Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Culture, Curiosity, Experience, Innovation, Technology
As many of you know, I love technology.
Well, that’s not completely correct … I love gimmick, gadget technology.
Robot dogs.
Robot balls.
Robot guitars.
If it does something interesting – or something stupid – you can be pretty sure I will not only love it, but I will do my best to own a version of it. Or in the case of my Robot Dogs, a hundred of them. [Long story]
Obviously, we know the speed and rise of technology is ridiculous, but you have to be of a certain age to really appreciate it.
There was an article years ago that argued people born between the late ’60s/early ’70s were the only generation who could truly appreciate the internet’s impact … in so much as they would have been old enough to have established life prior to its emergence, while still being young enough to embrace all it offered as it became more and more everyday and mainstream.
Whether that is true, is anyone’s guess … but I know many of the things I now take for granted, were once the sort of idea that belonged in science fiction cartoons.
Now I appreciate that makes me sound the oldest man in the universe, but recently I saw 2 things that really brought it home to me. And hopefully to you.
The first is the Apple Mac Neo – Apple’s ‘budget’ laptop – is run off a computer chip found in an iPhone.
I don’t know about you, but I find that amazing.
Sure, I knew my iPhone was powerful, but knowing it can run an entire computer – albeit an ‘entry level one’ – makes me look at it with new found respect … not to mention makes me appreciate how far technology has come, given back in 1956 the IBM 305 RAMAC – a computer that needed a lorry to transport it due to its size and weight – only had 5 fucking megabytes memory.
FIVE!!!
But even that doesn’t quite capture the advancement of technology in a way everyone can relate to …
Doesn’t quite capture the computing power we take for granted every single day …
But this will.
Recently, a computer engineer got the 80’s classic video game to run on the screen of a pregnancy test.
That’s right … the screen of a device that tells you whether you’re pregnant or not, can be programmed to turn it into a video game.
Sure, they had to adapt its inner workings a little.
Sure, it is hardly the best user experience in the World.
But the reality is, this everyday device has the computing power to run an entire video game.
A VIDEO GAME!!!
But you want to know something even crazier than that?
Well, it’s not that it can tell you whether you’re CARRYING LIFE INSIDE OF YOU, which is pretty amazing in itself. Nor is it that it has more memory than the giant IBM computer above. On no … the craziest thing is every pregnancy device has more computing power than we used to land a man on the fucking moon.
Yep, a product we buy and literally PEE ON, then THROW IN THE BIN is more powerful than all the computing power we had to send astronauts into OUTER FUCKING SPACE!!!
Kind of sad that for all this advancement, we use it to doom-scroll each day.
Or worse, read this bloody blog.
And that – ladies and gentlemen – not only explains how far technology has come and how much technology surrounds every aspect of our life … but how casually we treat, use and disrespect the most powerful tools humanity continually creates.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Comment, Doctor, Eye, Health, Medicine, Nurses
A few weeks ago, I made an appointment to see my GP.
When I walked into his room, he was busy typing notes into his computer before asking how he could help.
I replied, “You can’t”.
I left just enough of a pause to make things seem dramatic before I added I was there to thank him for the speed he recognised the danger of my eye disease, because had he not – and many wouldn’t have – I’d likely of gone permanently blind.
He just looked at me, a bit in shock.
Not because of how bad my eye issue ended up being, but because I’d gone to see him to say thanks.
More than that, I’d paid $70 for the privilege of being able to do it.
And that’s when I realized how often they must see patients who don’t listen to what they say.
Not because their diagnosis is bad, but because it requires them to change how they live. And they don’t want to do that.
So over years and years, the Doctor and the patient have the same conversation over and over again … until they either listen, or never come back.
To be honest, I probably was one of those people … always looking for the ‘quick fix prescription’ rather than take responsibility for my wellbeing.
But for some reason, Dr Sohn changed all that.
I have no understanding how – or why – but he managed it. In fact, he is the reason I started my ‘health’ kick.
Let’s be honest, I’d needed to lose weight for decades … but never did.
Some of that was because I was overwhelmed by the idea of it …
Some of that that because I literally had no idea how to start …
Some of that was because I didn’t believe I was capable of doing it …
Some of that was because I was pretty depressed at how I looked and felt …
And yet, after he made a passing comment about trying a diet for 3 months, I have ended up 57kg lighter than when he first mentioned it to me.
I know he’s proud of that because he’d once told me he references me to other patients. Proof it can be done.
But I don’t think my results are the real reason for it and more the fact I’m someone he can point to and say, “he listened”.
Which gets to the point of this post …
We often have clients or colleagues who ignore what we suggest.
That despite our experience, knowledge or information, they prefer to follo what they think is right instead.
And – let’s be honest – that pisses us right off.
But advertising and medicine are very different things – so while we may take what we do as seriously as what every Doctor or Nurse does – no fucker is going to die because someone hasn’t done what we told them they should.
That’s right … one side is trying to SAVE LIVES while the other is trying to make some ads.
