The Glue Society’s Jonathan Kneebone on 2019: The year when the highs soared higher and the lows sunk lower
By Jonathan Kneebone, co-founder of The Glue Society.
If truth be told, 2019 wasn’t a year that many of us will choose to remember fondly. Or while we’re on the subject fondle memorably.
This was the year that five-letter politicians rose up as one and invited four-letter rebukes. Trump, Boris, Putin, Scomo. (How good is Scomo? Not very it seems).
Yes, 2019 was like an awful game of Scrabble. And most of the time we were left trying to make sense of a bunch of meaningless vowels or consonants.
But a seven-letter word (Jacinda) gave them all a lesson in leadership, empathy and respect. It’s not lost on anyone that she happens to be the only woman amongst them.
The year could best be defined as crazy at the best of times.
And it seems, crazy times demand even crazier ideas from those of us in advertising to get noticed.
When the President of the United States is issuing semi-serious tweets with his head photoshopped onto Rambo’s body, that certainly raises the bar. And when a 16-year-old girl from Sweden is doing more about climate change than the entire UN assembly – and then POTUS issues a semi-serious tweet with his head photoshopped onto her body…then you know you are going to seriously need to raise your game just to make the headlines.
But there are two ways to counter crazy. The good and the bad. And unfortunately for some, this led to some significant errors in judgement.
Creativity and creative judgement are the two things agencies and creative directors have left to separate themselves from the mayhem – and to rise above it.
It’s why ECDs get that extra E. But sometimes as we know that E can go to people’s heads.
Gillette decided to blame their entire target audience for everything that was wrong in the world by suggesting they were entirely responsible. And simultaneously irresponsible.
Cadbury attempted to counter racism with a twirly logo designed by a committee of art directors and designers.
The Heart Foundation blamed people with heart disease for being totally heartless.
Sportsbet decided that sexist Benny Hill gags were ok almost 30 years after even he’d stopped making them.
(If you are going to suggest you want your customers to gamble responsibly, frankly you have to advertise responsibly. Otherwise, we all know you are pretending.)
Hornbach made racist jokes about the Japanese and then messed up their apology, Peloton patronised women by suggesting they needed changing and should be eternally grateful to the man in their life, and Gucci designed a jumper that couldn’t have been designed to be more offensive even if they’d tried.
What do all these have in common?
Well someone, somewhere lost the plot. But I suspect the reason is that they wanted to do something solely to get noticed. To just make a name for themselves. To take on the crazy news cycle and win with something even more crazy.
But that’s where Apple’s kind of Crazy Ones come into their own.
As we know, they are crazy with good intentions. With sensitivity and integrity. With mutual benefit and in-built respect. With shared reward. And without discrimination or prejudice.
It seems like if you have taken the time to work out what you stand for, and stand up for what is right, then you can still be creative – and in fact, you can move the world forward and actually get noticed at the same time.
The highlights of this year have something in common I suspect.
But before working out what it is, let’s reflect on the work which decided to rise to the challenge rather than sink to the bottom.
Kim Gehrig’s work with AMV BDDO for Libra celebrated the vulva – and worthily won a black pencil at D&AD as a result.
The fact that Kim was also behind the W&K Portland/Nike ‘Dream Crazier’ (yes, there’s that word again) film featuring Serena Williams makes it a year when she cemented her place as one of the leading directors in the creative industry right now.
Again, it’s not lost on anyone that she happens to be one of the few women directors amongst this male-dominated discipline.
And if this is a sign of what happens when our industry gets more diverse voices rising to the top, then we all need embrace and encourage this change.
For me, some of the greatest work of the year came from France. In amongst rioting, they were having a creative renaissance.
There was a lovely film about a widower learning a recipe to better remember his dear departed wife for Intermarché. A couple fighting the desire to break up for Lacoste. An emotional story about two exchange students falling in and out of love over the 30 years of the Renault Clio. A McDonald’s Delivery print campaign featuring rain-soaked images of Paris.
In all of them, there’s a heartfelt and emotional intent at work. And a desire to be noticed by being contemporary and relevant.
