Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Apathy, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Cliches, Clients, Collaboration, Communication Strategy, Complicity, Conformity, Consultants, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Distinction, Diversity, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Egovertising, Emotion, Empathy, Entertainment, Experience, Fake Attitude, Focus Groups, Food For Thought, Fulfillment, Independence, Influencers, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Practice, Marketing Science, Mediocrity, Perspective, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Popularity, Professionalism, Provocative, Purpose, Relevance, Reputation, Research, Resonance, Respect, Strategy, Technology, Toxic Positivity, Work
I know, that’s quite the title isn’t it.
Some would even say it’s ‘clickbait’.
Well, while I readily admit it’s slightly exaggerated, hang in there …
So years ago, Jill rang me to tell me she’d discovered Otis – who was about 4 years old back then – had made a shopping list of things he wanted to order on Amazon through Alexa.
Loads of stuff.
Fortunately for us, this included a range of items even Amazon can’t source.
Stuff such as: Eyeballs … Polar Bears … “Poo Poos” … and countless other weird shit his mind decided would be fun to own.
Putting aside the fact this proved he was most definitely my son, hearing his little voice recite all the things that were on his ‘ownership bucket list’ was wonderful, which is why we have never deleted it.
Not just so we can forever relive his childhood curiosity, but because it will be brilliant to play it when he has his 21st birthday – hahaha.
I say this because I recently read another evil genius use – or should I say, abuse – of Alexa.
This.
Why the hell had I never thought of doing this before?
On the positive, it has shown how mature I have become over the years. On the negative, it has highlighted how I am a groupie for mischief because you can be sure-as-hell I will be finding ways to do this to people from here on in. No wonder the guys at Q-Prime called me ‘immune to maturity’.
And while you may shake your head and call me a ‘sad bastard’ for wanting to do this, think of it as an act of revenge against the tech-bro boys.
Because as much as Alexa may have many uses and benefits … it has also fucked humanity. Teaching us to expect instant gratification for whatever we want, whenever we want it.
No moment for pause.
No time for consideration.
No appreciation of nuance.
Where the only thing that matters – and you are judged on – is the speed of the response.
It’s probably why so many brands love influencers.
Not simply because of their audience.
Not simply because of their popularity.
But because they will say EXACTLY what they want … without challenge, opinion or rearticulation.
I don’t blame the influencer for this, because not only are they making bank out of it, why should they give a shit … for them, the relationship is purely transactional and what they’re selling is access, not authenticity.
But I tell you who should care …
Clients.
But in these days where the main topic of conversation seems to be about ‘shouting at scale’ – read: believing media is way more important than working with people who know what to say and how to say it – is it any surprise that despite spending over US$1 TRILLION dollars on advertising last year, the industry feels like one homogenous, barren contrived-as-fuck blob?
Or as a client of mine recently said, “we’re past the brand building age and now in the brand shrinking era”.
I get instant answers are convenient.
I appreciate having people push back on you can be a pain.
But we need to get back to normalizing the value of objectivity.
Because the point of it is not to frustrate, but to stop you shouting into an echo chamber and building something that people helps people become something.
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Finally – as if it being Friday wasn’t good enough – I am away again for 11 days.
ELEVEN!!!
However it’s not all good news because if you’re in Perth, Western Australia … then Paris, France … then Beijing, China … I’m going to be in your hood so watch out.
Actually, it’s even worse for the people in Perth because I’m going to be shouting swearwords at the brilliant State Of Social conference.
That’s right, the wonderful, generous, kind idiots have invited me again … which means some people just never learn from their mistakes.
So have a good weekend/week. Unless you’re in Perth, Paris or Beijing.
See you around the 3rd Sept.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Communication Strategy, Complicity, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture
Oh my god, could our industry – especially the media covering our industry – please stop giving the same few people the professional pedestal to spout their views on everything.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re smart and have interesting to say … but they’re smart and have interesting to say about SOME things, not ALL things and all we’re doing in always turning to them is create a mono-culture of thought and creativity, which is fucked when most of them have not actually made the creativity they are so quick and happy to judge and criticise.
But it gets worse …
Because in elevating their importance, we are stopping their ability to be self-critical … resulting in at least a couple of them increasingly becoming belligerent and closed-minded to anyone who challenges or succeeds in ways that counter their own view.
