
It’s all blind-tested and then we vote on who is best over a number of categories before the overall winner is revealed to great fanfare.
Or some fanfare.
Anyway, last month the Fuck Off And Pie theme was ‘birthday’s’.
Over the space of 2 hours we witnessed – and ate – a glorious celebration of creativity, gastronomy, insanity and revenge. Put it this way, as bakers … we’re great planners.
From a personal point of view, I had a lot to prove.
Despite being my idea, the last 2 occasions had seem my submission come second-to-last. This was devastating, given I had won first place at R/GA with my totally breakthrough [cough cough] ‘Breakfast Pie’.
The good news is my entry – entitled, ‘Give Birth, Day Cake’ came a highly credible 3rd.
The bad news is I probably have another HR violation.
Here’s why … followed by some other pics of the day. A day that will long live in our memory, and our bowels.
[It’s a public holiday in Auckland on Monday – I know, I know – so see you Tuesday]
Filed under: 2025, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Brands, Collaboration, Communication Strategy, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Experience, Fulfillment, Love, Music, My Childhood, Pearl Jam, Relationships, Relevance, Resonance, Respect
Following on from yesterday’s post about Duran Duran, we have another musical post.
Except this isn’t about exploitation and re-definition, this is more a ‘blast from the past’.
I know this is going to make me sound old – it will also make me sounds a total hypocrite given I’ve always loved music for its melody, rhythm and vibe rather than its lyrics – but I got sent this clip of a crowd at a Pearl Jam gig from a few years ago and I love it.
OK, so part of it is because I like Pearl Jam.
Another part is because I have always loved the song they’re performing – Black – which is on what I consider their finest album, Ten.
God, that album is magnificent. I remember being blown away when I first heard it – probably in the Tap and Tumbler, around the corner from Rock City where anyone going to Friday Rock Night would head before a night of head-banging.
But whereas back then, my favorite song was ‘Alive’ … the lyrics of Black pulled me in over the years.
“I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life
I know you’ll be a star in somebody else’s sky
But why, why, why can’t it be
Oh, can’t it be mine?”
Maybe it’s because I became more of a sentimental, romantic fool … but I find them so beautiful. And as I said, I’ve never really been a lyrics guy … hell, I can’t even remember lyrics to songs I wrote back in the Bangkok Shakes/Virgin Records days. But those … oh I fell in love with them, probably the first time I saw Pearl Jam live [1992] and heard the crowd sing them, like in the video above.
For someone who is not religious, when I hear a crowd sing, it becomes very spiritual for me. A transcendence into something I can’t quite explain. A feeling of deep connection with those around me with a deep belief we’re creating something special together. It’s why I also love pentecostal music … except, like most music for me, it has little to do with the words, and more the vibe and emotion.
But ‘Black’ is different …
Probably because it reflects a specific time in my life where I was balancing joy and pain in equal measure. Coming into a time of my life of freedom and exploration but also deeply aware of a darkness that was seemingly trying to engulf all that was important in my life. With that in mind, I can’t think of a more perfect band to create the soundtrack to your life like Pearl Jam.
And while watching that clip does take me back to those times, it is superseded by a general feeling of joy. Watching the crowd not just witness something special, but being an active participant in the moment. Acting like their own instrument. A crowd infected by audience members scattered all around who show and lead the way for them to form an impromptu orchestra of vocal harmony and cacophony. It’s fucking beautiful … amplified by the fact there’s few camera phones. Not experiencing the moment through a screen. But a total connection and presence.
Hey, I’m as guilty as the next person for videoing and photographing gigs … it’s a way to capture a significant moment you can enjoy for years. But I do wonder if it is ever quite as significant as you would get just being there, lost in nothing but the sounds and emotions you’re all creating and feeling together.
It’s why I find it interesting more and more artists are saying their concerts are ‘smartphone free zones’. Not because – like in the 80’s – they had sold the photographic rights to concert images to a 3rd party, but because when an audience looks at them through the screen, they feel there’s a barrier between them and the energy they get back from the crowd.
As I’ve written before – both here and here – it’s a two-way street.
And while some may say, “it’s not my job to make the band feel good because I’ve paid them money to make me feel good” they’re missing the point.
Because while it’s true money ensures you receive a certain level of passion, consideration, commitment and effort from the artist in their performance … the more you contribute to the experience, the more you all get out of it.
It’s why the best creative work isn’t made for clients who dictate and judge, but those who appreciate they play an important and integral role in creating the conditions for it to go – and get to – magical places.
In the creative journey, there is no room for passengers.
And yet, too many carry energy vampires and toxic stowaways.
The sooner clients get this, procurement departments get this, marketing practice ‘guru’s’ get this, media agencies get this and ad agencies get this … the sooner we will all be able to create moments that deeply connect to rather than just shout and bore.
It’s down to us.
It won’t happen by itself.
So what happens next is down to all of us.
One by one. Job by job. Meeting by meeting.
It won’t be easy, but my god … it will be worth it.