by The Network

You know what’s really hard for smart people to do? Admit that the vast majority of people allow their feelings to lead their decision making. I’m trying really hard right now to not let the US Presidential election intrude on every single one of my conscious thoughts, but I can’t help but wonder at all the discourse around the election, and how much of it is a perfect illustration of this reality. So many smart people have been weighing in (and will continue to weigh in) on why and how this happened. And they almost always ask the same question: what were people thinking? It’s a valid question. I ask it myself. What the hell were people thinking, voting for someone who promises mass deportation of immigrants and hyper-inflationary tariffs? Voting for someone who wants to use the military against the populace? Voting for someone who openly fantasizes about imprisoning his critics? Voting for a convicted felon? But ultimately, it’s the wrong question to ask, because a lot of people just weren’t thinking. They acted on their feelings. Sure, their feelings were likely dark, nasty lizard-brain feelings. But feelings nonetheless. Because when it comes to persuasion, how people feel is always going to be far more important than what people think. Ok, so I’ve pretty much failed to stop the election from consuming my thoughts today. But there’s a reason why the Cadbury Gorilla, and not the Orange Man, is on this post. Cadbury Gorilla is one of the most perfect examples of feeling over thinking in advertising history. Commercially successful, hugely awarded, and over a decade after it first aired, one of the most loved and remembered ads amongst the British public. And all it sought to do was to create the feeling of happiness, and associate that feeling with eating Cadbury chocolate. There’s a logic there, but it’s deeply hidden. Because strategy should never show itself. Now, a lot of people consider this ‘brave’ advertising. But given the fact that feeling triumphs over thinking in so much decision-making, this kind of work shouldn’t be considered brave at all. I often watch this ad to cheer me up when I need it. I think I’ll watch it again now.

Imagine you’re in the middle of a hearing test. You hear tones. You hear sounds. Then, suddenly, you hear your grandson’s voice. How would you react? We’re proud to introduce the Italian chapter of our new campaign for Amplifon, the global leader in hearing healthcare. #SmallTheAgency

There’s a word that hurts our industry more than we know. Because there’s an awful lot of posturing in our business, and it’s almost always to the detriment of the work. And as someone who believes that words hold immense power to shape attitudes and behaviors, I want to call out one word in particular. That word is big. Big ideas. Big personalities. Big briefs. Big meetings. Big expectations. The more you throw this word around, the worse everything gets. Because if you want to arrive at the kind of work that’s powerful enough to go out into the world and actually do something, you can’t go into the process thinking and acting big. You have to think and act small. Even though my career has taken me from working in big agencies, to running my own small(ish) agency, to helping lead a (very) big agency network, to now leading a network of independent agencies, I’ve never tried to be, think or act big. Because after a few years of trying to force my will on problems, I eventually figured out that you have to go into every creative challenge with the humility and the grace to simply follow the problem to wherever it takes you. Don’t kid yourself that you’re important. That you’re big. The problem is important. The audience is important. The idea that comes from subjugating yourself before the problem and the audience is important. There may be 20 clients and their boss, and their boss’s boss, 50 agency people, shareholders, the weight of history, the judgement of your peers, jobs on the line, life or death for the brand. All that stuff. You have to push it to one side. Narrow your aperture. Make it all so small, that only the problem, the audience and the idea matters. That’s not easy to do, but you have to do it. I’m saying this because when I think back to everything good I’ve done– even though empirically everything about them ended up being big, I tried to make the entire process feel small. Intimate. Simple. Focused. And I was inspired to write this today because of a conversation I had with one of the agencies in our network. I know you know them because they’re one of the best creative agencies on the planet. Their name is SMALL And anyone who’s worked with them understands why they call themselves Small, instead of Big. (If you want big things from your advertising without the big baggage, we should chat) www.bythenetwork.com

What happens in NY doesn’t stay in NY for sure! ???? Happy and proud to share that AIN'T is now joining by The Network! https://bythenetwork.com The edge of our hot shop, now paired with the capabilities of a network. Indies for indies. Creativity in the first place. No corporate bulls#@t. Product first. Thing is: If I were a client, I would really want to work with those who do the actual work. And if, as a client, I had the concern that a boutique shop might not be big enough to handle my projects, well I would re-think now. In By The Network we are all specialized and all partners in this - so we can come together ad hoc and go as big as you want us to. The difference is you won’t see our faces just when we pitch ?? Looking forward to what we will do together John Mescall Jack Smail Ivanna Skulska-Lowe ?????? Https://aint.agency

EPISODE VI Complete ?

New work alert! We’re proud to share our own love letter for the series finale of Netflix’s Umbrella Academy superfans. We took over Times Square with a DOOH campaign, bespoke 3D animation made in-house and 85 dancers. The magic behind this send-off came from the incredible collaboration, creativity, and passion of everyone involved at?Founders Agency,?Canoa Films Co,?DVRG, and?Netflix. We’re thrilled to have played a part in giving ‘brellies’ the unforgettable finale they deserve.

We recently sat down with Aimée McLaughlin to discuss our upside-down indie take on a creative network ??. Have a read! Thank you so much for having us Aimée and Creative Review. John Mescall Jack Smail Julian Marsili Nanna Munch Walter 2045 Blak Labs Jari Ullakko Johan Pihl Founders Agency Herezie mortierbrigade Mr+Positive Tokyo Rehab SMALL Untangld White Rabbit Budapest Worth Your While Atlantic New York ^atom network Gilad Kat Boys + Girls Cloudfactory Maria Lotuffo Asiatic Marketing Communications Limited proof. Roy+Teddy, Arzu Bulut, Ekin ?z?i?ek?iler The NEW. Born from scratch. @

What a week Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity! We are immensely proud of all our teams work and contributions from across the globe. Last week, we also managed to pick up some well-earned awards and shortlist recognition for our work. Congratulations to the teams!! Bravissimo ?? We'll be back stronger than ever next year ??. Watch this space ?? #FREEDOM #Indie #Creativity SMALL Asiatic Marketing Communications Limited Herezie Atlantic New York White Rabbit Budapest

Beautiful work from a beautiful bunch of people ??

Waking up with good news!!! Two of my projects got?altogether?5 shortlists at? Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Big shout out to all of our friends involved! Deco Artilheiro, Kauê Barbosa, Daniel Koller, Friedrich-Paul Spielhagen, Hendrik Haupt, Thomas Schwarz, Raphael Dias, SquarePixel Filmes, Zoltan Hidvegi and WE ARE UMBRELLA COLLECTIVE! White Rabbit Budapest + by The Network! #CannesLions2024 #CannesLionsAwards #awards #Shortlists?#5X #SquarePixel #WhiteRabbitBudapest #byTheNetwork #KeepOnRocking #WhiteRabbitBudapest #keeponrocking #GoRabbitsGo