Of course, part of that is because some make money from selling their ‘success systems’ to all and sundry, so if someone is able to be successful following other rules, it’s a huge threat to their business model. And that’s where the problem lies, because many of these people go out of their way to crush any or all counter perspectives, resulting in an industry increasingly being format driven than creatively so.
Seriously, the exposure the industry gives these few people could rival Madonna in her ‘Sex’ era … and it’s all our own fault.
Because like shock jock DJ’s of the 80’s or the current trend of ‘celebs’ spouting more extremist views for attention … we lap up being in – or part of – the drama, stupidly believing it makes us relevant, important or informed when really its just showing the decline in value towards critical thinking and originality.
As I said, a lot of what these people say can be good … or at least worth the consideration. But my god, every week I read another article where our industry has asked them for their view, regardless if they have the credibility, experience or objectivity to do it justice.
Look, I know our industry is built on people having an opinion – whether wanted, warranted or worthy.
But – for the sake of our industry – can we please vary the voices being heard.
Let’s hear from different experts.
Let’s hear from people with different experiences.
Let’s hear from those who have achieved in different ways.
Not to ridicule the people I am talking to, but to dilute it … because the best of our industry – and of creativity – is born from the energy and smarts of debate, but increasingly so, it feels we are simply followers of the same few dictators. And given 40% of CEO’s think their company may not last the next decade and the average tenure of a S&P company has fallen from 60 years to 18 – in just a few decades – maybe the smartest thing we can do is hear from people challenging the formats that have got us into this position rather than reinforcing them.
Just a thought …
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Communication Strategy, Complicity, Conformity, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Egovertising, Experience
If you are going to read this post, please start by watching this clip …
I cannot tell you how much I love it.
Not because the speaker answers the question in a way that forces the entire audience to reconsider or re-evaluate their own perspective or judgement … but because I feel it shines a light on something we – as an industry – are increasingly failing to care about.
And that is, ‘do we like what we are creating?’
Don’t get me wrong, I know our job is to find a way to make audiences think or care about our clients in a way that offers them a commercial advantage … but too often it feels we’re ignoring the importance of whether ‘we like it’ in favour of whether ‘the focus groups’ and/or ‘research methodology’ does instead.
And while I fully expect many people will say, ‘who cares, the only people who matter are the customers’, you’d be wrong.
Not simply because it can feel you’re making work to please/appease the C-Suite more than the audience. Not simply because despite billions spent on market research [$150 billion in 2025], we still see high levels of underperformance when work is put out into ‘the real world’. But because if the people creating the work don’t find any joy in the work, then why the fuck do you expect anyone else to like it?
Actually, let’s go one step further …
If you don’t find any joy in what you’re creating, why would anyone else like it to the point they will actively choose to pay large sums of money for it?
Of course, ‘like’ is subjective. On top of that, it is incredibly dependent on having been exposed to a level of breadth, depth and craft of creativity that enables them to make objective and considered choices in how they judge and answer challenges. Which all leads to 3 points:
1. Companies need to stop thinking outsourcing their annual ‘one-size-fits-all’ training is acceptable behaviour. Especially when it’s outsourced to the same individuals and companies as everyone else is using, even though – ironically – they have never actually made any work that has made a sustainable and meaningful impact on society or categories.
2. Employees need to stop thinking that just because they receive a salary for doing a job – and/or have social media followers – they are equipped with all the skills, standards and qualifications to consider themselves ‘an expert’.
3. Marketing needs to respect and elevate the value of ‘experience’ again.
Not popularity.
Not price-point.
Not the ability to write ‘thought leadership’ articles.
Actual experience.
People who have consistently created, crafted and delivered work – not simply been associated with it – that has achieved, challenged pushed standards, brands and categories over and over again.
Because while they may be more expensive than other hires.
While they may be harder to work with because they call out the bullshit.
The value they offer is they’ll create work for you that passes the first level of the harshest critics … themselves.
