Hi, I’m Florencia Lujani and this is a new edition of Cultural Patterns, a newsletter on brands, culture and strategy. If this is the first email you receive from me, welcome! Feel free to reply to this email and get in touch, I’m keen to hear your thoughts. Florencia x
Hello friends! In the middle of the daily anxiety driven by our political, economic and environmental context, there were moments that really pushed culture forwards in 2021. By that I mean: there were people, events, situations, and more, that made culture more progressive and inclusive. So for a second year, I wanted to dedicate this edition to those moments that I think had a positive impact or contribution to our collective culture. This is not an exhaustive list of “the biggest” stories of the year, more than anything it’s an eclectic mix of events and people that challenged our social norms and made me think differently about the world, with a focus on the UK. In no particular order, here they are:
😈 Lil Nas X twerked over the Devil, released his first album posing for a paternity shoot, and broke all records by challenging stereotypes around sexuality, the criminal system, black identities, racial profiling, and much more.
When he sings “A sign of the times every time that I speak”, he’s 100% right.
😍 The brand Replens featured older people with a range of ethnicities and sexualities in a campaign that celebrated sex and intimacy for over 65+
Well done to The Gate London, the agency behind the campaign.
✊ The subreddit r/Antiwork, built entirely on the counter-ideology of “Unemployment for all, not just the rich!”, became one of the fastest-growing online communities in the world and inspired a new way of thinking about work-free life.
More on the very real cultural impact of r/Antiwork here by Matt Klein
🦸 Marvel Studios, one of the most powerful and influential cultural institutions of today, released “Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings”, and with its bold opening in Mandarin and distinctly Chinese details, gave fans an authentic Asian superhero they could fall in love with.
To understand how big of a deal Shang-Chi was for Asian representation, read this.
🔥 Climate events became so frequent and urgent that we ditched the more conservative ‘global warming’ and instead adopted ‘climate catastrophe’ and ‘climate emergency’, inspiring more global engagement and demands for systemic action like no other year before.
💃‘Strictly Come Dancing,’ conquered hearts and the public support as it had one of its more inclusive seasons to date, featuring its first all-male pairing and crowning Rose Ayling-Ellis its very first deaf champion.
😷 As fake news and misinformation rose this year, the global vaccine effort increased trust in science and scientists globally, showing that the impact was on the mainstream public and not on the loud extremes.
✍️ Lewis Hamilton challenged the F1 establishment built on wealth and white privilege by partnering with George The Poet to co-author a poem, and wore each line of the poem as a T-Shirt designed by a black designer at every race of the 2021 calendar, spelling out a message of anti-racism over 23 races.
Read the full poem here. He really is the GOAT.
💖 “It’s a Sin”, the miniseries by Russell T. Davis, presented a masterful portrait of queer life during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in London in the 1980s, an unmissable celebration of joy from a time of devastating loss.
⚽️ When the mural of Marcus Rashford in Manchester was vandalised with racist abuse following the defeat in the Euro 2020 final, people rallied to leave messages of support and solidarity, showing that racism never wins.
Now, a slightly longer list featuring other relevant moments that characterised 2021:
Balenciaga broke the internet with its collab with The Simpsons for Paris Fashion Week, showing that debates of highbrow vs lowbrow culture are a thing of the past.
Kamala Harris became the first woman to be vice president of the US, yay!
Taylor Swift’s unparalleled success reached new heights with the re-release of RED and a 10-minute version of her masterpiece “All too well”
Contagious magazine selected the 25 most contagious campaigns of the year
The one and only speech that mattered at COP26 was this one delivered by Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados.
#FreeBritney came to the best possible end as Britney Spears was finally freed from her conservatorship after 13 years.
Nike acquired fashion and sneaker NFT site RTFKTRTFKT and placed it alongside its biggest brands, signalling the future of digital goods and collectibles.
Burberry released this anti-gravitational film, just pure enjoyment.
CPG giant Unilever and agency WundermanThompson Buenos Aires launched the world’s first inclusive deodorant for people with visual impairment and upper extremity impairment, showing the importance of inclusive design.
The Evergiven got stuck in the Suez canal and gave us the best memes of the year.
Simon Biles and Naomi Osaka moved forwards the conversation around mental health in high-performance sports
Doja Cat partnered with Girls Who Code to get more young women into STEM with a cool codable music video
ConstitutionDAO failed to acquire the US Constitution and created controversy, but it took Web3 into the mainstream and got people curious about ownership of collective history.
Tom Daley, the four-time Olympic medalist for Team GB, became the “world’s biggest crochet influencer”
The Dutch Court ordered Shell to reduce its carbon emissions by 45%, making history as the first ruling in the Netherlands in which a non-State entity is legally obliged to align its policies with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Italy won everything this year: Eurovision, the UEFA Champions, Bake Off, and even Strictly. Auguri amici!
Uber drivers were granted worker rights in the UK, leading to better working conditions for millions of workers in the gig economy.
Khaby Lame became the biggest TikTok influencer in the world without having to say a single word.
And a special tribute to Virgil Abloh and bell hooks, two black visionaries who have contributed so much to culture.
And finally, some real talk. There are many UK-based strategy newsletters out there, but not many by immigrant women like me, so THANK YOU 💕 for subscribing and for sticking with me this year. Many times I’ve doubted if you would enjoy my writing and my ideas, but you’ve embraced all of it, so I appreciate you all. If you want to chat, reply to this email or say hi on Twitter / Linkedin. See you next year, and please take care of yourselves,
Florencia x