So with that in mind, maybe we all need to chill-the-fuck-out and be thankful we’re not Doctors or Nurses – while being thankful as hell for our Doctors and Nurses – because in terms of job frustration, we’re total amateurs compared to the shit they have to endure from their clients.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, AI, Comment, Corporate Evil, Management, Money, Music, Technology
While this post doesn’t rely on you watching this clip first, it may help explain why I have written it …
As many of you will know, I am a huge fan of technology.
Which means, I am also a huge fan of AI.
However, what I’m not a huge fan of, are the vast majority of people behind it. Or more specifically, their reasons for doing it. And the implications we’ll all encounter because of it.
It’s because of that, I’m fast coming to the view that the vast majority of tech bros, should be called terrorist bros – hence the title of this post.
Let’s be honest, for all their expensive manufactured PR claiming they want to help society ‘win at life’, we continue to watch their hunger for power, money, ego and control wreak havoc across society through their self-interest crafted half truths, delusion and manipulation.
What makes it worse is AI can do so much good for so many people so it’s doubly sad the vast majority of tech leaders [and corporate leaders] seem to just want it for pushing profit and productivity – regardless of cost or implication on everyone else both short term and long.
Which made me think …
What if another nation acted this way? Did things that were purposefully designed to destabalise how another society functioned or operated (be it environmentally, socially or economically) for their own benefit?
Would we just accept it or see it as an attack? An act of commercialism or an act of aggression?
We don’t have to look too far to see how certain countries respond to ‘perceived’ threats that aren’t anywhere near as overt or obvious as AI. [Cough cough]. So when do the tech companies get reigned in? When do we get back to valuing substance and experience not just celebrate how fast we can get to the aggregated superficial? When do we get back to investing in people and training rather than reducing and discarding?
OK, rant over. But wouldn’t it be great if we all looked up to the values and standards of Prince rather than the culture vampires like Mikey Shulman.
Finally …
How grateful are you that I don’t drink?. Can you imagine what this would be like if I did? Haha.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand, Brand Suicide, Comment, Consultants, Corporate Evil, Crap Campaigns In History, Creativity, Culture, Kickstarter
I know I work in marketing.
I know everyone likes to think their ‘thing’ is a ‘unique’ thing.
And I know people like to ‘big up’ whatever it is they do to sound even bigger than it is … like claiming a solid marketing 101 course is a ‘mini-MBA’, which is made even more amusing by the fact the person behind it has developed a caricature of being ‘no nonsense’ … but the problem with this ‘blinkers on, always look straight ahead’ attitude is that while you’re spouting your ridiculousness, we don’t see the people around us laughing and pointing.
Self-awareness is increasingly becoming one of the most important and valuable attributes in business – and yet, too often, anyone who points out a problem is met with distain, as if they are trying to destroy an organization when all they’re trying to do is protect them.
At this point, I could point to that utterly horrific Ritz Cracker Superbowl ad … or that Maxwell House/Apartment abomination … but no, I found something even more potentially insane.
This.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate people have favourite notepads. It may be influenced by paper stock quality, design or number of pages … but selling a notebook on its ability to lay perfectly flat?
It’s a notebook for fucks sake, not a bloody Toblerone.
This is up there with the sort of bullshit hype you see on most Kickstarter pages … except on Kickstarter, they at least try and claim they’ve added some sort of innovation that marks it out from traditional approaches, whether true or not.
But a notebook that lies flat?
That’s where we’ve got folks.
That’s where the marketing industry is.
Where it is no longer good enough to simply be good at what you do, everything needs to have some sort of hype ingredient … even if it induces ridicule more than aspiration.
It’s not even fucking targeted to a particular audience who may – just may – value the aesthetic of multiple notebooks placed together more than what they put in the notebook.
If you take away the fact this ad is desperately and blatantly attempting to suggest it’s for a premium product with an innovative feature … this may actually be the most generic piece of generic communication ever created.
And before someone says, ‘but you noticed it and wrote about it’, I would remind people the opposite of good isn’t bad, it’s apathy and there’s more of that being triggered than ever before – driven by systems, processes and ego’s that care more about elevating the self-importance of the creator than addressing the realities, needs and contexts of the recipient.
What we do can be important.
Not life-changing important, but important all the same.
Let’s not forget we can emotionally move people, impact economies and categories and create different futures for millions in ways few other industries could ever dream of achieving.
But if we carry on with our blinkered, arrogant, tick-box, Emperor’s New Clothes attitude, we will eventually discover – as will the clients, pundits and peddlers who either buy into this approach, encourage it or flog it – that the only people who are listening, is themselves.
Of course, as an industry, we should always be open to the new and the next.
But that should never be at the expense of forgetting, ignoring or devaluing what we do and how great we can be at doing it.
Sadly, somewhere along the way, it appears we have … and are now our business model appears to be chasing whatever we think makes us look relevant to the procurement department in business rather than doing things that are valuable to the actual business.
Resulting in us having more tools but making less valuable stuff with it.
Or said another way, we’re increasingly becoming a division of Temu.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Complicity, Creativity, Cunning, Management, Scam, Systems, Technology
A few weeks ago, I received this email.