The UK had its moments with Marmite and Mothercare print ads. Both recognising a certain truth – whether it be the beauty of motherhood or what happens when yeast-spread lovers accidentally spread the hate through poor knife etiquette in the kitchen.
There was also a smart campaign for Burger King – getting rid of and melting down plastic toys from kid’s meals to provide real entertainment for kids in the mould of recycled plastic playgrounds.
The US delivered a few highlights, though the Superbowl was less than super this time around.
There was the understated story of four underdogs gathering round to make a round pizza box presentation to a hard-to-impress boss with the help of Apple at work. And the New York Times campaign from Droga5 making us reappreciate the value of the truth, hard as it is to uncover.
Australia’s had its moments too. Special Group/Uber Eats’ Magda and Kim spot is up there with the best TV ads of the year.
And you have to hand it to CHE for their Children’s Hospital work. As a result of its homesickness integrated campaign their Mum’s pasta sauce is the number one best seller at Coles – in reality, not just in their imagined story.
BMF coined the line of the year with ‘Come Down For Air’ for Tourism Tasmania.
And if Tourism Australia were smart, they’d steal it to promote the entire country to the stressed of the world. (Though if truth be told Sydney’s air isn’t really so great right now).
Modesty really should forbid me from mentioning a couple of other things, but DDB’s Grave of Thrones and Special Group’s Australian Open projects were both imaginative ideas in their own way – made international news in a worthy way – and were wonderful to be somewhat involved in.
So what did all the good stuff have in common?
I suspect it’s that the intent of those involved was not purely to get noticed. But to actually do something that did the opportunity justice.
And God knows, our five-letter politicians could learn a lot from doing just that.
Happy New Year.
21 Comments
Agree with everything except Viva La Vulva. And on that I agree with the message but cannot, cannot, cannot understand why people think holding vagina shaped objects in front of their vaginas is “clever”. It’s a completely surface idea, there’s no depth of thought or consideration at all. It’s the kind of idea we’re all told to stay away from in ad school, in design school, in any school. Haha, private parts, sausages and pawpaws cut in half. Black Pencil? Some disconnect here, people award the theme and overlook a poor execution.
Nice article about advertising Jonathan – however, the injection of politics is unneccesary.
Those of us on the conservative side of politics aren’t evil just because of who we voted for and for having beliefs that might be different to yours.
Nor is someone automatically beatific because of a well-timed hug with a camera hovering and a solid social-media game.
Those four-letter rebukes you mention are actually targeted at the majority of the population who voted for these leaders, who were democratically elected fair and square.
Perhaps instead dismissing conservative voters out of hand, take a bit of time to understand what people who think differently than you are about – and perhaps you’d have more empathy for the reasons these leaders were elected by ordinary people who also want the world to be as good as it can be, but just see a different way of getting there than you do.
It’s an opinion piece. He has an opinion. That’s how opinion pieces work.
Yep. That’s true. But labelling it an opinion piece doesn’t make it immune from criticism, or from counter opinions being politely presented – which was my intention.
Based on your insightful comment I can categorically say you’re a smug twat. That’s my opinion piece. That’s how opinion pieces work.
If your best rebuttal is to resort to calling me a ‘smug twat’, well – says it all really. If you want to have a discussion about the issues – all for it. But if you want to score ‘internet points’ by being the first to tar someone with a different opinion with a smear, I’m not into that. Twitter is probably the place for you
having certain beliefs CAN make you evil, even if those beliefs are held by a majority of people. I’m sure with a quick use of your memory (perhaps flick back to the mid century) you’ll be able to scratch up a few obvious examples for yourself. So, believe me, the problem isn’t that people don’t understand you. The problem is that you haven’t taken the time to understand yourself.
Nice attempt at a straw man there, but thanks for playing.
Girls and women have never had the same cultural permission as boys when it comes to openly discussing their vulvas. Looking at it, loving it, joking about it, celebrating it – it’s a taboo. It’s secretive, dirty, a source of shame. Boys conversely are permitted to talk about their bodies in a way girls aren’t. And period shame is a whole other level of taboo – in Nepal women die from snakebites from being forced to sleep in period huts. So visually celebrating the vulva here isn’t a cheap trick – it’s a first. It’s important. It’s destigmatising. It might get some girls to look at their bodies in ways they never have, and feel proud of what it can do, like boys do, instead of shame or fear, which is what the patriarchy have taught us for the last couple of thousand years or so.
