Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Colenso, Comment, Embarrassing Moments, Money, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless
I know … I know … how stupid is that?
But believe it or not, that wasn’t the end of the tragic day.
It started badly when I booked an external room so the team could work on a project in peace only to discover the room was on top of a generator and it shook the whole place like we were on a boat for the entire time we were there.
Then, after the ‘cash gate’ incident [which the bank then charged me a further fee for as that account went wildly overdrawn, though – thankfully – Henry did pay me back] … I was going home and stopped at a traffic light when I looked to my left only to see a Police Car, with a policeman looking at me smiling.
“And why was he smiling?” I hear you ask.
Was it the beauty of my car?
No.
Was it the beauty of me?
Errrrm, no.
Was it because he was just being a friendly cop?
Well, he was, but no.
It was actually because I had picked up my phone to check an address and so – as soon as the lights went green – his lights went red and blue and I got stopped and fined.
Once upon a time there was a band called The Weather Girls who sang It’s Raining Men.
Well this day, it rained shit.
That said, I’ve had way worse days of shitty rain. Ha.
Let’s hope this isn’t an omen for the rest of the week.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment
A couple of weeks ago, I showed a photo to a colleague.
It was me, back when I just started working.
I was 19.
Had hair. And
was pretty fit and healthy.
They didn’t recognise me.
At. All.
Now, I appreciate a gap of 30+ years between photos would make anyone hard to recognise, but it still made me laugh how much they refused to accept it was me.
Then I saw this photo of Brendan Fraser.
After laughing at it – by which, I mean laughing at the writing that referenced the photos rather than the photos specifically – I wondered how much of my ancientness was down to my career.
Maybe some.
Maybe a lot.
Let’s be honest I – like everyone else in the industry – has definitely worked ridiculous hours.
Super ridiculous hours.
But then I realised that despite having a face like a dropped pie, I was fortunate … because [1] I was never as pretty as Mr Fraser so however I end up, I would never cause as much comment as he probably – and unfairly – gets and [2] thanks to never drinking, smoking or doing drugs – I have saved myself from looking ever worse than I do now.
That said, I don’t know why anti-aging cream brands don’t just prove their worth on anyone who has worked in adland for 5+ years. Their effectiveness would be undeniable.
Oh … that’s why they don’t.
And as depressing as this may all sound, there is another silver lining.
Because you know something all those beautiful, young, talented, creative bastards you work with seem to not realise.
It’s coming to them.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Business, Colenso, Comment, Confidence, Corporate Gaslighting, Creativity, Culture, Distinction, Emotion, Empathy, Equality, Honesty, Management, Marketing, New Zealand, Point Of View, Relevance, Resonance
This is Angela.
Her official title is the Managing Director of Colenso.
But actually she’s the boss.
Not just because of how she is sitting, but because of how she operates.
Leading without dictating.
Encouraging without patronising.
Liberating without restricting.
The great, great thing about Angela is that for all the experience and success she’s gained, she is open and hungry to let the energy, ambition and values of youth to keep shaping and changing where we are going.
Angela’s strength is she wants everyone to win.
She opens the door to opportunities for talent to run in and do their thing rather than closing it behind her so she can have all the power.
But then female leadership has always seen winning differently to a lot of men.
Progress for all rather than power for one.
And before certain men start spouting their sexist shit at me like they did when I wrote about how more female leadership will give the industry a real chance to grow, I appreciate not all male leaders are like this.
But a hell of a lot are.
And – if you look at Corporate Gaslighting and/or read Zoe Scaman’s brilliant, brave but totally unsurprising Mad Men and Furious Women – many of them are doing stuff … and are being allowed to get away with stuff, often by companies that talk about their commitment to their staffs wellbeing and mental health … that is a fuckload worse.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Context, Culture, Design, Environment
A few weeks ago, I got a take-away coffee where the design of the cup was obviously trying to look like it had a ‘heat sleeve’ around it.
I get it …
By reducing the use of paper/cardboard, we minimise waste.
There were just 2 problems with this.
1. It isn’t a heat sleeve.
2. You end up burning your hand around the cup.
Now while I appreciate this is still better than claiming to be doing something for the environment while actively fucking it, it’s still not perfect, even if I acknowledge their thinking.
But then a few days later I saw this …
OK, so it also has flaws.
Will you remember to bring back the mug?
Will you be able to drink out of it while you’re walking?
Will you feel comfortable it has been washed previously?
But weirdly I also like it.
I like it a lot.
Maybe it’s because it’s the sort of thing only a community would try to pull off and – after years of living here, there and everywhere, it’s nice to feel part of something.
But either way, it’s got my vote … which serves as a good reminder that the real obstacle to doing something good is whether you actually want to do it or not.
And no Uniliever … that doesn’t let you feel good for producing plant bottles, especially when you continue to profit from the cultural jail and prejudice you put millions of women throughout Asia in. You’re welcome.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Childhood, Comment, Corona Virus, Daddyhood, Emotion, Empathy, Family, Fatherhood, Jill, London, Love, Otis
I found this photo recently.
It’s a few years old, when we lived in London … but there’s something about it that just warms my heart.
Not just because it features my son – though that helps – but because it in a period of pandemic chaos, it shows how love can make everything OK.
Covid had just taken hold.
We were all confined to home.
No one was offering any clarity.
People were dying at unprecedented numbers.
And Otis desperately needed his hair washing.
However …
… he was also playing a video game he absolutely didn’t want to stop playing so – because his world had been turned completely upside down – his wonderful, kind, considerate Mum found a way for him to keep playing while she could do some hair washing.
Obviously it is an utterly ridiculous way to do things, but it’s my ridiculous.
A moment of twisted normality at a time where nothing felt normal whatsoever.
And while I appreciate this is an utterly indulgent photograph, I love the way he seems oblivious to his surroundings. His little legs stretched out to the tip of his toes. And a kitchen that has been rapidly turned into a school, a playroom and a hairdressers all at the same time.
While we were painfully aware of the privileged position we were in – from having an income to having a teeny garden to escape in – the fear of COVID was starting to take a hold which is why, as I look at that photo today, I realise how much my ridiculously beautifully family let me feel we were strong together at a point where everything was feeling like it was falling apart.