Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Airports, America, Emotion, Empathy, Human Goodness, Humanity, Relationships, Relevance, Resonance
Despite being a sentimental bastard, I’ve always looked forwards.
I love the possibilities of what is ahead of us.
The new. The unknown. The what-if-we-could-do-this sort of stuff.
But when I was in NYC, I came face-to-face with a few things from the past that reminded me how their impact on me remains in the present.
I’ll be writing about a few of these over the next few weeks but the first was this …
Yep, a bank of payphone at JFK.
In a smartphone driven world, I have no idea why they’ve left so many of them there – but even accepting some people must choose to use a payphone over a mobile device, there was something lovely about seeing them all sat there.
A reminder of a time where the darkest corridors in the oldest airports were possibly where the most pure expressions of humanness could be experienced
People queuing up to talk to loved ones … friends … colleagues … or companies.
A rollercoaster of conversational emotions …
Happiness, Sadness. Curiosity. Despair. Hope. Calmness. Longing. Love.
Every payphone, a different story …
Each one interpreted by the voice, words and mannerisms of the person in front of you.
So even though airports send and bring millions of people to every corner of the globe each and every year, that row of payphones reminded me how rarely we now glimpse others lives in their raw and unfiltered state.
Social media certainly isn’t that.
In fact, I can’t think of many current situations where we witness masses of people all crammed into the same space, trying to live and deal with their individual lives in public.
Maybe that’s a good thing, but for all the convenience and freedom that tech gives us, this bank of payphones made me think that maybe the cost of this convenience is our ability to empathize and relate to the realities each of us lives in the shadows.
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.
__________________________________________________________________
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: 2025, A Bit Of Inspiration, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Clients, Communication Strategy, Context, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Design, Details, Emotion, Empathy, Fashion, Imagination, Integrity, Italy, Jewellery, Legend, Loyalty, Luxury, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Martin Weigel, Passion, Paula, Perspective, Planners, Planning, Precision, Professionalism, Reputation, Respect, Strategy
A few months ago, I found myself in Milan, having lunch with one of the most famous and successful designers in the World. At their house!!!
It was bonkers.
I had no right to be there, but the person I work for occasionally is a very good friend and he had wanted me to attend a few meetings … which is how I found myself one Tuesday lunchtime, eating pasta and trying to talk in broken Italian to them and their family members.
But this isn’t a post about my good fortune, this is a post about one thing they said that really hit me.
This designer is known for the distinctive nature of all they create.
The intricacy and craftsmanship that goes into every element of what they do.
Their work is instantly recognizable and this has built the foundation of their success, prestige and aspiration for decades.
Anyway, at one point – in mangled Italian – I asked them about where does ‘craft’ come into their process of design to which they looked at me like talking to a small child who didn’t know what the fuck they were saying [ahem!] and simply said:
“When you ask about craft, it sounds like you see it like an outer layer of the process. We don’t think that way. For us, everything is about the integrity of what we value and believe. It starts from the inside, never the out”.
In some ways, it sounds obvious, but it hit me hard.
So much of our industry is based on ‘making something’ and then ‘crafting the details’ to make it shine.
But they do it differently …
The ‘shine’ is the starting point and their goal is to ensure that is never lost in all they do.
It’s not an ‘after thought’, it’s the focal point.
More than that. It’s judging craft more by how it feels than how it looks. Or said in ways more relative to our industry – craft isn’t about gaining applause from the industry it’s done to help others connect more deeply to the work.
And somewhere along the line – in our quest for efficiency and speed – we have forgotten that. And as a result, we have increasingly lost it. Both in terms of having the time to do it and – arguably – the ability to. Because too many people see it as an ineffective use of time, when it is literally what helps give what we do it’s real value.
I couldn’t help but think of the Strategy Is Constipated, Imagination Is The Laxative talk Martin Weigel, Paula Bloodworth and I gave at Cannes in 2023.
There, we argued that too much of the straegic process is designed to blindly follow where logic takes us versus going where imagination reveals we can play. And by doing this, we are actively removing the excitement of possibility from our approach rather than doing all we can to protect it.
And that’s one of the reasons we are where we are.
Protecting the wrong things and as a byproduct of that, destroying what makes us valuable.
And while I appreciate some will say that is both a naive and commercially stupid statement … maybe, just maybe, what it actually reveals is how our whole industry has lost sight of how to build things versus just say things.
Lost in the cult of systems, tools and market evaluation rather than appreciating and understanding the integrity of who they are, who they’re for and where they can go.
Or, as the nice hosts of my lunch in Milan also said.
“Shortcuts lead to long term oblivion”
Which – to paraphrase the brilliant Lee Hill – explains why building a career these days is less about what you do, and more about identifying the optimum time to get out.
