Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Communication Strategy, Corporate Evil, Corporate Gaslighting, Customer Service, Technology
A few months ago, I decided I needed to sort out my emails.
Specifically, how many I was receiving each day.
That’s not a fucked-up, humble brag … it was because after decades of internet use, I’d acquired so many companies sending me their shit because I’d either once ordered from them or made an enquiry to them, that it was genuinely costing me time in my day.
So, over the period of a week I vowed to ‘unsubscribe’ from 98% of every company email I received – with only a few organizations surviving the cull because I either found them genuinely valuable and interesting and/or their were legal implications if I didn’t act on what they sent me.
So off I went.
Every morning, I’d go through each email … find the ‘unsubscribe’ button, which would be hidden somewhere in the body copy, normally at the very, very bottom … and then watch my browser open up to the corresponding website so I could ‘click’ on the metaphorical, ‘FUCK OFF AND LEAVE ME ALONE’ FOREVER button and say goodbye to them forever.
Or so I thought.
Because some of those links didn’t open.
Some of those links didn’t automatically let you unsubscribe.
Some of those links had a messed-up UX that manipulated you into resubscribing without initially realizing.
Some of those links demanded you then jump through all manner of hoops before they would acknowledge you had achieved your goal.
And some of those links just ignored your request and kept sending you emails like a technological cockroach who refused to die.
And even after spending FIVE WORKING DAYS pressing ‘unsubscribe’ so often that I probably need a job number to justify all the time I spent doing it … and even after giving every one of these companies a week to get their shit together … there’s still 7 companies who keep sending me their bullshit.
EVERY. DAY.
Despite me unsubscribing from them again and again and again.
In some ways I’m almost impressed at how little they care about upsetting their audience … even though I have to admit, it has made me hate them with a zeal normally reserved for the true bastards of the world/
But what is also weird, is the companies who made unsubscribing easy – without fuss, mess, complexity or further demands – has made me want to sign up to them again. Because nothing shows how much a company really cares about their customers than how well they treat them even when it’s so they can say goodbye.
Have a great weekend.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Customer Service, Food, Planes
This is going to be the most First World Problem post I’ve ever written – and I’ve written a lot!
So as many of you know, I fly a lot.
And – given the distances I travel – I get to fly a lot of that as business class.
I know … I know …
The reality is I don’t take advantage of any of the benefits because I tend to fall asleep as soon as the engines start [literally] and when I do eat on a plane – which isn’t very often – I tend to ask for an economy meal because my tastebuds are pure 1970’s Nottingham and I much prefer it.
However recently I was in the US, flying United, when I got served this …
How fucking beautiful does that look?
Appetizing.
Freshly made.
Relatively healthy.
It was such a shock I photographed it and sent it to my wife and she was as shocked as me.
Even more than that, it tasted bloody lovely and I don’t mind telling you, I was in shock. So in shock I’m writing this post about it.
And just to help put this in comparison – here’s the equivalent I once was served by British Airways business class.
I rest my case.
As many people have said, we eat with our eyes before we eat with our mouths … and I just don’t understand why so few airlines understand this.
Too many either cram the tray with every possible item to try and seduce you with abundance or surround you with fancy cutlery and glasses to distract you from the slop in front of you. But this is a perfect example of ‘less is more’ – acknowledging the ‘less’ is still done with obvious care and craft.
Which is a pretty good lesson for the industry at large because we seem to spend an inordinate amount of time and effort creating everything other than what is actually needed … either because certain clients think overloading their partners with expectations gives them control and power or certain agencies think giving their clients loads of stuff demonstrates they are good value.
Which reminds me of something a friend of mine recently told me:
“The easiest way to tell if someone knows what they’re doing is by what they’re requiring or producing. The more they want, the less they understand who their audience is, what their problem is and what they need to change their situation”.
Or said another way – and quoting the chef we interviewed for Tabasco, years ago:
“The more confident the chef, the less ingredients they use”.
The problem is right now – thanks to lack of clarity, lack of truth, lack of authority and abundance of procurement – we’re making soup with 10,000 ingredients and it doesn’t even taste good, let alone nourish people.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Brands, Career, Cliches, Colleagues, Communication Strategy, Conformity, Consultants, Corporate Gaslighting, Creative Development, Creativity, Egovertising, Logic, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Practice, Marketing Science, Mediocrity, Privilege, Professionalism, Reputation, Resonance, Respect
So, this is the last working day of October and on Monday, we’re in November.
NOVEMBER?!
Thank fuck because I’ve found this year very, very difficult and November means it’s almost over.
I don’t really know why I have such a problem with 2026 … let’s be honest, I’ve had another year that many people would love to have experienced – not to mention the fact that compared to last year, my health has been in a much better state than it has been for the past few years.
And yet this year has felt a struggle.
Like walking through treacle.
Struggling for oxygen.
A difficulty to ignite energy and enthusiasm for stuff.
Not for everything … but given the one thing I’ve never struggled to have is energy to do stuff that excites me, it’s quite the revelation.
So why is this the case?
Who knows …
I do think the state of the World has a lot to do with it.
As has the almost shameless irresponsibility of the tech companies to destroy the future for all of us.
And then the equally repulsive behaviour of so many leaders in our industry who love acting like business pioneers while acting and behaving like the spoilt, greedy, selfish psychopathic children they are.
And yet despite my incredibly privileged and fortunate position, I am being deeply affected by it.
Not just for my personal situation – which is admittedly far better than most – but also for the millions of talented people who are either being discarded by the industry or are walking into it with high hopes and wide eyes.
Thank god, there are still some good people, companies and clients out there.
Who value quality rather than easy.
Who want to grow through standards rather than shortcuts.
Who care about the people who work for them rather than see them as an annoying cost.
