Five things on Friday #366
Things of note for the week ending Friday April 5th, 2024.
INTRO
Hello hello.
[please to insert your favourite 'OMG. How is it April already thooo?' turn of phrase here]
A bit of newsletter admin: I had a few notes back from folk about Buttondown not playing nice with dark mode and the good folk at Buttondown have suggested a format switch, which is what you're reading/seeing right now (I hope).
Let me know how you get on with it. Thank you please, thank you etc x
How was your Easter?
Ours was GOOD. Hosted a whisky tasting, went to see some dinosaurs, a spot of swimming, a bit of crazy/mini golf, an easter egg hunt (obvs), baked some cakes, and then topped it all off with easily the best damn Sunday roast I think I've ever made.
Don't get me wrong, if you've been following me on social media for any amount of time, then you will know that of the classic Sunday roast, I am a fan. The Mrs (not exactly a lover of cooking; very much the baker of the house) is very happy about this.
During the cooler months the Sunday roast is almost a weekly occurrence and getting it just right has taken years of practice. Be that as it may, I am without fail my own worst critic. There's always something that I'm not quite happy with. Maybe the carrots were on for too long, or the broccoli slightly under done or the parsnips are too crispy... whatever.
For some reason or another, this past Sunday's effort was simply perfect.
Chicken was roasted just right. The parsnips were just fluffy and crunchy. Carrots, broc - all bang on. The gravy (always home made) was the right mix of flavour and seasoning. And the potatoes.. goodness me. Speechless.
What did I do differently?
Well, it's hard to say. There was definitely an intention to just leave things alone a bit (in the oven, I mean), and I think I was a tad more attentive with tasting and seasoning. But there wasn't anything fancy in there that lifted it all - it was just a great sum of its parts, y'know?
Simple flavours, well cooked. Not just a banging roast. But the absolute banger of all roasts.
So yeah, that was my Easter :)
How was yours?
What else can I tell you?
As it's Easter, the kids are off school for an extended half-term break at the moment (two weeks off school - just deal with it parents!) and I've promised the fam a 'no London week' this week while we hang out, paint, watch movies, and of course play video games. It's been nice to spend so much time at home - sharing the extended Easter period with the little ones. Just gorgeous.
And it's funny, I would say since about a week or so ago, first the time in a long time - maybe even the first time this year - I felt truly at peace.
'This too shall pass' works both ways. So savour the good times while you have them, y'all x
Shall we crack on with the things?
Let's.
TO THE THINGS!
1.WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED AT VICE?
'Vice was once promised to become the brash young voice of news. But wild expenses, shady deals, and greed turned it into ‘a f**king clown show.'
From a $5.7bn valuation to bankruptcy, Elizabeth Lopatto, writing for The Verge, has tried to find out what went wrong.
Along the way Lopatto speaks to several ex-Vice employees as well as some solid bants with Vice's (or Shane Smith's?) lawyers...
Bergeson LLP’s emails were headlined “Not for publication,” even though I had not consented to any communication being off the record, per The Verge’s very public background policy. The firm also questioned the use of anonymous sources, saying, “It is troubling that the false attribution [sic] — indeed every allegation put to Vice by The Verge — comes from anonymous sources, whom The Verges’s [sic] refuses to name despite Vice’s requests.”
Banter.
Its one of my favourite reads of the week.
2.DISNEY+'S NEW LOGO
There's no two ways about it. The new colour and brand logo is so obviously and demonstrably rubbish it's actually painful.
But how did we get to this trashfire of a 'demonstration of the relationship with Hulu' (a brand literally no one outside of the US cares about, and even 'cares' is a stretch) in the first place?
Well, parking all the high-brow brand-gashery nonsense aside, Alexandra Lustig, brand strategist and founder at the Gitsul Group, put together this fantastic dissection that explores (read: nerds out on) exactly how Disney might have got to this particularly disgusting shade of teal.
It's a phenomenal read.
PS. Disney, my kids hate the new colour too. Can we at least have the option to change it per user?
3.THIS WEEK IN... GAMING
First thing first, next Thursday April 11th is the LONDON DEV CONFERENCE.
With a packed out agenda (which has been put together - and will be hosted - by friend of FToF, George Osborn), LDC 2204 is looking very good indeed. Featuring speakers and panellists from Roblox, ustwo, Ukie, The Royal Academy of Art, Ofcom, and Newzoo - it's looking like THE place to be if you want to understand the state of (and network with) the games industry in the UK today.
I spoke at LDC last year and not only did I have a lovely time but also the generous folk doing the organising for 2024 have offered 10% off ticket prices for readers of FToF.
Use 'NETWORKN10' at the basket to get just that. Tickets are available here.
Let me know if you're headed along. It's the same day as the Games BAFTAs so I'm currently trying to figure out how I can do both...
GAMING RELATED QUICK BITES:
The Essential Guide to Gaming Audiences - written by some of the best at this, Activision Blizzard Media.
Looks like Minecraft is finally getting a native PS5 version (not VR2 though - we live in hope).
CEO of company delivering 1300 layoffs says it's 'too early to start buying studios again' - I am shooketh.
Putting the gaming experience at the centre of therapy (fascinating).
Finally, 'Xbox Field Trips' from McCann feels like a decent piece of film that should/can encourage parents to understand, play, and engage with the games our children play (and why).
EVERY TIME I've spoken to other parents about their kids wanting to get into gaming, I've ALWAYS encouraged those parents to PLAY WITH THEIR KIDS as much as possible. Understand the games they're playing. Learn with them. Play with them.