So yeah, it’s worth the black pencil.
While it’s beautifully shot, I must agree with the first mostly. However, I can’t wait until female empowerment ads rise above celebrating their bits to something actually empowering. Aka, I dunno, celebrating their brains or talent. Then we’re in for something!
The references to politics were completely necessary for the point of the article.
The five letter politicians have crudely placed themselves at the centre of society writ large.
Sucking the oxygen out of the air for any voices, conservative or otherwise.
This is the point being made.
What does a creative do to get his work noticed?
Johnathon is imploring us all to go high.
To dig deeper, rather than competiting to be loudest voice.
No one was dismissed by this article.
Only encouraged to be better humans.
We should all listen, and perhaps read, a little closer.
My opinion is that the article read like a Guardian review on advertising: fully woke, left leaning with large servings of Champagne Socialism.
I can’t disagree with the choice of work, but the whole politicised nature of it screams of bitterness and erring towards a trendy rewrite of history to support a cause.
As for the Jacinda comment; I take issue with the fact that You day she displayed leadership. She didn’t, she did what was expected of a Prime Minister when those horrific events in ChCh and White Island occurred.
Everything else she has done has been of questionable leadership. This is reflected in polls.
But I never voted for her. And those are my opinions, and Jonathan, I respect yours.
Personally I would have added Uncommon’s Patriarch C4 campaign to the mix.
Leaders are chosen to lead, true. But not all do. I can think of a few Prime Ministers in that camp without looking very far. The world lauded her actions and empathy, because they stood out in a world of people who stick their heads in the sand. My opinion? She’s a breath of fresh air in a world of old farts. Agree to disagree I guess.
https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/scott-morrison-quashes-hawaii-rumours-with-visit-to-bushfire-ravaged-community/
This guy is perhaps the closest thing australia has to an artist living in advertising – in a good way.
Has Campaign Brief been taken over by alt right Russian hackers?
Fuck off. We are an industry of failed artists, and Jonathon is a successful artist who happens to work in advertising. Artists tend not to vote for fuckwits who merge the department of Communications and the Arts with Roads and Infrastructure.
If you don’t like what he’s saying, put your name to it or write your own opinion piece.
Otherwise take your right wing homophobic crap elsewhere.
Yeah – super tolerant of other ideas and opinions aren’t you. A polite opinion expressed from an admitted conservative and suddenly the name calling starts.
Just remember at the end of the day who is being polite in this thread and who is making hysterical smears and telling others to f-off.
I hate conservatives, especially polite ones. I have no tolerance for climate change denial, homophobia disguised as religious freedom, sports being funded in the millions while the arts are rolled into transport and infrastructure, only to be funded by several very rich benefactors. I have no manners for thoughts and prayers while our country burns. No polite conversation for environmental vandals, coal and fossil fuel promoters or clean energy deniers. I have no dignity for people who support a party who detains refugees in concentration camps on islands and refuses them medical support. I have no kind words for people who voted for young tax payers to fund rich boomers’ retirements so they receive a handout on their franking credits and 7th negatively geared property while young people are locked out of the dream of owning their own home.
Forgive me for telling you to go fuck yourself, but I do sincerely mean it.
If that’s your attitude, then the only people you will ever influence will be people on your own side of the political fence. You’ll get lots of backslaps, but unless you can engage constructively with people who disagree with you, you’ll never make a difference. Merry Christmas.
I wish this could keep going. Thanks for always finding the time to make the industry a better place.
Ps. You really need a podcast.
You didn’t express any opinion.
Mostly just a series of accusations of perceived grievances.
This article is not your Waterloo.
There are no enemies here.
Only provocations urging you to think beyond your station in life.
Step down from the soap box.
You are done.
All I said was that conservatives arent evil, and look at the invective that brought about.
I’m not continuing this or being provocative at all – rather it’s the people calling me a racist homophobe and a religious nutjob are the ones who’ve taken issue with that simple statement and are dragging this out.
Look through the thread again.