Josh Mann’s Post

Tomorrow (Aug 29) I'll be a part of a panel discussing Gen A.I. and a new report produced by Andrew Thompson and his team. To celebrate, I got up early and made a film clip before work. Register for the webinar and download the report here. https://lnkd.in/grvx_QJh See you then!

On August 29, I'll be speaking on a panel about everyone's favourite topic; the rise of the use (and misuse) of AI. Discover the thinking of intellectuals from Harvard and RMIT, leading international journalists, and me. A man who, last week, typed into Midjourney: "/imagine a cult-like masquerade ball in the stye of Eyes Wide Shut, but all the masks are big golden moustaches. Dramatic lighting."

You’re looking at the new, and very serious, Head of Creative at Movember (at least until the end of October).   I’ll be doing my best to fill the shoes of the lovely and talented Hannah O'Mahony, as she moves on to new creative adventures. Hannah has been an incredible steward and builder of the brand for over 5 years and I can’t wait to see what she does next. Movember is doing vital work to address men’s mental and physical health in around... *checks notes*... 20 COUNTRIES!? I’m excited to work with a brand I’ve admired for years and I’m looking forward to helping to make your dads, husbands, brothers and sons, live longer… and for one month a year, to convince them to get weird with their upper lips. I’ll probably be back to freelancing in November. Probably with a moustache.

It's been a big week, so I made a fake ad inspired by the current news cycle. IKEA, let's make the next collection a little less attractive. For democracy's sake. 😘

Well, it's happened. I've now seen a blue chip company using AI videos in a live campaign. The industry is very impressed with the tech. But this comments section is definitely not... It's a pretty good case study on what not-to-do with this technology. Firstly, if you're going to save money on production, AT LEAST invest a little in a concept. Even if Optus had used their (considerable) resources to hire an actor, and film him walking down the street with his phone, that doesn't really amplify the offer of a "Free network trial." A concept could help. Secondly, this "valley" is not "canny" to anyone yet. Humans are evolutionarily programmed to detect abnormalities in other human faces to identify threats or disease. When an image is almost human but not quite, it creates a feeling of distrust and unease on a deep, monkey-brain level. I doubt Optus had "Make all potential customers feel deeply weird." on this brief. This should have been picked up before it saw the light of day. And here's the thing that I think AI is going to reveal across the board. It's going to shine an industrial-strength spotlight on hubris. Every confident nit-wit that believes that he (don't fight that one) could do a better job than his agency, will now be able to put that to the test. A handful of these people WILL discover that they have some genuine, untapped, creative talent. Many more will discover, that there actually WAS some value, to giving this work to the people, who have dedicated their entire lives to their craft, after all. Creative discernment is a mystical and bizarre skill. It's what Creative Directors get paid the (somewhat) big bucks for. It's their job to intuit how the creative will be received and steer their big, creative bus somewhere positive. AI is like a very fast car, and there's going to be a lot of people who believe they don't need lessons to drive it. I just hope these companies don't fire all of their creatives, cause when the inevitable accidents come, they'll need us to clean up the mess.

A few weeks ago, I reminded my self-employed comrades, that if their bookings are quiet, they should get noisy on platforms like this. A lot of people wrote to say, "That was the kick up the arse I needed", as they began their painful ascent, to join me here, on Cringe Mountain. One of those people was Mitchell Bozzetto, a copywriter who was recently made redundant. He decided that he could make some noise, with an "Ad-a-day" project while he was between jobs. I've been loving his work and thought it deserved a share. Here's a few of my favourites. He's currently up to day 19. It's got him a lot of attention and freelance work. And now that he's busy, he's slightly regretting his public commitment to do it for an entire month. Give him a follow.

