“Human cultural advancement really began when people went from producing enough to survive vs producing a surplus. Producing a surplus gave people time which allowed humans to innovate”
(This is from a podcast about the inevitable collapse of society as we know it, called “Breaking Down: Collapse” – It’s ok.)
I in a lot of ways, innovation is our job in the industry. Coming up with ideas and solutions to problems via lateral thought.
But we rarely have the surplus we need in order to have that time.
We’re like the hunter gatherers of work.
Instead of spending all of our energy trying to find enough to put into our bodies, we’re exist output to output– extracting just enough from our brains to get through the week.
And you wonder why the ads were so good in the 60s and 70s. They had the surplus needed to sit around and smoke weed all day while bullshitting ideas.
Just imagine what it would be like today with more than just rich white dudes inputting into the conversation.
Would be horrible for the bottom line though.
links
There are underground strip clubs on Roblox.
This makes the cultural instigator part of me unreasonably happy. It makes the parent part of me horrified.
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The Muppet Theory that explains Humanity
Every one of us is either a Chaos Muppet or an Order Muppet.
Chaos Muppets are out-of-control, emotional, volatile. They tend toward the blue and fuzzy. They make their way through life in a swirling maelstrom of food crumbs, small flaming objects, and the letter C. Cookie Monster, Ernie, Grover, Gonzo…
Order Muppets—and I’m thinking about Bert, Scooter, Sam the Eagle, Kermit the Frog, and the blue guy who is perennially harassed by Grover at restaurants (the Order Muppet Everyman)—tend to be neurotic, highly regimented, averse to surprises and may sport monstrously large eyebrows.
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Cross Cultural Psychology (wikipedia)
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Shibboleth A shibboleth is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another (Wikipedia)
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Heros Jouney PDF - the most concise and helpful outline of the Hero’s Journey from Joseph Campbell’s “Hero With A Thousand Faces” (which if you haven’t read, you should. Even if you feel like you’re already familiar with the basics. (download full book here)
SOMETHING FUN
‘Ive mentioned before that if I had define my belief system, it would be at the intersection of “output” and “novelty.”
Well in my spare time, not only do I draw monsters, but I make weird art too. As do all of my siblings for that matter.
And we launched a website! Still uploading inventory and working on some new photography for a more consistent look and feel (branding!). Anyway, if you’ve been in the market for small cement hands, little cups made of resin, or a sneaker keychain, you’re in luck.
I finally figured out how to make discount codes too, so use “STRATSCRAPS” for 30% off.
/shameless plug.
SCRAPS
What are the idea’s arteries? This is really important to define from the get go. What can and can’t be changed without the core of the idea dying. Another way to think about it is the Soul of the idea. What must remain to prevent it from becoming a husk?
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Find the Proximate Cause. A spark may have started the fire, but maintenance neglect is why the wiring sparked in the first place. As humans we’re good at crediting the catalyst, not the underlaying root cause of an outcome.
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Every action should make someone fall in love, someone vaguely aware and someone furious.
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I’ve included this before but damn if it doesn’t describe most strategists and creatives I know
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So… What percent of water is wasted when watering your lawn? All of it. There is no real reason to water your lawn and it’s a huge waste. But you have to do it if you want your lawn to be green.
Advertising is kind of the same.
WEEKLY MONSTER
/STRAT SCRAPS.