Welcome to the latest edition.

Below you'll find stories about a new art show in New York, a walrus driving a speedboat, two iconic brands coming together for an unexpected collaboration, briefs, the future of brands, a threat to ad agencies, copywriting, comics, and more.

And, as always, you'll find links at the end of the newsletter.

I hope you enjoy this edition.

Oh, and please help spread the creative inspiration and repost ? this to your network.

ADVERTISING

A WALRUS TAKES A SPEEDBOAT FOR A SPIN - OKAY, YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION.

You know when you see an ad and it just makes you smile and you are not upset that someone took away a minute or so of your time? Well, a new TV commercial for Virgin Media did that for me.

To be honest, I didn’t care who the ad was going to be for, I simply enjoyed watching it, the fact it kept me till the end is a bonus for the brand - Virgin Media .

We need more fun and silliness in advertising. Ideas that make people smile. Because those ideas get talked about, shared, liked, and loved - doing a lot of extra heavy lifting for the brand.

Ideas such as these are the kind of ideas I used to crave when running a creative department, a team comes in and pitches an out-there concept and you get excited and deep down you wish you had thought of it.

Watch the commercial in the links below.

Brands

Nike and Lego are putting together something new.?

File this under - I never saw this coming. But I am pretty sure it will be popular.?

耐克 and Lego - are not exactly two brands you expect to come together to collaborate - but unexpected ideas often work.

Of course, the first thing that came to my mind was the well-known issue of stepping on a piece of Lego with your barefoot - not fun. But hey, if you’re wearing Nike’s then you won’t have that problem.

Set for release in 2025, plans are afoot for co-branded products, content, and experiences.?

"We are excited to partner with Nike on this journey and help reimagine how creative play and sport can unite," Alero Akuya, VP of Brand Development at the LEGO Group , said in a statement. "Together, we will create unique experiences that will engage and excite kids around the world, inspiring them to explore their imaginations.”

Read more in the links below.

ADVERTISING AGENCIES

One of the biggest threats to advertising agencies is a creative one.

The value of the Creator Economy is growing at an exponential rate. And it is fast becoming one of the preeminent threats for ad agencies.

The Creator Economy is expected to be worth $528 billion by 2030. Compare that to total advertising investment this year of $989 billion and you can see how big of a threat it is to the bottom line of ad agencies.

As stated in a piece in Creative Blog, “If you look behind that $528bn figure, you’ll find a big proportion of this revenue for creators will come from brand deals. This means investment in the creator economy will overlap massively with advertising.”

With more and more brands turning to creators agencies will inevitably need to adapt or face the consequences.

Some may pivot, some may reinvent themselves, and some may build out dedicated divisions to focus solely on creators.?

Currently, how many ‘creators’ are contributing to the Creator Economy? Numbers vary. Goldman Sachs has it at 50 million worldwide, while Citi estimates it at being closer to 120 million.

Whichever number is correct - that’s a lot of people.?

This may be the “now or never” moment for ad agencies to decide what their position is and where they will focus.

I’ll link a couple of articles to read at the end of the newsletter.?

QUOTE

“Listen to anyone with an original idea, no matter how absurd it may sound at first. If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.” - William McKnight

Copywriting

THE DEATH OF COPYWRITING WILL LEAVE SOME LOST FOR WORDS.

It’s almost certain that AI will eliminate copywriting jobs. Some, not all.

Average and poor copywriters will most likely fall victim to the AI Bards. Sorry.

But those who can wield a word or 500 with skill and craft still have a fighting chance. A good copywriter has an advantage.

The print ads below are a few select examples of this.

So what makes a good copywriter?

Is it a degree in literature?

Is it an obsession with a thesaurus?

Is it a penchant for words most people don’t say or know?

None of the above.

A good copywriter lives and breathes the life around them.

A good copywriter understands emotions and knows how to use them.

A good copywriter has a sense of humour and a sense of the absurd.

A good copywriter knows how to play with words, twist them, flip them, and shuffle them like a card shark.

A good copywriter writes the way people speak.

They can tell a story in three words or less. Verbose they are not.

Unless there is a story to be told, it's then that they will bleed onto the page, like an old local in a dive bar at 2 am telling you his life story.

But they will become ruthless, the writer, not the old local, unless that dive bar is in the wrong part of town. But I digress.

