?? Creativ Brief: Unknowns, Fears, and Heroes

The most common fear is unknown to man.?

An imperceptible darkness that yawns in before one. The liminal space from one state to the next. The anxiety of what comes next.?

In the seminal work of comparative mythology and the archetypal hero, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell lays out universal stages to a hero’s journey.?

He theorizes that the hero's journey, the archetypal transformation of a person from one state to another, remains consistent throughout cultures, disparate mythologies, and time. To become a hero one has to transform from the status quo to a new elevated state of being.?

The beginning of every journey is a threshold. A step into the unknown. The entrance to a cave. The dragon’s lair. Leaving the shire.?

Fear impedes that first step. What if I fail? What if I’m not good enough? What if I’m rejected? What if I let everyone down?

When you’re betting on the future of your company, navigating complex legalities, and investing thousands of dollars into a new direction, the unknown can be paralyzing.?

The lead up to doing anything new is fear, the build up before the drop, the calm before the storm.?

My best friend is getting married this weekend. Its own sort of transformation. He’s more nervous than he lets on.?

The following week, we’re rebranding Creativ Strategies and launching a first-to-market product. The same applies.?

Whether you’re Odysseus, Wonder Woman, or a simple advertising man trying to build something new, one chooses to remain stagnant or transform. Time to be a hero.?

3 Stories Dominating Media and Tech Headlines

Elon Musk-led group proposes buying OpenAI for $97.4 billion. OpenAI CEO says 'no thank you'. This is an effort, as stated by Musk’s attorney Marc Toberoff, to maintain the organization's founding as a nonprofit research lab before it converts to the for-profit structure that was promised in OpenAI’s future.

Why it matters: This legal conflict between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is only part of a longtime spat between the two billionaires, who both helped start OpenAI and feuded over who should maintain control of the organization. Musk has no legal leg to stand on, and this effort is an ego play to slow OpenAI down as he pushes his own models from Xai.??

Super Bowl audience largest-ever for single network telecast. On Tuesday, Nielsen ratings agency stated that an estimated 127.7 million viewers tuned in to Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Super Bowl, making it the largest audience in TV history for a single-network telecast.?

Why it matters: The Super Bowl is the biggest event on U.S. television. As sports rights become increasingly important for streamers every year, efforts to lock in licensing contracts to attract advertising dollars will only go up.

Apple is reportedly exploring humanoid robots. While this is still seen as a plan set in the “early stage,” there is a clear indication that Apple will delve into the world of robotics, possibly with the development of consumer products.

Why it matters: Recently, OpenAI has made a similar plan to develop consumer-targeted robotics, filing a patent request for potential robotics products under the “OpenAI” brand. This could indicate a sweeping move towards the development of robotics products for the general consumer market. While these massive tech giants are still in the early stages of development, large tech firms moving into robotics will increase lot year up the market.?

?Creativ Spotlight - SXSW Innovation Awards

A massive shoutout to 1stAveMachine and SpecialGuestX as finalists in the SXSW Innovation Awards! The Bedtime AI Storymaker, a conceptual product that utilizes artificial intelligence to create engaging, one-of-a-kind bedtime stories, is a finalist in the “Interface Design” category, while the CMR-M1, the world’s first AI-powered movie camera, is a finalist in the “Artificial Intelligence” category. These nominations are a testament to the innovative work that goes into everything 1stAveMachine and SpecialGuestX create.?

In advance of the Awards Ceremony, the Bedtime AI Storymaker and the CMR-M1 will be available for attendees of SXSW this year to interact with during the Awards Finalist Showcase. This event takes place on March 8th from 2pm to 5pm at the JW Marriott Downtown Austin. If you’re planning on attending SXSW 2025, you won’t want to miss out on seeing these inventive products firsthand.

For more information on the SXSW Innovation Awards, click here!?

?Stat of the Week - Video Games Grow

The amount of gamers in Gen Z has grown significantly in recent years. Projections show approximately 63.4% of Gen Z play video games. This number only increased with the introduction of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Gen Z surpassing the amount of gamers in the Millennial generation. The number has only increased with each year, now expected to reach almost 75% by the end of 2027.

The growing viewership has peaked advertisers’ interest in video games as a medium to reach younger audiences, especially Gen Z.

One Fun Thing - The biggest telescope you can legitimately (but not realistically) buy

Ever wish you could stare up at the night sky and see each and every little detail of the cosmos? Well, you can - for a whopping $600K, that is! WIRED released a video this week highlighting the PlaneWave CDK1000 Telescope System and the incredible view of the stars you can experience with what can only be described as a “luxury product”.

Watch the WIRED video here.