Thøughts
Changing masculinity: Is advertising doing enough to represent modern men?
You only need to look at the majority of male-oriented fashion and grooming ads today to see that brands continue to promote an unrealistic ideal of what it means to be a man. The dominant message for young men still originates from the strong, silent cliché of the 1970s: athletic prowess, washboard abs, sculpted jawline, smart, strong, and never vulnerable. The problem is, a lot of young men don't identify or aspire to those narrow stereotypes. A study conducted in partnership with Dove found that only 7% of men worldwide can relate to depictions of masculinity they see in media.
While many female-targeted brands have made significant strides to (rightly) shatter outdated stereotypes, and empower women to embrace their physical differences as part of their overall individuality – can the same be said for men? Where is the same war cry for men who do not fit the stereotypical male image?
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Social Media: Dilemma or still in development?
Like a lot of people who work closely with social media I recently watched Netflix’s The Social Dilemma, a documentary that explores the impact of platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter on society. Important issues like online addiction, fake news and social media’s influence on politics were unpacked and explored by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jeff Orlowski.
The Social Dilemma features former employees of Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter, who share their ethical concerns about the platforms they helped to create. As these now wise, all knowing experts talk about their addiction to social media, email and reddit we cut to shots of syringes loading and hear ominous music. Wow, I guess my love of Twitter is a bit like shooting up heroin in an alleyway, then becoming so addicted I rob the local store, ending up in prison next to a guy called ‘Big Dave’ who loves to cuddle.
How to stay creative (and sane) during a recession.
It’s upon us. The dreaded ‘R’ word. Recession, which according to Wikipedia is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity.
Well I’ve lived through a few ‘recessions’ in different parts of the world, so here’s my ‘creative’ definition: A time when it’s bloody hard to do your job (to even get a job) because people are generally too scared to make a decision or take a risk. Which is pretty frustrating for an advertising creative, as we are supposed to be the risk takers, the dreamers, the people who offer the client an alternative point of view.
Recessions suck, so here is my ‘ten cents’ on how creatives can stay creative (and sane) during a time of ‘general decline in economic activity’.
The changing nature of creativity.
The role of the modern advertising creative is evolving. To build todays’ big campaign you need a grasp of data, technology and media. Then to execute this campaign you need to be a master of storytelling, design, user experience and so on.
As a result of this the creative process is changing. What is considered good craft has really gone far beyond smart art direction and clever copywriting. Don’t get me wrong, we should always place great value on traditional craft skills but now there is a growing list of other creative techniques that brands are using to cut through and sell.
Winning Work: HSBC Rugby Sevens
Each year HSBC brings the exciting World Rugby Sevens Series to Singapore. 60,000 people pack the National Stadium to watch one of the fastest sports on the planet.
As part of this year’s event Publicis was tasked with creating an experience to welcome guests to the HSBC Hexagon Suite. A space for guests of the bank to meet, eat, drink and watch live matches.
Our brief was very simple. Bring our most valued guests together to experience the thrill of live rugby. The experience needed to be easy, immersive, and above all fun to cater for the different aged guests invited to the suite. A 3year old or an 83year old needed to be able to participate.
This is the direction our industry should be taking.
In three years at Digitas Singapore, Creative Director Keith Byrne has helped triple the agency’s client list. Digitas Singapore has also been named Marketing Magazine’s Digital Agency of the Year (twice) and Campaign’s Specialist Agency of the Year, and now counts amongst its clients Danone, Disney, HSBC, Mercedes, Novartis and Visa.
Before relocating to Singapore, Byrne worked for some of the world’s most innovative agencies including Rothco, R/GA and Digitas London. We recently spoke with him about the past three years with Digitas, his goals in the coming years, his impressions of Singapore, and more.