_______________________________________
Today is the 2nd anniversary of us saying goodbye to our dear Rosie. In some ways it feels even longer than that but the loss still cuts deep.
She was a complaining princess, but she was our complaining princess and I’d like nothing more to have her here, bossing Bonnie about – who would love her whereas Bonnie would simply be tolerated.
Love you Rosie. Miss you.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Cannes, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Conformity, Craft, Creativity, Design, Details, Efficiency, Emotion, Empathy, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Practice, Martin Weigel, Planners, Systems
I met someone recently who said they bet I spent my money on crap.
To be fair to them, our conversation had probably led them to that conclusion based on something I did while I was talking to them.
But I still say it was because I was interested in knowing more about them, rather than just trying to avoid them – which I appreciate sounds like an excuse, but it’s not. Honest.
That said, I appreciate what I did could sound a bit ‘weird’ out of context and while I know many would suggest this is just one more bad purchase decision in a long line of bad purchase decisions [100 robot dogs and a windmill anyone?] … the reality is in both those cases, they – admittedly, amazingly – made me money, which means I’m a genius.
Or it would if they weren’t the exception to the rule.
But while I am sadly much more sensible with my spending these days [comparatively speaking] the reality is I do like buying things that appeal to me emotionally more than logically.
Not because I’m a psychopath.
And not because I have bottomless piles of cash.
But because I like going down rabbit holes of discovering what other people feel are important to do – even if I don’t initially understand why they would do that.
Which is my way of explaining my latest purchase. This …
Yep, it’s a book on toilets. Toilets from all around the World.
And why would I do such a thing?
Well, it’s not because it’s a book … it’s because it celebrates people who decided they wanted to do something special with the most functional room in their house or building.
At a time where efficiency and optimization are the most biggest influences in seemingly every decision being made these days, a book on magical bathrooms is – in some way – the politest way to say ‘fuck you’ to all of that.
A reminder you can be, to paraphrase Mr Weigel, functional as hell and not be boring as fuck.
We need more of that … especially at a time where even the Cannes Lions seems to have forgotten about the role and importance of creativity that sustains over time, rather than just communicates in the moment.
So here’s to a book of magical toilets all around the World.
It’s a greater reminder and educator on the value of creativity than almost 99.6% of the hot takes on Linkedin.
Including this one, haha.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Clients, Colenso, Collaboration, Colleagues, Comment, Communication Strategy, Corporate Evil, Creativity, Culture, Delusion, Emotion, Empathy, Equality, Harmony, Honesty, Hope, Inclusion, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Relationships, Reputation, Resonance, Respect, Trust, Truth
Let’s be honest, when we want something we often show an ‘unnaturally good side’ of ourselves in an attempt to win someone over.
Doesn’t matter if it’s dating, business, or even getting someone to take out the bins … we are all capable of turning on our manipulation skills when it suits.
Nothing embodies this more than the agency pitch …
Where they bring out the most senior of senior leadership to the meetings …
Where they promise access to ‘the best of the best across the whole network’ …
Where they talk about developing specialised processes, systems and tools …
Where they discuss building a dedicated agency arm just for their service …
Where they say they’re open to new financial remuneration models and approaches …
And while I am in no way suggesting they’re lying about this, it rarely turns out like this.
There’s many reasons for that, of which one of them is prospective clients are also playing the same game …
Talking about the groundbreaking work they want …
Promising to provide good budgets, access and timelines …
Reinforcing how much they want a long-term partnership …
Championing the importance of debate and discussion …
Suggesting openness to new ways of working …
Again, not lying … but also not being entirely honest either.
If I’m being generous, a lot of this is because life and business is constantly changing and evolving so promised need to keep changing … however at the end of the day, the real problem isn’t that things change, it’s that we’re frightened of being transparent.
The irony of which is the greatest demonstration of respect – and arguably, the greatest way to build real trust – is being transparent.
By that I mean telling those around you, what is happening, when it’s happening.
Sure, I get there can be implications in doing that, but there’s far more if you delay speaking up …
It’s why I love Angela – Colenso’s CEO – attitude that ‘honesty trumps harmony’.
She’s right …
And while I appreciate it may not always be a comfortable conversation at the beginning … if you do it in a timely and transparent way, it always ends up being better than the alternative. That being people discovering the reality of the situation because of the disaster of the situation.
And yet so many still think that is a better way to deal with things … believing they can either overcome the situation or can hide the situation.
So why am I saying all this?
To be honest, I just wanted a way to justify posting these 2 photos because while the sum up the point of this post, the reality is they just made me piss myself laughing …
Because they’re true.
Oh so true.
The pitch …
The reality …