How to understand Elon Musk

https://www.ft.com/content/cc1b184c-897c-4cb5-bad2-57b46dfec494 She ran the Understand Team. Obviously it wasn’t really a team. It was a collection of bespoke systems with one simple task: understanding rivals. The Team watched rivals, the things they said, the things they did, unlocked their strategies, deconstructed their thinking. The Team Agents logged everything, amassed masses of data and ran through … [Read more…]

Les Binet departs Adam & Eve/DDB after almost four decades with DDB network

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/les-binet-departs-adam-eve-ddb-almost-four-decades-ddb-network/1906209 Of course it was a chance to get coverage in the feeds. The name was so well known, they knew the feeds would pick up on it. The retirement gave them the chance to tell the war stories, dig out the work from the golden years, position their colleague as a Great. But they … [Read more…]

IPA issues 10-point mental wellbeing guide as agencies face a tough 2025

https://www.moreaboutadvertising.com/2025/02/ipa-issues-10-point-mental-wellbeing-guide-as-agencies-face-a-tough-202 They must have realised I wasn’t going to stay for ever. Fresh challenges. Progress. This is good for my career. This wasn’t a bad job. The company was good, the work interesting, the team was great. And I have to mention the wellbeing systems. My Agent was a great partner and support too. I … [Read more…]

New hack uses prompt injection to corrupt Gemini’s long-term memory

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/02/new-hack-uses-prompt-injection-to-corrupt-geminis-long-term-memory/ He’d not been in the office for a few weeks but security was even tighter than normal. There were even humans on the gates; a sure sign. He unpacked his bag and headed through the sensors to the desk to connect his Agent. The company demanded a hard connection. Something about Wi-Fi sniffing or … [Read more…]

Kicked off by the Super Bowl, irreverent bro humor and sex appeal-based marketing is officially making a comeback

https://digiday.com/marketing/kicked-off-by-the-super-bowl-irreverent-bro-humor-and-sex-appeal-based-marketing-is-officially-making-a-comeback They called it Day Zero. The now cynical called it “switch-it-off-switch-it-on-again day”. Some loved itv the chance to work on completely new projects, new styles, new ideas. The office was never busier than on Day Zero when the data came in. Groups sat around the screens taking animatedly about the work they saw themselves … [Read more…]

In-scene advertising: Why brands should take notice

https://uk.themedialeader.com/in-scene-advertising-why-brands-should-take-notice/ His Star was not amused. They were in full-on tantrum mode. And he was having to deal with it. As the Star’s only human Agent it was his job to find a human at the production company to yell at. Why can’t they programme Agents to get angry? The Star was furious that the … [Read more…]

Do interns get the credit they deserve?

https://www.ft.com/content/999385f8-a719-4a56-99b8-d259c48063cd The company liked to think it was different. It arranged a human to meet them when they arrived. It even had a receptionist to smile and take their names. The sound of a keyboard as their names were typed in always caused a stir with visitors whose Agents had arranged a seamless visit. The … [Read more…]

Google faked Gemini AI output in Super Bowl ad

https://www.theverge.com/news/608188/google-fake-gemini-ai-output-super-bowl It was all very clever. Her colleagues were fully signed up tech bros, “hybrid creatives” the Agency called them, “Cybores”, she called them. They were never happier than honing their prompts, tweaking parameters, playing “yes and…” improvisation games with their invisible and inscrutable Agents or the Agency’s bespoke systems. She just wanted to do … [Read more…]

Orgs demand action to mitigate AI’s environmental harm

https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/06/orgs-demand-action-to-mitigate-ais-environmental-harm/ The Agents were vital to the protest. They coordinated the preparations, liaised between the protestors in the lead up and on the day, mapped police responses and legally represented those who were arrested. The network they created was at the heart of the protest. It wasn’t easy to decide where to focus the protest. … [Read more…]