10 More Things// Farewell, Cannes & Condimaniac

In this edition: goodbye MediaCom, Cannes case studies trickle in and Condimaniac answer Jeremy Clarkson's prayers

Farewell

Today is my last day at MediaCom. Although MediaCom ceased to exist about 2 years ago when it merged with Essence, now that I can’t be reprimanded for misbranding the agency, I will forever revert to the name of the agency I joined. It may not have been MediaCom that kicked off my passion for advertising (or whatever you call the contents of this newsletter), yet it certainly amplified and legitimised it. Working in an intense planning environment with gifted planners made me want to learn everything I could to keep up.

I’ve spent the last few months saying goodbye so I’m not going to use the space here to do that again. I’ve thanked enough people for one lifetime, but thank you again - you know who you are.

Onto the matter of this newsletter: I will be pausing writing the newsletter for at least 6 weeks as I settle into my new role. I hope to continue writing it but only once I’ve found a sustainable way to fit this into my new working week (AKA I don’t want to keep writing this on the weekend). I hope you’ll keep reading too.

Strategy and all that stuff

Does Music Still Exist? This will make you feel differently about music. It captures how music has shifted from communal to “a selection of sounds for curating a mood”. How music has been recategorised as something that anyone can do at any point to a perfectly polished product engineered to capture a feeling. If I were to ask ‘play me some music’, you’d reach for Spotify ahead of just singing.

Google’s Veo 3 Continues To Impress. No comment on the quality of the ad but the quality of the production is insanely good. Only a couple years ago we were watching Will Smith struggling to eat spaghetti and now we have productions at this scale. Another example, made by Veo 3, is the retelling of Troy as told via Odysseus’ selfie stick. Or this TikTok account retelling bible stories in the style of Gen Z influencers. Things are going to get real weird.

TV Marketplace for SMEs. Sky, C4 and ITV announce an addressable marketplace for SMEs… this is good for SMEs (although from what I understand it’s addressable inventory, which is more expensive) but potentially bad for the future of TV advertising. If SMEs start flooding the market with GenAI produced ads then the value of TV advertising will crater under the weight of unwatchable ads from brands you’ve never heard of. Sky, C4 and ITV should think very carefully about what they allow onto TV.

Creativity & campaigns

Condimaniac’s British Ketchup. Jeremy Clarkson’s pub only serves British ingredients which means his diners can’t have ketchup with their chips, because no ketchup is made from British ingredients (specifically the tomato puree). Condimaniac’s spotted a PR opportunity to create the first British ketchup, which kicked off a content series with millions of views, including promotion on ITV. Thanks to Arabella Blaikie for sharing.

No Kings. Some of the signs at the no kings protest are genius.

Penny Price Pack’s. Starting to get the first Cannes case studies dribble out of France. A clever move for a brand wanting to be known as cheap and reliable: make the price humongous on the packaging.

Burnable Billboard. Goddamnit this is so good. An idea that makes you think ‘why didn’t I think of that’.

Cannes Case Studies. Select Cannes studies - loving the AXA & Vaseline work which I’d not seen before. For all case studies go to Love the Work More.

Pick N Mix

The Oatly Look Book S/S25. This is the best example of a ‘try this product in lots of ways’ approach. I’m normally against this sort of thing (because no one ever copies the recipes) but these borrow from high fashion and look genuinely good.

How To Win A Fight. WIRED are building a collection of ways to win a (political) fight. I must admit to only having flicked through but it looks like a good resource.

Peace out ✌️

Alex

Can you believe I pay for Canva Pro.