MediaCat Monthly, Mar 23 | Kill your Idols

Last year Musk entered the Guinness World Records after losing $182bn of his personal wealth. So this month we discussed idols. They're defined as 'objects of extreme devotion', but what use are they to us in this day and age? Can they ever be a good thing?

Our contributors took a minute to warm up to the theme this month, but when they did, oh boy did they deliver. We've got articles on hope and optimism, cultural norms in fashion, TikTok's possible ban, the death of pop culture, creating idols, celebrity worship, guru behaviour, girl power, corporate kindness, deepfake tech and de-influencing.

Plus two great podcasts: one with Grey London's Asad Shaykh and the other with Riot Games' Eric Tan. And our playlist was curated by Hannah Crawford of MassiveMusic: Kill Your Idols playlist.

As ever, thanks to all our contributors, readers and listeners. You help make the magazine what it is.

Mike Piggott, Editor

Real as f**k! Optimism and hope in 2023

'We’re seeing a rejection of polished materialism in popular culture', says Wavemaker's Emily Rich read

How can I miss you if you never leave?

'What happens to culture when the past just Will. Not. Die.' MullenLowe Group UK's Hannah Hayes-Westall on how the power of fashion to shift norms is often overhyped read

So what if TikTok gets banned?

'The lessons you’re learning from it aren’t what you think.' The Croc's Jason Talbot says this vision of the internet is coming for us all read

Riot Games' Eric Tan talks Arcane, gaming and music

In this podcast we spoke to Eric about how Arcane came to be and the video game developer's move into animation, music from League of Legends, Eric's way into the business, and more read

Mainstream pop culture is dead

'Outdated notions of cultural dominance have been exploded by the social internet', says Sam Collenette in his first piece for us read

Idols don’t just appear, they are created!

'Slowly create meaningful cultural value, and rise to idol status in people’s minds.' Grey London's Jesper Norgaard digs into just how you create that value read

What brands can learn from Andrew Tate

'Avoid the pitfalls of guru-like behaviour.' Ogilvy UK's Senior Strategist Emelina Nyqvist with three golden principles to help brands read

Stop Idol: kill the idea of mega celeb as marketing strategy

'The notion of who is an idol is shifting', says The Marketing Store Europe's Andy Taylor read

A step-by-step guide to killing your idols

'Try to always keep an open mind and, eventually, consider becoming your own idol.' Ben Kay recommends holding our beliefs lightly read

The growing pains of Girl Power

'What was "Generation Girl Power" taught about womanhood?' Editor-at-large Natasha Randawa's piece for International Women's Day read

New age of ‘idols’: new rules of engagement

We've moved away from traditional, one-sided celebrity worship, says strategist Fola Enifeni read

Rebel With A Cause — with Asad Shaykh

In this podcast RANKIN's Opal Turner chats to Grey London and Pride in London's Asad Shaykh, about productive mindsets and the philosophy for creative work read

Turning the volume up on audio deepfakes

'Deepfake tech is here to stay. Are you a leader or a follower?' asks MassiveMusic Dubai's Pierre Carnet read

Under de-influence: Q&A with We Are Social’s Andrea Lombardi

What's the actual difference between influencing and de-influencing? Is social commerce now dead? read

Work hard and be kind

The Liberty Guild's Aimee Luther takes a look back at Joseph Rowntree and corporate kindness read

Four favourite books: Mike Piggott

What have you read lately? Which are your favourite books? For spring we thought it might be nice to start a new series for the magazine: four favourite books. They can be recent or all time favourites, or a mix. To kick things off, here are our Editor's recent ones. If you'd like to submit yours, let us know.