genchi genbutsu

Today a friend of mine from Nagasaki mentioned ‘genchi genbutsu’ over coffee. I had never heard of it. Genchi Genbutsu is a Japanese management method that translates to ‘actual place, actual thing’. It means managers are expected to be surgically on top of the operational realities of the ‘engine room’ by being physically present when […]

the efficiency movement

I’ve been reading up on the Efficiency Movement—a fad that swept through the US at the turn of the century, promising to eliminate waste, recalibrate the economy, and progress society as a whole. You basically had guys like Frederick Winslow Taylor, a management theorist during the Progressive Era, who would walk around with a stopwatch […]

a 12-second AI belter

AI sure has contributed to the creation of some amazing ads alredy. Love this one for Nike Basketball.

ovo energy meets slayer

Never thought I’d have the joy of hearing Howard Beale’s famous line alongside Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’ wrapped up in a potent message that gives a middle finger to climate change deniers. It goes to show that being environmentally conscious isn’t fringe anymore. This spot is a bold and optimistic embodiment of OVO Energy’s underdog stance […]

cultural imprinting

Our copywriter sent me this essay on the topic of “Cultural Imprinting” this week. Published by social psychology writer Kevin Simler back in 2014, it argues that ads don’t work through individual manipulation but through changing culture, mainly using mass media and OOH advertising to drive peer pressure. For example, when I walk through Piccadilly […]

hail robert harris

Robert Harris’ wise words on Brexit and our government’s jurassic ignorance of logic. Poignant and pithy, this is one of my favourite writers at his best. I’ll just leave this here:   R

little bits

When Matt Damon decided to “science the shit out of this” as he was stuck on Mars in Ridley Scott’s space epic The Martian, one would be forgiven for thinking his parents brought him up on LittleBits. The groundbreaking US start-up is empowering kids to create inventions using easy-to-use electronic building blocks. At a time […]

that roman-raphelson book

In many ways, books on the craft of writing have had a huge impact on the world. In other ways, none at all. With the market now saturated, separating the wheat from the chaff has become more tedious. Writers seem out of moves. Worse, most fail to reveal the mechanics behind their advice. Hidden deep […]