And in a world of slop, parity and lowest common-denominator landfill, experience means you’ve just increased the odds of your business being able to take giant leaps rather than – at best – a few teeny-tiny, barely noticeable [unless pointed out with a big arrow] shuffles.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, America, Brand Suicide, Comment, Communication Strategy, Complicity, Corporate Evil, Gambling, Planners, Reframing, Strategy
I’m a strategist so I can respect a good repositioning when I see one … however, the repositioning of gambling to ‘prediction markets’ is fucking evil.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I see the smartness in it …
I see how they’re attempting to both separate themselves from the negative associations of gambling while also making it easier for people to justify taking part by presenting it like its an investment scheme rather than a punt on hope.
I saw the billboard at the top of this post in NYC last week, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the deliberate use of words like ‘trade’ are all part of their manipulation …
Attempting to look reputable and legitimate while they steal cash from right under your nose and potentially, your future.
I was going to say it blows my mind that this shit is allowed to be so blatantly misleading, but then I read Trump and his family are big investors in the major ‘prediction market’ players – which would go some way to explaining why the President is doing all he can to ensure they remain classified as ‘derivative traders’, because if they lose that right, not only would they have to adhere to rules that stops them implying they’re an investment firm, they’d have to go one step further and publicly acknowledge what they really are: financial parasites.
But whether Trump’s involvement is real or not almost doesn’t matter, because the bigger issue is not simply these companies are allowed to blatantly gaslight, exploit and rob the public … but we – as an industry and discipline – are helping them get away with it.
So to everyone involved in this evil shit, ‘fuck you’.
Maybe you should start ‘predicting’ how long you’ve got before you’re seen – and punished – for the lies and misery you’re so happy to flog for a few dollars more.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Complicity, Confidence, Conformity, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Frameworks, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Science, Relevance, Reputation, Resonance, Respect
The last 2 posts of this week have been pretty heavy … or, even angry.
And I make no apologies for that when I see how the talent in our industry are being undermined by people who only care about themselves than elevating the real value of what we do.
But even I need a rest from it, which is why I thought I’d talk about this …
This is the window display of a shop near the Colenso office.
Now I know they say New Zealand is 20 years behind the rest of the world but even then, it’s mind-blowing this is still up.
I mean, look at it?
It’s to even the overly sexualized image, it’s how fucking rubbish it is.
Like an outtake from this old Hagen Diaz ice cream ad by BBH, putting aside the production quality of this spot FROM 1992, is still better than this suntanning bullshit …
On one hand I’m almost impressed, because it takes a lot of delusional confidence to use this image, and while I get that I ‘noticed it’, that doesn’t mean it’s smart. And that’s where a lot of people go wrong with creativity – thinking that anything that stands out means it’s justifiable. Because while there are moments where ‘shock’ has a strategic rationale, it loses its value when [1] it’s for something no one gives a fuck about because it’s pure superficiality and [2] when every other fucker is adopting the same approach, because then you’re not standing out – just blending in.
Creativity is far more about smartness and sharpness than blatant attempts at shock value … but in the hands of those who don’t know or care what creativity can do – or be – for them, you end up with shit like this.
Or the Heinz/Heineken bullshit collab.
The thing they marketed as ‘the collab you’ve been waiting for’ – hahahahahaha, yeah right.
Of course I appreciate some people will read this and say I don’t know what I’m talking about, to which I will ask who is saying that.
Because I am pretty certain the majority of them will be people who’ve never made any actual creative work, let alone anything of note.
Work can be powerful, differentiated and impactful in a whole host of ways … starting with knowing the people you’re specifically talking to.
And that’s the problem, too many companies have no idea who they’re talking to, so try to talk to everyone.
Which is why you end up with that ketchup beer bullshit – or worse – that Maxwell House disaster.
Don’t get me wrong, I love causing mischief as much as the next guy. Probably more.
And I have probably done more of it than most … including some utter disasters, including the infamous ‘KitKat Royal Break’ nightmare.
But as I said, great creativity is inherently smart, sharp and surprising – rather than just playing the ‘superficial shock’ card – which is why whenever I am in this situation, I always remember something the great Rupert Howell – no slouch in provocative approaches – once said to me:
“Robert. One of the most important lessons to learn is ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”.
Reinforcing why we need more people educating the industry on ‘taste and trouble’ rather than how to blindly follow a framework that has zero nuance, understanding or space for context, category or audience.