Five things on Friday #377
This week: Lions, lifts, and long pieces of feedback about political glibness. Won't you come read?
#377
Things of note for the week ending Friday June 21st, 2024.
INTRO
THE SUN HAS COME OUT.
SUMMER HAS ARRIVED.
IT IS NEARLY THE END OF THE SIXTH MONTH OF THE YEAR AND WE ARE ALIVE.
PRAISE BE!
Hello hello, how have you been?
Me? Not too bad, thanks for asking.
Busy week.
Long week.
But a fruitful, sociable, and successful week all the same.
First thing first, we saw CABARET at the KITKAT CLUB this week and OH MY GOD IT WAS AMAZING.
I knew a bit about a bit of but not the entire plot (I’ve shared Amy Lennox’s Olivier performance in these pages before, I’m sure) and certainly not in the way it’s put on at The Playhouse in London.
Wow wow wow wow wow. That’s all I’ll say. Just seeeeee it.
Fun fact: I’ve been on stage at The Playhouse (for Monty' Python’s Spamalot). Amazing to be back there and see it in such a different light.
Next: a special hello to all the lovely folk at Activision who, I have on rather good authority, regularly borrow bits from Five things on Friday for their own internal newsletter. I am genuinely flattered, gang. You are most welcome. Please send a couple of COD codes to the usual address as and when you have them, thanking you. Much obliged x
(Let’s hope I don’t slip anything fake in this week’s gaming section eh? As if I would do that…)
Next!
This house is celebrating not one but TWO Lions at the 2024 Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity (or as many people call it, ‘CLIFOC’ - me, I just call it ‘Cannes’).
FIRST, one I can take no credit for whatsoever but (I want to use the space to celebrate my new friends and colleagues at LEGO becaaaaause) LEGO FORTNITE picked up a Bronze Lion in the Entertainment for Gaming category for Best Brand Integration for Games.
Well done to everyone who worked on this. Proud to work alongside you.
SECOND, in an unbelievable turn up for the books, somehow the OREO x Xbox Cheat Cookies campaign picked up ANOTHER LION.
This time for the cross-category entrants (all 800 of them) in Creative Strategy.
Yes it’s 2024 and this is 2023 work but, according to my sources, to resubmit work in creative strategy you have to provide effectiveness results - and my old teammates at Saatchi & Saatchi Dusseldorf did this - which is why this one has been submitted this year vs last year with all the others.
So not only did the creative strategy I put together for this campaign win for creativity, it has also won for effectiveness.
The absolute dream.
For those keeping count (not just me?), that takes the OREO x Xbox Cheat Cookies campaign up to eight Lions in total and my own personal PB for contributing to winning Lions officially double figures.
What a way to end the week, aaaay?
EDIT 24/6/24: Turns out two of my colleagues at the office picked up a silver in the Young Lions too! WOW!
As I write to you now, it’s 23:15 on Thursday night. I’m quite tired. It’s been a long day, a long week, and I could do with some sleep. I’m going to close this intro now and rejoin you for Thing 1 very shortly.
Shall I meet you at the Things when I wake up?
OK then.
See you there.
—
TO THE THINGZZZ!
THING 1. THE WRONG AND THE SHORT OF IT… AGAIN
A refresh and a revisit of a solid piece of thinking from 2020.
AND WHAT A GLOW UP.
Tom Roach writes:
‘This article was first published in July 2020. It seemed to strike a chord, and people on the frontlines of modern marketing tell me it’s been helpful. It remains my most read article. I especially love it when it gets shared by people who weren’t previously familiar with the work of the big names in marketing effectiveness from the UK/Aus/NZ, especially US performance marketing people. So if you know marketers struggling with the limitations of short term tactics, with brands that are stuck on the performance plateau, or with leaderships who ‘don’t get brand’, who might benefit from reading this, please do pass it on.
I was inspired to publish this slightly updated version, after the marketing author and illustrator Dan White sent me a brilliant new set of illustrations he’d done of all the charts in the original.’
Not only is it a) a bloody good read, b) required reading on Mark Ritson’s MiniMBA, c) incredible well put together… it is now ALSO very very pretty.
And hey, if you’ve never read it, right now is the perfect opportunity.
Like, if you work in anything remotely related to marketing, you should read it as well.
So… do that yeah?
The wrong and the short of it (again), by Tom Roach.
THING 2. WHY DO PEOPLE LEAVE AGENCY LIFE?
Narcissistic founders, psychotic CEOs, and handsy MDs aside I mean.
