I am researching a book on the idea behind authenticity, quite possibly the holy grail of storytelling. Most of which I come across can be easily categorized into authentic or not. (There are only two sides of the fence here). Then I come across ‘normcore’, the supposedly new trend fresh out of Brooklyn. Will keep my thoughts to myself on this—you never know what will make it into the book and what won’t—but if you want to read the trend that has New Yorkers all hissy-fit right now, then read this in New York magazine.
Few things are more satisfying than an open and honest review. No social connections, no strings attached – just a god-honest review. Dutch journalist Suzanne de Bakker gave Storytelling on Steroids a good going over on Marketing Facts. She gives the book a big thumbs up, and even offers me some interesting advice for future print runs. The advice is noted.
For the non-Dutchies, Google Translate does wonders.
Here’s the review. Enjoy.
The more interviews you gives, the more you actually learn about yourself. Thanks to Amsterdam agency VandeJong for including me in their Bright New World interview series. See you all soon again. You can read the interview here.
Some reviews make you blush. This one for the Dutchies, courtesy of Communicatie Magazine.
"Cats are not about cats, they’re about telling human stories."
Great thing about designers organizing a talk show is you’re guaranteed a great publicity poster. #shoparound
Monumental Propaganda has a do-goodnik strategy: assist the brands we use ourself. And just like that we found ourselves in bed with Moyee Coffee, a #FairChain coffee brand that aims to radically turn the coffee world on its head by roasting in the countries that grown the beans—and keep the added value local. Good idea, no?
The kit out the roasting facility in Ethiopia with the latest technology, Moyee unveiled a ‘sipfunding’ campaign called the 1 Million Cup Revolution. Every cup of Moyee you drink, the money goes directly to the Ethiopian roasting plant.
So here’s Monumental Propaganda speaking from the heart: join the revolution by ordering some Moyee and help with the crowdspeak by contributing a Moyee Facebook ‘Like’. No marketing budgets, just fanatic creative coffee geeks looking to drink strong and do good. The more people who ‘Like’, the better. The more people who drink it, the better for Ethiopia..
As for that 1 Million Cup Revolution—300,000 cups down, 700,000 cups to go. Like it, drink it, join it.
On Thursday February 6th will once again climb the stage at Pakhuis de Zwijger to participate in ‘creative supermarket’ Shop Around #6. This time the provocative theme is: “Advertising…it’s a blight on the planet.” The words are those of illustrator Robert Crumb, who, upon being asked by Shop Around for an ad job, responded with a handwritten note saying just that: “Advertising…it’s a blight on the planet.”
Not sure which direction the conversation will take—pro advertising or anti—but I promise to defence the honor of authenticity above all else. The event is open to creative hipsters & tricksters alike.
A look at John Weich’s analysis of the web’s obsession with storytelling, aided by the advent of social media.
"The American Economy wasn’t built just on good ideas and hard work. It was also built on hope and hype."
Many thanks to the global creative, design and advertising community at D&AD for asking me to chat up storytelling with them. They even spotted the interview some space on their Inspiration blog.
Full interview here.
Five weeks after hitting the newsstands Storytelling on Steroids has earned itself a 2nd print run. Please do not think of this as a self-righteous commentary. On the contrary, the writer writes but the sellers sell, and such a quick 2nd print run is particularly to thank on the journalists and book sellers and industry players who made sure the book got noticed in the first place.
Fyi back cover of 2nd print includes the choicest positive quotes the book received over the past few weeks.
And as always, all cover design work by Jihaa!
I am not a TV critic, nor want to be (okay, maybe secretly I do). But there’s something about the brilliant French ‘zombie’ import The Returned that has brought out the TV philosopher in me. The fact is, with all the fuss over Mad Men and Downtown Abbey costume dramas how is it possible that more of us are not falling on our knees praising Canal+ for creating the most serenely beautiful series of them all?
As any writer will acknowledge, any press love is good press love. So as I flipped through this morning’s Dutch high-quality newspaper NRC, I was humbly happy to run into a few mentions of Storytelling on Steroids in Ebele Wybenga’s snazzy little piece on storytelling in branding. (He also mentions the book Indie Brands by friend and fellow BIS author Anneloes van Galen). For you Dutchies out there, click read enjoy. For the non-Dutchies, dump the piece into Google Translate and see what happens.
Is this going to be Canada’s new national logo? Perhaps. But if you’re the kind of guy or gal who likes design drama, the whole Canada rebranding thing is a fun story to keep your eye on.
