speculations

Dispatch from an advertising future #79

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/airbnb-is-renting-out-blockbusters-last-location-for-a-heavy-dose-of-90s-nostalgia/ They still called it Main Street but it had not been the main thing since The Before. Artist and activist pop-ups had retail-squatted the smaller units but the rest were boarded up, holograms pushing the new online malls and experiences. The streets were deserted apart from the delivery drones, machine and human. But one … [Read more…]

Dispatch from an advertising future #78

https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/news/content-led-marketing-strategies-are-more-effective-than-ever-for-brands/43959 “An opportunity”: that’s what she’d said as she wearily handed out another redundancy notice. Unlike most hearing that platitude, he’d not got angry; he’d dreamed. At last the chance to write. He looked at the others. Some in their fifties like him. Some just kids, All had their dreams: the novel, the poem, the … [Read more…]

Dispatch from an advertising future #77

https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2020/08/10/defending-the-right-advertise-response-the-ad-association-ipa-and-isba He was prepared. They had a WhatsApp group and code words. He’d not bothered with a burner phone but some had. He’d got supplies in his Kanken, for if they were kettled. He’d swapped his normal facemask for a”‘teargas-ready” one. And he had his placard. Competition was fierce. The best in the industry would … [Read more…]

Dispatch from an advertising future #76

https://www.adweek.com/digital/facebook-to-lease-all-730000-square-feet-of-office-space-in-the-farley-building/ I’m old enough to remember long lunches and longer nights of client ‘entertainment’. I remember Christmas parties and summer picnics on my island. Our business has changed. Since we moved from headsets to glasses, we’ve had a home on our network. We’ve delivered work and we’ve entertained clients thanks to our head of Account … [Read more…]

Dispatch from an advertising future #75

https://newatlas.com/robotics/origami-inspired-microbots-change-shape-heat/ They were everywhere. Almost invisible until they unfolded. Children tried to catch them like falling leaves, Some tried to swat them like midges as they settled on a watch or glasses and laid their message. The Adblockerz had seen off the first robots through vandalism. They’d hacked the holobots’ projectors until they too were … [Read more…]

Dispatch from an advertising future #74

https://www.adweek.com/agencies/after-coronavirus-tweets-tom-goodwin-is-out-at-publicis-groupe/ Are you an iconoclast? Is your brand contrary? If so, you need WalkTheLine (™). We help you navigate the fine line between standing out and being kicked out. We monitor your client or employers’ positions on current issues as they shift. We also watch your competitor pundit’s postings and positions. WalkTheLine (™) maps the … [Read more…]

IsolaTED speculations

I contributed five interlinked speculations to the very fine Isolated lockdown talks (don’t forget to donate). The video is here: The 100 word stories, here: Dispatches from the New Normal The New Gen She hadn’t even had a graduation. No -one had for three years. No silly dressing up or chance to compare overdrafts. She … [Read more…]

Dispatch from an advertising future #73

https://voicebot.ai/2020/07/31/this-fashion-tech-pioneer-is-animating-face-masks-with-voice-responsive-leds/ The rich had ad-free masks, the poor were hacking them and running #notonmyface slogans. Even those campaigns that were running weren’t effective. Evidence showed people had rediscovered eye contact. The Public Private Health Partnerships programme had ensured universal access to masks but the Department was worried as the agency gave its report. Brands still … [Read more…]

Dispatch from an advertising future #72

https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/07/30/apple-glass-users-may-be-able-to-manipulate-ar-images-with-any-real-object He’d never touched plastic. They’d been Hyggists before he’d been born. They’d seen simulations of child-raising during The Waste. Landfill mountains of the discarded paraphernalia of growing up… the toys! They’d read Speck’s Sustainable Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Their family trod gently. So, on his birthday he got a block. Bamboo. … [Read more…]

Dispatch from an advertising future #71

https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/28/advertima-rings-up-17-5m-for-computer-vision-powered-behavioral-analytics-for-in-store-retail He took a deep breath in as the doors opened. It wasn’t the gently encouraging signage that appeared as he passed, or the patronising, approving messages that appeared on his trolley when he chose the ‘right’ things. He didn’t even mind the way the prices changed under the words: “This week you lost five … [Read more…]