A good copywriter knows how to edit with the skill of a surgeon, cutting out unwanted fat, trimming sentences and dissecting paragraphs.

They write, write, write, write, and then edit with impunity.

A good copywriter crafts words that can make someone think, act, laugh, cry, get angry or even break up with someone they thought they loved.

A good copywriter has lived, laughed, loved, and lost. All of which fuels their pens, or keyboards, to write copy others can relate to, remember, and retell.

A good copywriter, for the time being, has something AI doesn’t have.

COPYWRITING WORKSHOP

COPYWRITE vs COPYWRONG

I've launched a new Copywriting Workshop.

If you'd like to join or get more details please email - [email protected]

“I’ve learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one.” - Leo Burnett

ART

See American culture through the eyes of a French artist.

French artist Robin Kid has a new show in New York at Galerie Templon.

In his show Searching for America, Robin Kid explores American traditions and culture through a series of collage-style mixed-media paintings.

The show is open now. You can see more of the work on the gallery's site. Link at the bottom of the newsletter.

BRIEFS

Every advertising idea starts with a brief.

Getting the brief right dictates whether the work will be on target.

When I started in advertising I was given this piece of advice - “Rule #1, refer to the brief. Rule #2, refer back to rule #1.”

If you haven’t seen it, this documentary about the humble brief, aptly called BRIEFLY, is well worth watching. Or, if you have seen it maybe revisit it for a reminder.

Link at the end of the newsletter.

BRANDS

IS 'BRAND' DEAD?

An interesting and insightful piece from Bobby Hundreds from The Hundreds posing the question - Is 'Brand' dead?

He references a 2014 piece from the Harvard Business Review in which they share insights from the book ‘Information Rules’ by leading information economy thinkers, Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian. “The book predicted that the power of brands would shrink as people had access to more and more free information.”?

Bobby said in his Substack piece, “Ten years later, we’re seeing much of this theory actualized in the decline of streetwear. Big brands like Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Supreme are slowing, making room for other entrants like On and Hellstar. The market is increasingly fragmented because the way you’re finding out about these companies (media, marketing and advertising) are also fragmented. And as brand aura dilutes, product emerges as king.”

Our relationships with brands have constantly evolved with changing consumer trends, technology and media.

There is a link to a bigger piece on Bobby's Substack at the end of the newsletter.

Another consideration that comes along with changes in the relationship between people and brands is the spillover effect when it comes to advertising and the types of creative ideas that can engage with the relevant audience and their perceptions of the brands they're interested in.

BOOKS

Don’t grow up, it’s a trap.

I grew up loving comics. I had some serious health issues as a child and was in and out of hospital many times, with many long stints and comic books provided a great escape for me. They helped keep me distracted and fuel my imagination.

This new book from Thames Hudson sounds great - Comics (1964-2024) - and I am sure it will bring back a lot of memories for many people.?

An archival history of some of the most iconic comic books ever published.

I'm now keen to get ahold of some old comic books.

You can read more about the book in the links below.

CREATIVE DIRECTION

LIMITED SPOTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR MY CREATIVE DIRECTOR COACHING.

It's a rewarding but challenging gig, and there are not a lot of courses or guidance to help you navigate the role. It can often feel like you're doing it all solo. That's why I started coaching Creative Directors a few years ago.

I'm offering a 20% discount until August 29 - only 5 days to go.

Want to know more? Email me at - [email protected]

1:1 CREATIVE CAREER COACHING

Limited spots are available. A 20% discount applies to my coaching until August 29.

Want to know more? Email me at - [email protected]

And that's it for this edition of my newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it.

If so, please repost ? it to your network and share the inspiration.

More next week.

Cheers,

Rodd

• What's better than a walrus driving a speedboat? Judge for yourself here .
• Lego & Nike click together. Read more here on Highsnobiety and here on the Lego site.
• Read more about the impact of the Creator Economy on Creative Bloq's site here and on Collabstr's site here .
• Take a look at Robin Kid's Searching For America art show here .
• Watch BRIEFLY here .
• Read Bobby Hundred's take on "Is 'Brand' Dead?" on his Substack here .
• Take a look at the book Comics (1964-2024) here .

#creative #advertising #copywriting #creativecoaching #creativedirector