Abby Allen
Founder & Chief Creative Officer
Neon Butterfly, Inc.

 

 

 

What trends, developments or issues would you point to thus far in 2023 as being most significant, perhaps carrying implications for the rest of this year and beyond?

We have just come out of a multi-year pandemic and are still struggling with the effects. Understandably, everyone wants to skip over it and just get back to “business as usual,” which is great in theory, but unrealistic. While we might be tired of talking about it, the pandemic altered our lives in ways we are just beginning to understand. So many of us, whether we recognize it or not, are walking around in a bit of a daze, feeling uneasy and suspicious. We’re suspicious of our neighbors, our country, the world, climate, the economy, and on and on. Many of us are ticking time bombs, which unfortunately has played out in the escalation of gun violence, road rage, and substance abuse. This low-grade distrust and disease are undoubtedly contributing to the rise of nationalism and tribalism both in the U.S. and around the world. We have shifted from an era of hope and optimism to one of fear and disillusion. And the answer is not to pretend this isn’t the case or simply blame social media or extremists but to shed light and understanding on the pressure and uncertainty that so many people are feeling and figure out ways to relieve it. The pandemic further isolated us from one another, arguably strengthening existing divides and making people less willing to give others the benefit of the doubt. So anything that can deliver a respite from this tension and give us some much-needed joy (Barbie!) without insensitivity is poised for success.

What’s the biggest takeaway or lessons learned from work (please identify the project) that you were involved in this year? Or if you prefer, what’s the biggest takeaway or lessons learned from work you were involved in that won, was or is in the running for current awards season consideration (i.e., Emmys, Cannes Lions, AICP Awards, etc.)

We’ve been working on a project that hasn’t been launched yet, around teen mental health, which is in crisis. We’re helping support a program that will teach teens and their caregivers the “soft” skills they need to navigate today’s complicated and volatile world. One of the biggest lessons so far is that the teenage brain is very different from the adult brain, and most schools and curricula don’t take this into account. Because critical connections between the emotional and decision-making parts of their brains are still forming, teens are not able to articulate what they are thinking as much as just feeling all their emotions. So they can easily get overwhelmed by their feelings and have no idea what to do with them, let alone ask for help, which is what we’re always telling them to do. In a time when there is so much input and stimuli, they need effective tools to help them process their emotions and most high-schools and caregivers just aren’t equipped to do so. I find it fascinating and something caregivers should really delve into as their well-being will have a profound effect on our society.

Have you been involved or experimented with AI, AR or other emerging disciplines or new technologies? If so, relative to experimental or actual projects, briefly tell us about the work and what you’ve taken away from the experience. If the work is complete and you’d like to share a link to it, please include.

We’ve been working behind the scenes to figure out how we can get involved with affecting the input going into machine learning since it will have a massive impact on the creative and entertainment industries in the very near future. If left to just technologists AI will perpetuate existing biases because it’s only as “good” or as accurate as the input it receives. So, just like any other company, organization, or agency, it needs diverse and cross-functional teams of people checking and balancing input. So that when someone types in the word “art director” it doesn’t just spit out a bunch of white hipsters in beanies and glasses like that meme that went around, though there’s also truth in that. So, we’ve been experimenting as much as we can, using it to make mood boards and offer copy suggestions, really seeing what these tools are capable of and getting comfortable using them as well as learning about their limitations.

Have any societal issues–including DEI, recent Supreme Court decisions and/or recent backlash against advertisers like Target (for Pride merchandise) and Bud Light (for marketing featuring a transgender influencer)–impacted the way you do business, company policies and/or selection of projects/creative content?

Absolutely! We build brands that make people feel seen which involves giving voice to those who don’t feel seen–those who often come from underrepresented groups. So, the “D&I fatigue” and cultural backlash to equity initiatives is not only disappointing and upsetting but scary. Since I am a bi-racial woman with Black skin, companies have always tried to limit and pigeonhole me and the work I do and cast it aside as just being “multicultural” and irrelevant to any work that isn’t targeting people with Black or Brown skin. (I refuse to say “general market” for reasons that should be obvious). The fear now is that companies will double down on that bias and behavior. So as a creative agency, it means that we have to find new language for talking about the importance of representation and what it really means without watering down the message. We have to make it clear that representation isn’t about replacing cis-gendered white people, but about accurately telling the stories and experiences of everyone else as well. We are all different but also very much the same, and that’s the truth we have to remember and keep reminding companies and organizations as we develop new messaging and initiatives. It is not “either, or,” it is “both, and.”

What work (advertising, entertainment, documentary, etc.)–your own or others–struck a responsive chord with you so far this year and why?

Never Have I Ever, the Netflix series by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, that recently released its final season is the first thing that comes to mind. The series is funny, smart, and touching all at once. And the best part is that it centers on an Indian-American teenager and one of the main love interests is bi-racial without the show making their lives all about race, which so often happens. It’s not reductive but rich and complex. The show brilliantly gives us a fresh take on teen life in America, and manages to incorporate authentic Indian cultural references without hitting us over the head with the fact that Devi is Indian. First and foremost she is a teenage girl in America, period. So in that vein she is similar to every other teenage girl in America, but also has an experience that is unique to having immigrant parents from India. It humanizes POC teens and because of that it’s relatable to all of us, regardless of our ethnicity.

While gazing into the crystal ball is a tricky proposition, we nonetheless ask you for any forecast you have relative to content creation and/or the creative and/or business climate for the second half of 2023 and beyond. (250 words max)

People are exhausted, overwhelmed, and scared. Everyone wants some rest and some fun. Everything feels too much. There’s too much content, too much strife, too much we think we should be doing, etc. That’s why we’re seeing record levels of travel right now, despite airline costs. While people are also trying to replenish spent savings, there is simultaneously a sense of nihilistic YOLO that’s happening. Forests are burning, aphids are infesting our gardens, and people are cooking bread in mailboxes it’s so hot, so it’s like why not enjoy life while we can in whatever ways we can? And the brands and content that understand that are the ones we’re going to gravitate towards. We’re tired of having it feel gloom and doom all the time. Hence the rise of “mermaid-core” and similar trends. There’s a paradox going on that I think will continue at least through the year and into this next election cycle. Companies seem to still be holding back marketing budgets to some degree, waiting to see if there’s another interest rate increase and if this recession will turn into anything or not. But in the meantime, we’re going to take trips, pamper ourselves, and pretend it’s the 90s. It’s ‘both, and’ again. There is a deepening realization that we can’t ignore certain societal ills anymore, as much as we might want to, which is a good thing because it will hopefully lead to some lasting positive change, but we also need breaks so we don’t implode.

Has the first half of 2023 caused you to redefine or fine tune the goals of your company–and if so, in what way(s)?

Over the past year, I’ve seen more and more small agencies and production companies try and scale and in the process, lose sight of their supposed mission and of serving their clients. We are all taught to bow at the feet of growth at all costs, and that’s just not how I want to run my company. I do the work I do because I believe in the power of understanding people, and our shared humanity and using media to drive positive social change. I am literally the product of two people who weren’t even allowed to be married in almost half the states in this country less than 60 years ago. A desire to bring people together and bridge understanding is in my blood. So I want to do that work and be deeply involved in all the projects we take on. And I’m more committed to that than ever. So we tell all prospective clients that the A-team you meet is the A-team you get, we never pull the bait and switch that so many agencies do, where they bring in the heavy-hitters for the pitch then after winning the business, stick the client with a team they’ve never met before. It might sound trite, but I believe less is more and in quality over quantity. The world doesn’t need more, it needs better. Now more than ever.

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