I know it’s small – and blurry – so out of the kindness of my heart, let me replicate what it says:
Hi Rob, I hope this message finds you well.
My name is Thomas and I am a recruitment consultant working on behalf of a large marketing firm.
I found your Linkedin profile and was impressed by your background and professional experience.
We are currently recruiting for several positions and would like to know if you a opportunities with us. We are looking for innovative and forward-thinking people who are passionate about building the future.
I think you would be an excellent fit for this organization, It you’re ready to take the next step in your career, we’d love to hear from you.
Please apply directly through our Careers portal.
Warm Regards.
Thomas Ryan
Recruitment Consultant
I’ve got to be honest, it really pissed me off.
Not just because it was speculative.
Not just because it was unsolicited.
Not just because it was ambiguous.
But because it was also presumptuous – exemplified by the ‘book a call’ link at the bottom.
I am fed up of how lazy some recruiters are – especially as some poor company is paying them for their ‘expertise’ in finding talent – so this time, instead of ignoring them, I decided to reply to them.
So I sent this:
Hello Thomas, thank you for reaching out.
I hope you will forgive me, but I receive many of these emails so to ensure we’re both on the same page, could you let me know what it is about my experience you feel is especially relevant for the opportunity you represent?
In addition, it would be good if you could tell me a bit about the actual opportunity – from industry, to geography, to level of position.
Thank you so much.
I know, polite eh?
And why – given I was so pissed off?
Well, because I wanted Thomas to respond so I could prove he hadn’t actually read my profile and was just ‘talent farming’ … by that I mean sending out copious amounts of emails to all and sundry to see who bit so they could tell their client about their extensive search and charge their fee.
And did I get a reply?
Not exactly. A few hours later I got an email saying my response had not been sent as the email it was sent to didn’t work.
I should have known given so many of these type of emails are sent out with the sole goal of ensuring they don’t have to deal with any direct contact … however I was still pissed at the lazy and impersonal approach, so I went back to the original email to see if there was any way to contact them.
Having looked again, I realized there wasn’t any except that link to ‘book a call’.
At this point I’d decided to write a blog post about Thomas and how horrid and presumptive his approach was – so in a bid to try and find out more info on how to reach him for the content of the post, I clicked on the link and …
Well, at this point I should be showing you an image of what I found, but I forgot to take a photo, so instead … maybe this will give you a good idea of what I discovered:
Yep, I was caught in a phishing scam. Except they weren’t trying to steal my data, they were ‘teaching me’ that I needed to be more careful before I click on links sent on email because this ‘scam’ was from our own IT department.
Now I appreciate I work for an Omnicom company. And I appreciate security is rightfully very important to them and they understandably want all their people to take security seriously too. And I acknowledge I’d just demonstrated that I need to be extra vigilant because these things can – and do – happen all the time, even though it was the first time I’d fallen for something like this in my 5 years with the company. Which I will. And finally, I also acknowledge that on closer inspection, the email was riddled with little tell-tell spelling mistakes that I should have noticed … though the reality is not only did I miss them, I only saw them when I replicated the email above for legibility and corrected them for ease of reading this post.
However – and maybe it’s just me – the way they approached this ‘lesson’ feels a bit yucky.
Not because I was caught out – it was definitely an effective way to remind people to keep on their toes where company internet security is concerned – but because their approach could be read by some as a way to scare people into fearing – or staying clear – of any genuine recruitment enquiry they receive from any outside party.
Now you might think who cares, it was effective. And that’s fair.
Or you may think that couldn’t happen … but imagine you’re new to the business and have never experienced dealing with a recruiter before? Add to that the endless rounds of redundancies they’re hearing about – and most probably fearing – and let me tell you, I can absolutely see this sort of thing potentially putting someone off who is young in the industry from responding or replying for a long time.
As I said, I get why they do this sort of thing and I hold my hands up in acknowledging I was caught out by it – albeit for reasons they probably hadn’t anticipated which is namely some bloke with a blog suddenly wanted name and shame the sender for their lazy and sloppy professionalism. And it’s because of that I would like to take this opportunity to genuinely congratulate the Omnicom IT department for their devious and – all credit to them – creative way to teach an important and valuable lesson.
[As an aside, I wonder if they send similar sorts of things to different CEO’s of different Omnicom companies? Except instead of Thomas being a fictional recruiter with ambiguous job openings, he’s now a potential client with a billion dollar advertising budget he wants to talk to them about, via a ‘book a call’ link]
But for any younger person who has never been in the position of being approached by a headhunter and was caught out by this exercise – and looking at Reddit and Fishbowl, there were – let me ease your paranoia by saying should you ever end up wanting or needing to explore new opportunities and don’t know where to start, who to turn to or what to do, seek out Lea Walker or Lesley Cheng, who are both based in Australia but work internationally.
Not just because they’re brilliant humans who happen to be incredible, smart and deeply knowledgeable experts in talent, careers and roles … but because they will never send you an email that could be an Omnicom IT phishing test in disguise.
I will now never be responding to any email, let alone make the stupid mistake of clicking a link … even if its in the quest to write a scathing blog post.
Consider myself properly ‘chastised’.