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?
Advertising’s past of selling aspirational lifestyles through, say, a toothpaste brand, is dead and gone. It’s been a rough few years, and dopamine is the biggest motivator. We want to know we’re OK. Reassurance, connection and embracing the weird, wonderful complexities of humans is the sweet spot.
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.)
If you’re making work that doesn’t make people give a shit, it’s not worth doing. Brands have to become part of their audience’s zeitgeist. Our work on GameStop’s “There’s A Place for Us” brand campaign resonated very deeply with the gamer audience because it went hard into the dark humor of the community, in an “us VS them” mentality. You either got it, or you didn’t. And good news: the gamers got it.
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’re using AI for social listening and insight-gathering to help eliminate unconscious bias in the work. While we’ll continue to use technology for strategic short-cuts where it makes sense, we’ll always put human talent first across creative and production. Great work has soul; robots have none.
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?
It’s no longer good enough to just put diverse talent into an ad and call it a day. You have to go deeper – find the hidden parts of culture that were previously talked about behind closed doors and shine a light into actual human complexities. These are the things that connect us, and truly celebrate diversity. It’s not about competition but embracing the true collaborative spirit of creativity. Our partnerships are based on uplifting other creatives, whether they work at Foul Mouth Creative or not.
What work (advertising, entertainment, documentary, etc.)–your own or others–struck a responsive chord with you so far this year and why?
Taco Bell’s recent campaign pressuring Taco John’s to release the copyright hold on the phrase “Taco Tuesday” for free use is incredible. It was done in the full spirit of collaboration — letting anyone use something everyone is already using without fear of legal repercussions. A brilliant twist on exploiting capitalism in the name of cooperation from the big guys who can afford to fight those battles for the little guys.
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)
The Hollywood strikes against AI and big business profiting off creatives is going to have a massive impact on the ad industry. There will be a rise in indie output, cutting out the fat-cat boss man. Art is not a commodity and we will see this trickle down into advertising and content creation. Soulful creative expression and execution will be embraced, moving away from the fast-churn garbage filling our screens and feeds.
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)?
As a very new agency, 2023 impacted our founding mission entirely. We’re unshackling ourselves from the competitive way this business has been run up until now. We’re more hellbent than ever to find a sustainable, humane way to make great work that makes people give a shit.
