#08 Zen Consumerism, Misinformation and Futuristic Cities
December is not even here and this year’s most effective Christmas ad has been crowned - it seems that Aldi has scored high across all measures in a Kantar survey. I’m not sure if 22 days into the Christmas season we can establish any short-term effects (never mind detect any long-term effects which need 6-18 months) but here we are.
⚡️Fast culture (something popular/trendy this week)
There was a lot of talk this week as Netflix-sensation Marie Kondo opened up her online shop selling basic items at very high prices. I have to admit I’ve only seen snippets of her show, but her method is a way to remove our guilt for feeding an over-stimulated, overworked, and over-consuming culture. Getting rid of what doesn’t spark joy clears the way for new products, and when every celebrity is selling their own merch, why Kondo should be any different?
What is driving this: “zen consumerism” as a response to convincing ourselves that we are feeding a spiritual purpose (joy) and in no way, whatsoever, are we overwhelmed by modern life. Nah.
🌎Slow culture (change in behaviours or values in society)
An interesting experiment on fake news has been published last week by the MIT, aiming to understand and reduce the spread of misinformation online.
They conducted an experiment and build up a follower-base of users who retweet Breitbart or Infowars. They then sent each user a DM asking them to judge the accuracy of a nonpolitical headline, just to induce them to think about accuracy. They then compared the quality of the links shared by those users who had received the DM, and reported a 3.5% increase in quality, 2x increase in discernment, and even saw users shifting from Breitbart to the New York Times.
In conclusion: even when people can asses if something is true or false, their motivation for sharing is rooted in attracting and/or pleasing followers, or signalling group membership. Simply put, belonging is a stronger feeling than a potential interest for accuracy.
🖌Unusual pattern (two unrelated things coming together)
If you mix in a bag liberal ideology, urban planning, oil money, utopian futurism, Silicon Valley semantics, and Middle Eastern luxury - you get Neom, a city currently being built in the Saudi Arabian desert.
(Source: official documents)
The project is wild. The city will be “purpose-built for a new way of living” and 33 times the size of New York City, with everything from artificial rain, a fake moon, and robotic maids (Globetrender has a great piece looking closer at the project). So how does an ultra-conservative country with an awful reputation changes its perception to attract young liberal Western travellers? Using influencers, of course. There is nothing an Instagram aesthetic and some whimsical copy on a photo of beautiful landscape can’t convince you of. Live, love, laugh.
🎯Cultural insight (the insight from culture behind an advert)
There are only 20 days left to the UK General Election (and only four left to register to vote, so please do - it takes two minutes) and OBV, a non-profit, has worked with Saatchi & Saatchi London on an ad to encourage the youth to register to vote.
OBV focuses on voter registration of black and minority ethnic youth - according to the Electoral Commission, 25% of black voters in the UK are not registered, so a BAME vote could be the difference. The quotes used throughout the video are real quotes from politicians on issues like gender equality, religious freedom, racism, and LGBT discrimination. The shock and horror from those quotes show how politicians’ views are almost radicalised these days and young people would never speak on those terms. Politicians only have power if we let them, and in an election, the privileged and the marginalised communities have equal power.
🕶 Bonus track
TikTok of the week: A short funny video (almost as accurate as a documentary) to understand the different sub-tribes in the TikTok universe, using the metaphor of a high-school cafeteria.
Extra links:
This one from Contagious on why advertising should pass the Didcot test - named in honour of Didcot, which is statistically the most average town in the UK, based on factors such as income, employment, ethnicity, house prices, etc.
This masterbrand Christmas ad by Frito Lay with Anna Kendrick is excellent
This week was International Men’s Day- an opinion piece on male stereotypes in advertising.
In 2029, the Internet will make us act like medieval peasants - how the structure of the internet is headed toward an arrangement called “digital feudalism”
Celebrities in Late-capitalism: America’s best drug dealers are A-List celebrities
Thanks so much for reading, and if you want to share any thoughts on this week’s edition, just hit reply to this email and I’ll get back to you, or connect with me on Twitter.
Cultural Patterns is a newsletter by Florencia Lujani about cultural insight, creativity and strategy. If you’ve enjoyed it, consider subscribing :)