10 More Things// Subcultures, Superbowl & Travel
In this edition: Are subcultures dead, Superbowl ads and 50 years of travel tips
As always, let me know your thoughts: what you liked and what you didn’t. I want this to capture what I found interesting but I also want it to be useful. Enjoy.
The Good Stuff
Are Subcultures Dead? Some good stuff here:
“That said, whenever I read about the subcultures of the ’70s or ’90s, it seems the real difference between then and now isn’t the youth’s lack of ideological stances, but the absence of spaces for them to gather and engage in meaningful discussions. I live in London, where even a simple coffee costs a lot of money – let alone the price of securing a space for regular meet-ups”
“While there are loads of interesting, niche communities online, I’d question whether we have a genuine, thriving counterculture right now, as many of these communities seem so intertwined with capitalism. I don’t think TikTok aesthetics or “cores” really qualify as subcultures”
The Case Against Brand Uplift Studies. A debate worth following but it seems the evidence is a bit out-dated. Even so, intuitively we know that a free brand uplift study isn’t enough to tell you if something worked.
How Saturday Night Live Gets Made. I’ve been enjoying the behind-the-scenes documentaries commemorating 50 years of SNL. Here you see how the writers go from nothing to 90 minutes of live TV in 6 days. Some interesting takeouts:
On the 1st day writers pitch ideas they know will never happen to make the host feel they’re in safe hands.
The sketches are written extremely quickly (within 2 days) and then filtered and refined many times.
Writers only know if something is good after the Wednesday table-read and ultimately the Saturday dress-rehearsal. Part of the process is just putting ideas out there and seeing what sticks.
Writers have complete creative control of their sketches (wardrobe, set design, camera set up etc) so they can see out their creative vision.
Understanding Amazon’s Mindset. How Amazon created a successful business culture built on customer experience.
Great Work
Lilo & Stitch. If you’re going to spend $30m on 1 ad (which most Superbowl advertisers do for some reason…) then why not make it about the Superbowl.
Get Almost Anything on Uber Eats. A creative platform they can use forever with a great execution.
KFC 40th Cake. Thailand has one of the best ad scenes in the world. (Not a Superbowl ad)
Seal & Mountain Dew. A traditional Superbowl ad perhaps but they’ve pulled off what many brands could never have afforded dreamed to do.
Pick N Mix
50 Years of Travel Tips. The best thing I read last week.
Stacked. For fans of NYT’s Connections.
Deep Research. Chat GPT’s latest feature is creating quite a stir.
Peace out ✌️
Alex