But it feels like there are less of those than ever before … though that could be because the momentum of the industries publicity seems to be focused on the promotion of bullies and loudmouths, which makes me angry as anyone who doesn’t subscribe to their point-of-view ends up feeling there is no place for them and start to questioning if the industry is for them.
I’ve talked to so many of these people this year.
Struggling to work out where they fit in.
Wondering if there is a future they can grasp.
Confused why the standards they’re being asked to work to are so low.
It’s really that bad for so many and while it would be easy to say they’re complaining – the issue is with us, not them.
Which leads to this week’s posts.
I appreciate anyone who has read them may ask “is Rob OK?”
And the reality is I am … but I’m tired.
Tired of the hypocrisy.
Tired of the exploitation.
Tired of the pundits and theory pushers.
Tired of the gaslighting where everyone says nothing is wrong.
This industry used to be full of different voices, backgrounds, experiences and ideas. But now? Well now it feels everyone is adopting the same methodologies and approaches pushed by the same few people.
Worse, the same few people who either have never done the work they are so loud in criticising or have a self-interest in wanting others to adopt their ‘system’.
Earlier this year I spoke at the Berlin Strategy Conference.
At the beginning of my talk, I said how I keep hearing people talk about how we can make the industry better, but no one ever asks what I think is the critical question:
Are we having fun?
Not for superficial bullshit reasons but because if we’re not having fun, why are we doing it and – even more importantly – why do we think we’ll get paid and respected for it.
I appreciate not everything is going to be fun and frolics, but given our job is to use creativity to help society not just know about a brand or product, but to give a shit about it, means if we’re not enjoying making the work, you can be sure-as-fuck people won’t enjoy being exposed to it.
I appreciate systems, processes, formats and rules have an important role to play, but when they end up dictating WHAT we do and HOW we do it, then it’s hardly surprising the work we make isn’t just increasingly the same but is lacking the energy and intrigue that can deeply connect and motivate society at large.
That the value of creativity to inspire, encourage, motivate and engage people has been replaced by the ability to fire-hosing of the public with whatever self-serving, monotone message a company says all you need to know about the rise of consultant-think.
Add to this the fact companies spent over ONE TRILLION DOLLARS on media over the last 12 months and surely someone should be asking just how smart all these supposed smart systems and formats actually are.
Again, not because they don’t have any value, but because they definitely don’t provide all the value they love to claim.
So, here’s to the end of month 10 of 2026 … we’re much closer to [hopefully] ending a year of big egos and small thinking.
On the bright side, it’s the perfect conditions for a truly scary Halloween.
Always a silver lining … ahem.
Filed under: Advertising, Airports, Attitude & Aptitude, Communication Strategy, Corporate Gaslighting, Embarrassing Moments, Empathy, Tourism, Toxic Positivity
If you don’t want to read all this shit … just skip to the ad [and the point of this post] at the bottom of this page.
However, if you want the context and backstory … read on:
So I saw this ad yesterday. Yes, yesterday – which means this may be the most topical post I’ve written in 20 years.
And while it is supposedly for Emirates Airlines, the reality is it’s a Dubai Government ad.
Look I get how important tourism is to the nation …
I also appreciate how instrumental Dubai has been in helping change the perspectives of the Middle East …
But while they have been incredibly successful in doing that, the situation in the Middle East has impacted its appeal … as have the claims the Government are clamping down on anyone who uses social media to express a perspective that doesn’t match the image the powers-that-be want to present to the World.
I have friends who have/are living there and it’s fascinating talking to the ones who left and the ones who are still there.
It’s like talking to people who reside o different planets …
And while some of that may be because things have changed in the time they have gone, I can’t help but feel that for the guys still there – who talk to me with a robotic smile – the reasons are either:
1. They fear the possible implications of being found to have said anything negative to anyone.
2. It allows them to deflect having to ask themselves, ‘why are we still here?’
Or said another way, there’s commercial reasons to be deliberately positive.
Could be wrong … may not be such a binary answer … but whatever the reality, it definitely isn’t all Unicorns and Rainbows over there, which is why this ad blows my mind.
Because not does Emirates/Dubai Government fail to acknowledge any element of the situation happening in the region, they basically are doubling-down and saying the World’s media are lying to everyone.
Look at the headline on the fake newspaper at the beginning of the ad!!
It’s straight out the Trump playbook … deny, deflect, dismiss.
OK … OK … so they do say ‘some of the stories are even true’.
And then add ‘we know Dubai is not everyone’s cup of tea’.
But not only do they gloss over it faster than Usain Bolt after 19 espresso’s, they adopt a tone that suggests anyone who is not convinced by their words is a parochial idiot.
Or said another way, even more gaslighting.
And while that approach will probably convince some, for others they will be left asking ‘how do you trust a nation that’s so willing to lie to itself?’
There were so many other ways they could have done this.
Approaches that could have built bridges and provided clarity rather than just gaslight and create greater doubt.
[For example my ‘8 mile’ strategy approach could have been one way to tackle it]
But instead they went for this condescending, patronizing, ego-satisfying rubbish …
Another example of an organization who views ‘understanding audiences’ as an inconvenience when all they want to do is tell people what they want them to think.
Which is sad as Dubai is an interesting place. Full of wonderful people and with a far richer and more interesting culture and history than this work conveys.
So enjoy … it’s a great example of crisis management, wrapped in ego and denial.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Colleagues, Corporate Evil, Corporate Gaslighting, Work
Back in Jan 2021, I wrote a post about the ridiculousness of ‘unlimited leave’ policies.
By that, I mean companies pretending they mean it when we all know that they would lose their shit if someone said they wanted 4 weeks off, let alone 4 months!
Which is why I found this post I saw on Twitter/X recently, so funny.
Because while it’s taking the piss, it’s also never been so serious in its life:
