Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, China, Chinese Culture, Wieden+Kennedy, Youth
I want to write about something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently.
I turn 54 this year and if truth be told, the life I have is more than I ever could have imagined.
While I’ve worked hard for it, I also accept that I’ve had more than my share of luck.
Right place, right time.
Meeting people I should never have met.
Having some disproportionally believe in me.
Mates who went on to become important in their job.
Basically, a bunch of stuff you can’t really plan for … though if I have any skill, it’s been to be able to run with it and invest in it rather than stop.
Which basically translates to working hard, staying in touch, always being interested in stuff and constantly looking or thinking for new ways to help them win better – even when they don’t want it – hahaha.
It’s a work ethic that frankly was driven by survival and ambition.
Survival … because I knew I couldn’t win on brains – especially having not gone to university – but I could compete on effort. And ambition … because I knew I wanted to see what was possible, even though I didn’t have a plan and didn’t have any idea what ‘the goal’ could be, would be or should be.
I say all this because recently I got asked what advice I would give to someone starting out who doesn’t know what to do and I realised I didn’t really have an answer. Part of it is because my context is about as different as it could be for someone starting out … but also because I wouldn’t want to give advice, I’d like to listen why they feel they don’t know what to do.
But that said, I think their attitude is kind-of brilliant.
Of course I appreciate they don’t feel that way – quite the opposite – but that’s more because of what society and social media has done to make them feel that if they don’t have a plan, then they’re lost … and not only is that shit, I think being open to stuff is the best way to approach life.
That’s not just because we no longer will have one career for our whole lives, but because if you’re open to everything, then anything can happen.
Frankly that last point is one of the driving forces behind everything I’ve done and hope to do … and while I appreciate there’s privilege in that approach and attitude, it is also about openness and comfort with a degree of uncomfortableness.
But I get it is scary.
It’s hard to think of things you may lose … but as I’ve said many times, the other way to look at it is in terms of what you will gain, and literally everything in my life – bar my relationship with Paul – is because of this.
That doesn’t mean it’s for everyone, but it might be for more people than who actually do it – but don’t because they are paralysed in this grip of feeling they should have certainty for their life when the real power is to embrace the lack of it.
I say all this because I was recently on a podcast about this subject called Work Without Borders.
It was a real thrill for me because it was founded by an old Wieden Shanghai colleague – Flora – and her friend, Calvin, which meant I got to talk about very special times in China and beyond.
Listening back to it, I realise how fortunate I have been.
From having parents and family who backed me and encouraged me, to companies being willing to take a chance on me … which is why I hope anyone who listens to it doesn’t think I am suggesting they should be like me, but to be be open to whatever the fuck speaks to them.
And while I appreciate some may be in situations where they have responsibilities that directly influences what they can/can’t do – which means what happens may be different to what they hoped it would be – I believe they will still end up with experiences and lessons they wouldn’t get if they simply followed what everyone had blindly – or meticulously – done before.
You may ask how I can say that … and it’s relatively simple.
Because what companies called ‘the great resignation’ was actually ‘the great reset‘.
Where millions realised the path they had been made to feel was the only path they could follow, was taking them to the exact same place as everyone else.
A place of conformity and pressure rather than curiosity and possibility.
And while there are no guarantees in life, fulfilment is born from openness, not closed mindedness which is why I will always love this quote by Peter Ustinov:
“People who reach the top of the tree are those who haven’t got the qualifications to detain them at the bottom”.
How good is that? God I love it.
Which is why if you’re worried because you don’t have a plan – remember this.
Some people have advantages.
Some people have a plan.
Some people have luck.
But we’re all making it up. Every single one of us.
So while clarity can be a powerful beast, not having it doesn’t also mean it’s bad.
In fact, if you embrace it, you may just find it can take you to even more amazing places.
Nice long weekend for me.
I appreciate you didn’t have one, but surely an extra day free from this blog helped?
Well, regardless … I’m about to ruin it all for you.
So at some point in your life, you realise age is winning.
You look in the mirror and you don’t recognise what’s staring back at you.
It’s scary. It’s confronting. It’s deeply, deeply disturbing.
And it’s at this point you tend to consider one of 3 things:
+ Plastic surgery.
+ Radical fitness program.
+ A mid-life crisis.
And while they may all seem perfectly acceptable at the time … the risk, cost and sheer exhaustion of it all probably makes it counter productive.
But no one can say I don’t care about your wellbeing … because if you find yourself in this position, I can help you feel younger without ay damage to your skin, heart or marriage.
I know, I know … I’m so generous.
Because rather than spend copious amounts of time and money on that other stuff, just spend a bit of money and a bit of time on this …
Introducing Pop It Pal.
Pop It Pal is a technology that takes you back to your youth.
Those days where everything was carefree, exciting and firm.
Where you’d look in the mirror and instead of seeing the old haggard version of yourself, you’d see a young, healthy version staring back.
A young healthy version with zits staring back.
And while back then zits were the worst thing that could happen in your life, they were undeniable proof of adolescence and youthfulness … and that’s what Pop It Pal does for you, because it allows you to pop [fake] zits.
No, I’m not joking.
Squeeze your fingers and you can be taken back to when you were young.
Where you can feel the glory of erupting that spot.
That instantaneous feeling of going from monster to beauty.
And all this can be yours by simply purchasing Pop It Pal.
Much cheaper and safer that all that other stuff.
You’re welcome.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Comment, Confidence, Creativity, Culture, New Zealand, Youth
The cost of living is insane everywhere.
Petrol.
Heating.
Food.
The prices are going up faster than we can blink.
And while there is definitely the suspicion some industries are using this as an excuse to elevate their profits – I’m looking at you fossil fuel and supermarket industries – the reality is for many people, life is becoming more about survival than living.
Here in NZ, the conversation often relates back to the price of food.
Part of the reason for that is because the dairy industry is so influential and economically important.
But right now, you can’t turn on a talkback radio show without hearing people complain about the price of cheese … milk … or vegetables.
Sure, it’s not as bad as it is in the UK at the moment – where supermarkets are putting ‘anti-theft’ devices on cheese, but it’s not far off.
Just recently I heard a 10 minute segment about the price of cauliflowers.
Apparently they’re $12 each in some places and one person interviewed said:
“There’s no cauliflower in the world worth $12”
It’s fair to say it’s a sentence I’ve never heard in my life.
But while the cauliflower conversation may raise a smile … what it indicates is nothing but.
More and more people will struggle.
Will be taken advantage of.
Will wonder if they can cope.
While I hold real concern for a number of groups, one I’m particularly concerned for is youth.
As I wrote yesterday – and all the photos in this post are from our book, Dream Small – many kids in NZ already feel oppressed by the lack of opportunity and the pressure of complicity they face … but now, their situation could be even more tested.
Less possibilities.
More expectations.
Even less consideration.
Even more demands and judgement.
Given NZ already has one of the worst youth suicide rates – per capita – in the world, what could this do to the mental health and wellbeing of the young?
What is this going to do to the dreams they have?
I get it’s hard.
I get there will be many more communities that will require help.
But for all the companies that go on about how proud they are to be from New Zealand, maybe this is the moment they prove it by what they do rather than what they say.
Last year I judged the Effies and read a bunch of entries from supermarkets.
They talked about how their ‘strategy’ had helped them overcome the huge barrier of covid.
All of them … every last one … claimed covid had been a barrier to growth rather than their fast track.
It was an insult to my intelligence.
I would love it if this year, I read submissions from NZ brands who talked about how they used this time to enable a generation. That they recognised the countries future was dependent on the young feeling they could bring their wild hopes, ideas and energy to the fore. That instead of being told to dream small, they were supported to dream big. So the country can evolve and develop so if situations like this happen again, then the nation will be in a better position because it will be stronger thanks to the brains and ideas the young have brought.
I don’t even really care how they do it.
More pay.
Government funded flights for their OE.
A youth venture fund that kids can call upon to help with their ideas.
Tax breaks for youth focused, foreign brands to come into the country.
Fighting against Tall Poppy – or any of the other issues that hold youth back through fear.
And while I know there are a few brands doing it – some of my clients for a start – I doubt I’ll be reading many papers that celebrate that shift, because too many of these ‘proud Kiwi brands’ are more focused on perpetuating and controlling the stereotype than liberating the people who are forced to live by it.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Dream Small, New Zealand, Youth
I saw this picture recently and it made me laugh …
However while it was made for amusement purposes, there’s a lot of truth in it.
Especially that Tuesday afternoon picture.
Which leads me to my point.
There’s a lot of talk about ‘the great resignation’.
How people – predominantly the young – are leaving their jobs in unprecedented numbers.
Even Beyonce is referenced because she touches on it in her lyrics to ‘Break My Soul’ …
Now, I just fell in love
And I just quit my job
I’m gonna find new drive
Damn, they work me so damn hard
Work by nine, then off past five
And they work my nerves
That’s why I cannot sleep at night
I’m lookin’ for motivation
I’m lookin’ for a new foundation, yeah
And I’m on that new vibration
I’m buildin’ my own foundation, yeah
But what I find interesting is how many companies seem to be missing the point.
That they seem to think that youth are basically retiring.
That they must have untold millions in the bank to fall back on.
But that’s not the case.
They’re over being treated the way they are by companies.
Being told ‘you matter’, but get worked to fuck.
Or not given training or growth.
Or simply seeing racism, sexism, favouritism.
That’s why they’re resigning.
It’s not that they don’t want to work … or earn money or grow … they just don’t want to be broken or feel they are sacrificing life for hell.
Recently I sent a bunch of people around New Zealand to listen to what youth culture thought about their life.
For a nation seen by the rest of the World as almost perfect, their view was quite different.
We’ve turned this into a book called, Dream Small.
It’s a collection of stories and opinions from across the nation by a generation who feel more tolerated than welcomed.
Similar to America In The Raw, there’s no hype, no judgement, just people being allowed to speak about how they see life.
When you read it, you realise the great resignation should actually be labeled, ‘the great reset’.
Though for some, it could also be called ‘the last hope’.
Youth get a bad rap.
They’ve been dealt a pretty shit hand.
Promised so much until they realise it was all a lie.
Where to survive you have two choices … comply or escape.
For many, escape is not an option.
Too many responsibilities or too little opportunities.
So they are left with the realisation their life is one where they can only dream small.
How wrong is that?
How terrible is that?
But I’ll tell you what’s worse …
The ‘adults’ know all this but pretend they don’t. At least in public.
Preferring to maintain silence to either maintain control or to not have to accept their role in it.
Which leaves me with this …
If this is happening to youth in NZ, imagine what is happening elsewhere.
And yet I still have more faith in their ability to make a better world than I do with the majority of members of my generation.
I’m very proud of what we’ve done, which is why we will be doing a bunch of presentations and talks about what we heard and why we believe everyone in NZ – and beyond – should care about this issue. However if you want to know more – or more specifically, the impact it will have on your future – drop me a line as we’d love to chat, regardless where you’re located.
A couple of days ago, a New Zealand research company – one used by a huge array of big business here – gave a speech to a broad marketing audience and said the concept of ‘tall poppy’ was dead.
They had the audacity to say this the day after Jake Millar committed suicide. The arrogance to say this when they reside in a country that continues to have one of the worst – if not the worst – youth suicide rates per capita on earth.
There are many reasons that contribute to the terrible suicide rate, but ‘tall poppy’ is, without doubt, one of them.
A significant one of them.
The biggest open – yet oppressed – secret in the country.
So to that company, I want to say this.
You are not just complicit to the problem, you are playing an active role in it.
By making statements like that, you’re placing all the blame on the people who felt they had no other choice. You’re telling parents their kids situation & context didn’t exist. You’re telling NZ, they can continue to look the other way. You’re telling the friends, family and colleagues of 26 year old Jake Millar, pictured at the top of this post, that the media who revelled in getting the nation to celebrate his business failure – and then attached all manner of additional negative personal narratives to his name = are blameless.
Do you realise what you’ve done?
Do you understand the implications of your actions?
You’ve just told the nation they can carry on as they are. That their perpetual and persistent judgement and abuse is simply ‘banter’.
How fucking malicious of you.
Be grateful I’m not calling out your name because what you did is shameless.
But let me reassure you, we will be chatting and I’ll be reminding you of your responsibility to the truth, not to making money from reinforcing a cultural narrative of denial.