1) If anyone hasn’t woken up to the world of VR then I encourage you to immerse yourself into it quickly. It’s an insane piece of technology. My sense is that most marketers are using it in a rational and educational way but used in its purest form, it’s an amazing piece of entertainment. It’s certainly no gimmick, in fact, I would compare it to radio in the early 20th century, television in the late 1920s (later color) and the internet in the early 1980s as a breakthrough medium that gives us another option to entertain and communicate through. We’re creating an experience at Publicis for one of our brands and it’s truly amazing watching people learn how to build a visual journey. There’s so much technology learning needed and it makes me feel that 60 years ago our peers would have been having similar conversations about how to communicate through television commercials. On the subject of 3D, I had the good fortune to meet James Cameron a couple of years ago and he had developed technology that allows all films to be in 3D. No silly glasses but 3D to the human eye. (Not new news to all the silver screen people reading this). He couldn’t understand why movies had to be in 2D when we see our world in 3D. He had a point. Makes me think they were having the same conversation about color when everyone was watching black and white.
2) Sometimes you learn from how bad something is. The show Vinyl was probably one of the worst TV shows I have ever watched, given the expectations. And I only watched the first episode.
I instinctively knew it was dreadful. Yet, they had some amazing talent surrounding it, all with a pedigree of great work. New York in 1973 is a fascinating back drop for fairly much anything and focusing on the music scene feels as good as any. Its badness got me fascinated and I started to read articles about the show. But there wasn’t too much to learn. Just reminders. Having read the reviews, it’s the age old tradition of not having a unique storyline that let it down. Zombies aren’t new to entertainment but the twist the folks at AMC gave it was nothing short of genius. An original twist, story and setting. So, the reality is a lesson to all of us. No amount of money, gloss or promotion will make a production a success. Or in the advertising world help us sell products and build a client’s business. The discipline of a simple, original idea will forever win the day. We just need to keep reminding ourselves. Although, I’m sorry it took a $100m production to remind me. (This is also a reminder to the folks who wrote the “Raining Octopuses” film for GE).
3) I’m beginning to think that anything an ad agency or marketing company tries to do that blends the world of entertainment with marketing comes over as controlled or forced. There have been one or two examples in recent years that have managed to negotiate the obstacle course but as an ad man, I hang on to the belief that advertising is the entertainment and our ideas are finding ways of becoming like pieces of entertainment with the media channels and longer form world that we live in. I’m looking forward to seeing what marketers do at the Olympics. So often brands can shine on the back of an event instead of buying media robotically in ‘Q3’ or ‘Q4.’ I feel that approach lacks surprise and can say a lot (or little) about a brand. I would say that Stephen Colbert can do a great job for a product us if he chooses to pick on it. Good or bad, the brand wins. The Colbert “Steph Curry” piece and his Under Armour shoes being the most recent example. I quite like those shoes personally.
4) This is more of a hope than a prediction or forecast for the future. Undoubtedly, we live in uncertain times but creativity has an astonishing way of making the world think or look differently at issues, injustices or disagreements that are happening on a global scale. Our gifts can be used beyond our day jobs and beyond what we can imagine. It’s easy to wonder what difference one person can make. It’s almost a cliché to say it. But the more we use our skills for the greater good, the more it will get noticed. In a world of long drawn out speeches at political conventions that attempt to communicate or convince us one way or the other, our skills can go further than the mundane and literal communication. After all, that’s what we are asked to do everyday. If we can inspire people to buy a hair shampoo and at the same time re-invent a brand then we can certainly do wonders for the world. I would go as far as saying it’s our responsibility.
5) It’s amazing to think that there’s a piece of coastline in a corner of France that will be forever forward thinking. We may leave there patting ourselves on the back with our suitcases full of Lions but I think an even bigger pat on the back is long overdue for the folks at Cannes. I strongly believe that we wouldn’t be pushing ourselves to create the work we do or push our clients to buy the kind of work that wins down there without Cannes continuously re-inventing categories based on trends and predictions. We may be the creators but they are undoubtedly the facilitators. I’ve heard all the critics but the positive by far outweighs the negative. Anyway, to answer the question, I’d say craft and writing is more powerful and better than ever in winners across entertainment and advertising. I also feel that social commentary is coming through stronger. BBH’s FU2016 campaign for House of Cards cleverly hijacking an election year and GOP debate. And Burger King attempting to momentarily put their differences aside between themselves and McDonald’s with the McWhopper campaign tells us, to my point on the previous question, that we can cleverly use our skills to make something extraordinary happen. It also takes tenacity and balls.
6) My daughter starts at the Fashion Institute of Technology in late August and we recently bought her a Macbook Pro. As predictable as the piece of technology may be, it’s not so much about the technology but the individual that uses it. How they use it and the potential it brings out of someone. I’m excited to see it being used as a tool for her inspiration in a world where technology can quite often be a tool for destruction