This week I've heard about:
People crying / being made to cry at the office (it’s always agency-side, never a client)
People working all weekend to make an ad (read that out loud, twice). ‘Weekend at Kennedy’s, right?’
People being told to come in to the office (to sit on calls in rooms) while the leadership team barely comes in.
Job postings like this:
Aaaand everyone in Cannes supping the Rosé.
Could be worse, your holding company CEO could've hosted a bigot and not consulted your DE&I lead.
Lol. Banter.
Point is, I wonder what it’ll take for senior management realise they are driving talent out of the industry with unrealistic expectations, low pay, and horrible attitudes.
Hurt people hurt people, I get it - but what happens when there are no more people left to hurt?
Get some Perspective.
Please.
THING 3. THIS WEEK IN… GAMING
A few bits worth knowing about.
Candy Crush hosted its annual All-Stars event with a grand prize of $1M USD. This is insane to me. Here’s some background on that along with an interview with the winner (good work on delivering this mate, you know who you are).
Sony, like me, is skipping Gamescom this year. It’s interesting to me, post-covid, how popular the ‘Direct’ format of sharing news has become and how PlayStation seems to be holding tight on the investment in IRL events like this. Admittedly it doesn’t have huge news (if any) to talk about this year but still. It’s interesting, right? Value exchange etc etc.
My good friend, community leader, and gaming GOD, David Southall (aka MechaMonkey, aka St George), shared this amazing thing with me this week, it’s called: Team 0%.
I did a bit of digging on this and if you’ve never heard of it, the premise is simple:
Team 0% is a community project with the aim to ensure every user-made course in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker 2 has been completed by at least one person other than the original uploader.
And it turns out, back in March, they actually did it?
Incredible.
Dave shared this with me after I shared with him this UTTERLY MENTAL level clearance I saw on Threads earlier this week.
Yeah, I didn’t know I was holding my breath until the end either.
Gaming communities can be amazing, y’all.
What am I playing...
Truth be told, not much blimmin’ much at the moment - too busy (life gets in the way) but, on the setlist I've got:
STILL WAKES THE DEEP
Started this: it’s funny, sweary, and creepy af - recommended.LEGO TYCOON: TILTED TOWERS
Doing a bit of work on this; it’s super fun.CASTLEVANIA: REQUIEM
I needed something retro in my life and this is really hitting the spot.ELDEN RING: SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE (DLC)
I platinum’d the original and, like every other Tarnished, I am so looking forward to play possibly the most anticipated piece of DLC I think ever. Hopefully at some point this weekend.VALORANT
I got a code for the console beta last weekend and am still yet to dive in 😭DESTINY 2: ECHOES
The end campaign of The Final Shape was brilliant and now Bungie has followed up with the first of some new, post-Final-Shape ‘episodes’ of content called ‘ECHOES’. It’s pretty fun so far and it’s nice to see there’s life in the old shooter yet.
Haven't touched Helldivers in a while. And I’m umming and ahh-ing about getting a MIYOO Mini Plus (Review) because of course what I need right now is more things to play.
What about you? What are you playing?
THING 4. POLITICS? WE DON’T TALK ABOUT POLITICS HERE MATE
Waaaaaay back in last week’s edition, somewhere in the bonuses, I glibly said something like ‘and if you vote tory, please unsubscribe*’.
Ah yes, here it is;
Here in the UK it is ELECTION SEASON and while I will keep most of that out of FToF (if you vote Tory, please unsubscribe), but this excellent perspective of how, in light of the BBC's ongoing pressure to not annoy anyone in charge, ITV has stepped up to hold the government to account.
Well.
A thing about me is, I like being wrong. If I’m wrong then I’m learning. If you’ve got a banging provocation then I’m all ears. And, I’d say within 24hrs of hitting send on FToF #376, one of my best friends in the whole world, Robbie Dale, had sent me a howler of an email to take me to task over.
And I love him for it.
