speculations

Dispatch from an advertising future #151

https://www.adweek.com/digital/snapchatters-can-scan-ralph-laurens-polo-pony-logo-off-apparel/ They’re on bikes, scooters, skates. Often they’re just on foot. Sometimes you can spot them in advance and get out of the way or hide. But sometimes they’re so quick, by the time you’ve noticed, they’ve got you and gone. They’re usually alone. That seems to be part of… Read the rest

Dispatch from an advertising future #150

https://adage.com/article/member-content/post-election-2020-advertising-healing/229609 There’s been an increase. Years of on-off restrictions, recession, economic and social isolation plus the underlying hum of the culture wars. I’ve never liked drugs – even when we could get them I didn’t like prescribing them. I knew the causes were deep-rooted, the cure was more complex than… Read the rest

Dispatch from an advertising future #148

https://www.pcgamer.com/noveto-soundbeamer-sci-fi-speaker-brainhole/ He remembered the city. Deeper than a normal Sunday. The tyres of his bike echoed on the tarmac. He’d heard birds. The sound of the few bits of litter. Zombie. Post-apocalyptic, the tabloid cliches weren’t outrageous. An urban anechoic chamber. But that was then. Now the traffic was back.… Read the rest

Dispatch from an advertising future #147

https://voicebot.ai/2020/11/17/bbc-releases-synthetic-voice-newsreader-for-online-articles/ Ever since the election it has become more and more difficult to “fan the flames”. The platforms are running scared and getting better at catching so-called “inflammatory” posts. They still only put warning stickers on them but getting something going and getting people going is becoming harder. At least… Read the rest

Dispatch from an advertising future #146

https://www.adweek.com/digital/why-so-many-stadiums-are-racing-to-install-5g-even-with-live-events-paused/ This is going to be the biggest rally of the campaign. The drones’ flightpaths are programmed and timed to the soundtracks; the augmentations are ready to run on the StayApart (™) screens; the SafeAir (™) purifiers are loaded with smells ready for the Christmas story; the seat speakers are… Read the rest

Dispatch from an advertising future #145

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/11/16/why-linkedin-put-real-people-its-ads Colleagues. It’s been another successful quarter particularly in terms of productivity. Well done. The number of ads we are now producing is at an all time high. Clients know we can turn work around faster – and of course cheaper – than our competitors, still failing (in my opinion)… Read the rest

Dispatch from an advertising future #144

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/11/13/john-lewis-very-different-2020-christmas-ad-we-nearly-didnt-produce-ad-year He was old. He felt old. They looked at him and saw “old”. They humoured him when he talked about Christmas past, appointment TV, tentpole campaigns, iconic ads. He tried to explain the idea of something that everyone watched and talked about. He tried to paint a picture of… Read the rest

Dispatch from an advertising future #143

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/11/12/anatomy-merger-akqa-group-s-ahmed-and-houston-share-their-candid-thoughts A merger’s been on the cards for some time. The CEO wanted to make her mark and ‘refreshing’ the portfolio is a quick win. The trade press has focused on the name and staff on the redundancies but at my level, it’s more fundamental than that. Existential, even. Merging,… Read the rest