10 More Things// Race For Life, Almighty Comeback & Peppa Pig
In this edition: How you can support Race For Life 2025, belief in God eclipses non-belief & Peppa Pig's PR perfection
Race For Life 2025
I’ve had the privilege of working with Cancer Research UK for a little over 2 years now through my role as a strategist at EssenceMediaCom. It’s probably the best brand that people know least about. It’s not just a behemoth in the UK, it’s the world’s largest independent funder of cancer research globally, spending around £400m each year on it’s ultimate goal: a world where everybody can lead longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.
We are lucky to live in a world where Cancer Research UK exists. They have made monumental, Nobel-prize winning, breakthroughs in how cancer is understood and can be treated more effectively. It’s harder to appreciate a charity like Cancer Research UK because so much of what they do happens in the background, unlike, say, a charity that offers cancer support, which helps families on their cancer diagnosis journey.
Once you’ve seen inside the machinery of Cancer Research UK it seems odd to describe it as ‘happening the background’. Everyday thousands of scientists are making cancer drugs safer; every day they are furthering our understanding of how cancer works; every day they are inventing new cancer treatments; every day they are conducting clinical trials; every day they are working with the government to shape better legislation; every day a giant marketing & fundraising team are ensuring this can be sustained with a continuous stream of donations.
One way in which they can continue developing breakthrough research is Race For Life, the biggest physical mass participation event in Western Europe. Every year about three hundred thousand runners from all across the UK challenge themselves to run 3k, 5k or 10k to raise money for Cancer Research UK. It’s up to you whether you walk, jog or sprint (I will be running at full pelt… as is my tradition every year). Everyone running has been touched by cancer somehow, as we all have, making it much more emotional than your usual park run. All of that is to say…
I’m running Race For Life this year. If you are liking this newsletter, I’d appreciate you chucking a few quid my way. Here’s my Just Giving page.
Consider running Race For Life yourself! Find your local event here. If you’re London based then it’s probably the Battersea race on June 4th.
Cancer Research UK are looking for a headline sponsor for next year onwards. If you work with a brand that wants to be part of Race For Life’s national marketing campaign and an integral part of the races themselves, then drop me a message.
Strategy and all that stuff
An Almighty Comeback. More Brits believe in God than don’t believe in God… who saw that coming? The change is driven by 18-24s who have doubled their belief in the last 5 years (22% in 2019 to 45% today). The other big change is Londoners who went from 26% belief in 2019 to 55% today. Changing demographic is probably a factor but I reckon the main reason is people turn to God in times of hardship and, for 18-24s, they are reckoning with a housing crisis, stagnant wages and a digital world that lacks real community. (Thanks to Jon Hildrew for prompting this discussion)
Satire, The Great Cultural Sedative. We are flooded with satire in every art form: movies, tv, fashion & music which essentially amounts to nothing, no change of minds or putting power in its place. White Lotus is a satire of the rich which mainly helps rich people decide their next holiday. At the same time, serious art is being seen in a satirical lens.
Unforbidden Pleasures. A companion piece to ‘the power of ordinary culture’ shared a few weeks ago. Too often we focus on forbidden pleasures: the exciting, rare, cool, hedonistic events that we look forward to; but most of life, most of what defines us, how we spend our time, is unforbidden pleasure.
Creativity & campaigns
How Peppa Pig Turned A Cartoon Birth Into A Cultural Sensation. Peppa Pig - the show - could have just added a new sibling into the roster, as any other show would have done, but instead they produced the best media/PR campaign this year. This is exactly what the future of comms planning looks like. The pregnancy was revealed live on Good Morning Britain (including a live interview), the gender was revealed by lighting up Battersea Power Station, an iconic photoshoot with Grazia kept the buzz going, an official announcement outside St Mary’s Hospital & further exclusive content in Hello.
A Century Of Surreal Ads. “Surrealism’s centenary is a timely reminder for adland that human desire is not logical – but it also isn’t random. It comes from the types of experiences and impulses we relive in our dreams.”
Warner Bros. Announces “WBD Storyverse” to Leverage Beloved Films and TV Series. A big opportunity to use WB’s IP (Harry Potter, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Elf, The Matrix etc). Hellman’s Super Bowl ad recreated the famous When Harry Met Sally Scene with the original actors but instead of Rob Reiner’s mum saying ‘I’ll have what she’s having’, it was… Sydney Sweeney (what a fresh twist). I suppose there’s nothing new about using IP in advertising but the “WBD Storyverse” signals it’s going to be a lot easier to convince WB to let you use, say, Voldemort to sell deodorant.
Pick N Mix
The History of Oxo’s Good Grip. How designing for arthritis made a more comfortable cooking utensil that everyone wanted.
Cinemas As Cultural Gyms. My local cinema’s entrance is decked out like an 80s’ arcade. Clearly someone at the cinema chain thought they were in the entertainment business so an arcade would be a natural extension to movies. What if they’re wrong? What if they are really in the culture business? (side note: I’ve never seen anyone play the arcade games).
The Taxicab Fallacy. Most taxi drivers decide how long they work based on an ideal daily income e.g. $120 per day. When it’s a lucrative day they clock off early and when it’s a trickier day they slog it out until they reach their daily target. This sounds reasonable but makes no sense. They work harder when they are least productive and work the least at their most productive. Don’t fall for the same fallacy.
Trakkr. How good is your SEO in the AI era? Track your brand’s presence in all the major AI models (for free).
Peace out ✌️
Alex