Anyway, we’ve talked about it and with his permission, of course, I felt it was worth repeating and sharing here:
"(if you vote Tory, please unsubscribe)". I mean, you do you obvs, and yes sure, I totally get it and OK, it's just a throwaway line... but this stuff always makes me cringe. It's simplistic, and it's uncurious. All it does is feed into the division that's, ironically, a hallmark of... the Tories. But more ironically, you've also highlighted a commercial broadcaster as being free and able to do stuff of value, while the state-supported media is shackled and unable to make any progress. Couldn't BE more Tory mate :) Also, spoiler alert... I've voted Tory more than once. Not in a national election, but for good local candidates in council elections who actually get stuff done. Worst thing that's happened to our local ward on a day-to-day basis was losing the Tory councillor to a Green seat in the last elections. Nothing gets done. Which manifesto I agree with more has some merit, but which person will actually achieve net positive outcomes is much more important to me. Also also.. it's partly a wording thing. It reads as "If you habitually vote Conservative". Which suggests you're holding an entrenched view that people either are, or are not, on the 'right side'. Or put another way, that there are good people and bad people and that can be divined by how they vote. There are millions who think both main parties are crap, packed with lunatics of different kinds, and are really just weighing up very minor differences they perceive. Or just going with the flow. Which is to say: A core difficulty, I think, is that on a person to person level, it's often not that deep. But as an overall issue it's complicated. Pretending it's simple is what's got us in this mess. Which is why I cringe. There's much more to it all of course. But I'll leave it there. All of this reminds of something I think I first heard from you, way back: "you should always run towards something, not away from something". That politics is so much about common enemies, and not common goals, is what drags it deep into the gutter, and it's always better to find space to combat that. Love you :) x |
So Robbie is right. I’m also right. But Robbie is mainly right.
And I wanted to share it with you.
I like being wrong. I think last week I was being reductive to make a point but still, Robbie’s argument holds water.
As annoying as it is - it does.
-
*All jokes aside, five people actually did, so.. maybe it worked?
THING 5. I’VE SPENT A LONG TIME THIS WEEK THINKING ABOUT AKIRA LIFTS
Didn’t know this was a thing. Turns out it’s a thing.
Seminal Manga film, AKIRA, may have kick started a whole industry’s obsession with putting giant diagonal lifts (aka funiculars) and we didn’t even see it.
If you’ve played any sci-fi-esque industry-set game ever, you may have travelled (and defeated enemies on) an AKIRA lift.
Turns out games developers, having been inspired by AKIRA’s lift, refer to these as ‘AKIRA lifts’ and pepper them when and where they can.
AKIRA lifts. They’re a thing. And now you know something you didn’t five minutes ago x
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.
Quite a few this week. I hope your tabs are ready…
The monolith is back (love this, 90% certain it’s an art project, other 10% says it’s aliens).
‘We are carrying too much water’ - This is a phenomenal read
I enjoyed ‘A murder at the end of the world’, and this is a nice short interview with its creators (also: #SavetheOA).
The FT on evidence-based generational ideas on ‘what is and what isn’t good for employees when it comes to WFH vs RTO’ is a good read.
The opening paragraph is a doozy:
Did you know that some (potentially new) species of squid carry their own eggs around with their tentacles? Well, now you do.
'What I wish I'd known before my smartphone was snatched' - is an insightful read on the uptick of phone crime in London (but I'm not sure the copy answers the lede).
In a world of Fake out of home (FOOH), it's nice that someone actually put a real dragon on the top of the Empire State Building. But.. wouldn't you say it's quite tricky to see from down here?
I can't remember if I told you but before I joined LEGO I did a teeny tiny bit of work on the next/second/final season of ARCANE on Netflix (freelancing at Territory Studio - you should work them btw, they’re great). As a result of that work, I've seen nearly all of the show (everything but the very final episode - sorry not sorry), and it is SUPERB. Point is, the trailer is out - and the beeb did a nice write up too. Can't wait for you to see it.
NFTs, Idiots, and Star Wars. Aka ‘The Stormtrooper Scandal’ - fascinating.
A great debunk and analysis of the history behind and of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. A good watch.
Publicis being punchy with this AI pisstake ‘AI AI O’ - Mark Read would never…
This week I learnt there's a live feed of the BA lounge capacity at Terminal 5.
Martin Bryant is writing about Pathway Points
YOU ARE REACHING THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER. MIND THE GAP.
As I write this to you now it’s 13:10 on Saturday afternoon. We’re leaving the house in 30mins to head to a neighbour’s birthday BBQ and I’m running out of time (that’s newsletter speak for ‘Forgive the typos’).
I’m tired today. Went for a long walk after work in the sun yesterday and it was nice to get away from a screen for a bit.
If you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, hit reply and tell me why. If you didn’t, hit reply and tell me why. All feedback is good feedback. Ish. 😅
In closing, I hope wherever you are in the world as you read this, you are happy, healthy, and being kind to yourself.
Life’s too short to waste it on idiots - watch yourself out there.
Until next time,
Whatley out x
PS. The setup to this joke is so great. Enjoy x
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