THIS is the most important part (IMO).
The wider campaign includes ebooks and Spotify playlists, is backed by UKIE (among others), and talks about 'learning journeys' and so forth. I'm sure this is all great but the film does a more (and arguably better) category job - vs any tangential Spotify-playlist product link.
Maybe I'm being cynical.
They're good and, award fodder or otherwise, and I'll definitely try them with the kids. I just think the Field Trip part is lost in the film (almost purposefully).
What do you think?
4. COPY THAT WORKS
I don't know how many of you listen to or watch the Uncensored CMO podcast/YouTube show but I do and if you don't maybe you should.
And maybe you should start with this one: "Copy that works, a copywriting masterclass with Vikki Ross"
Covering everything from car ads (see above) to 'will AI take our jobs' - Vikki is smart, charming, incredibly funny, and above all else, knowledgeable about her craft.
Listen on Spotify or watch on YouTube.
I'm super lucky to call Vikki Ross a friend. I hope this gives you a glimpse of why she's so awesome. Doing LITERALLY ANYTHING copy-related? Find Vikki Ross on Linkedin TODAY.
5. 50 YEARS OF CLARITY IN ADVERTISING
On more than one occasion over the past few weeks I've been asked the question 'What does the future hold for advertising?'
Normally this question is couched against the impending DOOM and FEAR of artificial intelligence.
Re: AI, I kind of covered that two issues ago (thing one, #364) but how about we approach the question from the other end of the telescope.
Last month marked the 50th anniversary of the seminal/mandatory JWT Planning Guide, March 1974.
I don't say this kind of thing lightly when I say: the JWT planning guide is still as relevant now as it was then.
IN FIFTY YEARS the work, nay the method, of the account planner / strategist / whatever you want to call it has broadly remained unchanged.
To take a leaf out of Jeff Bezo's book, a better question to ask is what's not going to change for the future of advertising?
What things have changed but we haven't noticed so much? What things will change but only slightly? What things will absolutely not change ever?
One could argue that advertising in the UK, as an industry has lost its figurehead. Love him or loathe him, Martin Sorrell (as CEO of WPP) was the person that everyone from the BBC to the FT turned to for illustrative perspectives on the financial benefits of advertising on the UK economy - and beyond.
(MediaMonks, and S4 Capital, while occasionally headline worthy, doesn't seem to let the minute money man get the same kind of billing as he used to - maybe its the switch to t-shirts).
Who does that now? Where is the flag bearer for the ad industry generally? Which country leads the world in that regard? Does advertising benefit society? If so, how? Who's making that case? Where?
It is classic adlandery to be so navel-gazing to worry about itself against the future of [insert whatever but let's say 'AI' for now] vs what it means for conversations bigger than advertising. Classic.
And we can debate the back and forth between the future of this and the impact of that but ultimately the non-changing things or the slow-changing things are what I find most interesting.
Can we have a conversation about that instead?
(Like, oh I don't know, another report from the IPA talking about DE&I - 2007-2024)
What isn't changing in the future of advertising and why is that interesting?
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Related, Paul Feldwick's POV of being there when the JWT planning guide came to pass is an exquisite glimpse into times gone by.
BONUS SECTION
THIS IS THE BONUS SECTION. BONUS LINKS THAT BUMP US OVER FIVE THINGS BUT DUE TO TIMING AND SELF-IMPOSED WRITING RESTRICTIONS ARE LIMITED TO PITHY COMMENTARY ONLY.
ENJOY.
Forbes has been lying to ad-buyers (allegedly).
Substack writers concerned as subscriptions 'plummet' due to platform pivot (more).
Turns out 'Amazon Go' is basically SpinVox for shopping (via Dan Hon's excellent newsletter).
Is social media rewiring our brains? This is a good critique of The Anxious Generation, a new book from Jonathan Haidt and, if you've heard anything about this book, you should read this well recommended review.
Related: Charlie Warzel on Threads with a... thread about it all.
Campaign Mag's annual School Reports will no longer fully grade agencies who decline to share diversity data. PROGRESS.
I had dinner next to John Cooper Clarke a year or so ago. It was just nice to be near the man. This is a good interview with him.
There's nothing you can do to prevent a SIM-swap attack. Yikes.
Returning to the office five days a week could cost you over 9% of your monthly take home pay. Fight it. Fight it. Fight it - fight it.
Do you feel psychologically safe in your work environment? This is a good chart to check yourself.
Finally, if you're not already ALL IN on X-Men '97 on (the recoloured) Disney+ then you absolutely should be. IT IS SUPERB.
Like, 4m views in 5 days SUPERB.
And has obviously been put together with such love and care for the source material (including the DEFINING CARTOON THEME OF THE 90s) it's just... amazing. Watch it.
YOU ARE REACHING THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER. MIND THE GAP.
Since I last saw you I bought invested in a new Macbook Air (M3 model, in midnight blue - it's LUSH; we are grateful for clients that pay on time) and it's DREAMY to write on. So I hope you've enjoyed reading this week's edition because I sure as hell enjoy writing it.
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Thank you, everyone, btw, who has come back to me on the work front. I've really enjoyed the projects that have come my way - and in the short-term, keep 'em coming :)
I should probably do a bit more of an update on what I've been up to next time we speak. Yeah, I'll do that.
Until next time then?
Take care, gang.
Whatley out x