There's been a lot of discussion about the new Adelaide University logo. But as a former Adelaidian, and creative who has done a lot of university work, I'd like to weigh in. The first thing that struck me when this brand launched, was the enthusiasm coming from INSIDE the university, juxtaposed with the distain that it received from OUTSIDE the university. (AKA the people who pay for universities). I think the distain can be traced to some BS and a camel. When creating a logo, if you can infuse it with 1 undeniable idea, that's great. (Think the FedEx logo with an arrow between the "Ex"). If you can infuse it with 2 ideas, even better. (Think the Amazon logo with an arrow that's ALSO a smile). 3 ideas is starting to get a little greedy, but if you can stick the landing.... amazing. 4 ideas and you have yourself a "horse designed by committee". You have a camel. This brand has a couple of humps. The amount of stakeholders universities include in these kinds of projects is always daunting. Their website says, "We engaged current staff and students, alumni, industry partners, aboriginal representatives as well as prospective students and parents in South Australia, across Australia and globally." That's a LOT of cooks in the kitchen! And it leads to things like 70 page briefs, and creatives, like me, resorting to our trusted old friend "BS" to fulfil that brief. For example this, from their brand story: "The angles are inspired by the iconic Festival Theatre, AND symbolises our ambition to push forward". I mean... it's an A. But it's a weird A... I'm going to say, maybe only 50% BS. "The open space in the monogram echoes our unwavering commitment to inclusivity". 100% BS. Obviously. But honestly, that's a tough one to fit into a 2 letter monogram. "The stable foot represents the solid foundations of the two accomplished institutions on which the new university is built." Again, 100% BS. "Our mark is completed with our state border." HEY! That's actually real! Top right! That's the state of SA! 0% BS! Here's the thing. Creating a brandmark that does a lot of heavy lifting is a real challenge. But making a brandmark that does ALL the heavy lifting is impossible. At some point we'll end up saying, “Yeah for sure, that space between the letters represents our love of flora and fauna. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD APPROVE THIS!!!” I have no issue with designers pumping up the importance of each little decision, to help clients understand the process and get them on the same page. But if it's OBVIOUS BS, people in the real world are going to smell it REAL quick. And at the end of the day, they're the only stakeholder that matters. In conclusion: I suspect this re-brand would have pissed off less people in the public, if it pissed off a handful MORE people in the institution by limiting the amount of stakeholders involved. And creatives; embellish away! But no one likes it when you piss in their boots and tell them it's raining.

My wife keeping my imposter syndrome in check after I get off the Zoom call.

I absolutely love the mission of Broke Ad School. I also really loved this masterclass they presented from Nils Leonard from Uncommon Creative Studio. You know you've stumbled on a wisdom dump, when you put something on as background noise, and suddenly you've forgotten to work for an hour and you're surrounded by post-it notes scrawled with inspirational one liners. For example, "Find a way, to put the elbows of the idea out, and make it bash into things." Haha A great listen for restless creatives. Unless they have deadlines.

This is a message to my fellow Sole Traders and Freelancers. You are my people and my friends, but you are also my competition, so I'll only say this once. If you're in a lull, you need to be NOISY (and I cringe as I type this)... but the easiest place to be noisy, is on this platform. This week alone, I've started freelancing at a new agency, had intro calls with 3 other new agencies and been head hunted for a good, permanent role. 4/5 of those introductions came directly from LinkedIn. One came from a networking drinks in Cairns. I'd like to think that it's also because I've worked myself into a fine dust to get good at what I do, but I'd be willing to bet that's true for most of you too. To paraphrase Adam Ferrier on the Black Tshirts podcast, "There's no business model that thrives on silence." Most of us are in some kind of Advertising or Marketing roles. So take my hand, ascend Cringe Mountain with me, apply a PINCH of what you tell your clients to do, every day, and promote yourself! Dig out your old folio pieces and post them. If that feels weird add a #flashbackfriday. Share your insights. Share your side hustle. Just put yourself out there! Cause there's a good chance that you're great at what you do, and someone needs the skills you've ground yourself into a fine dust to master. But there's an equally good chance that they have NO idea you exist. See you on Cringe Mountain.