4th July 2020

HT @neilperkin. Benedict Evans has published an updated version of his macro-trends deck, with a section on the big shifts but also some thoughts on where we are now, months into the pandemic. Charts on the impact of COVID, forced experimentation, and accelerated digital everything. 

From AMV BBDO, Bodyform’s Womb Stories is being hailed for tackling menstruation taboos, endometriosis, infertility and miscarriage.

We live in a communication age, and yet somehow our collective communication skills seem to be in decline. ‘In a world where our global communication platforms are arguably eroding public trust, are we letting our anxieties about how we perform get in the way of communicating empathetically?’ From NoTosh.

@tom roach on Brand Purpose. The biggest lie the ad industry ever told?

A small indie artist (Steve Benjamins) breaks down his Spotify earnings. ‘No other promotional tactic in music comes close to Discover Weekly in delivering new listeners in such a low-effort, high volume way.’ 

From Information is Beautiful – the world’s biggest data breaches & hacks.

Loop believes in a zero waste future. The company delivers products in reusable packaging that is returned, sanitised and refilled for use by the next consumer. The pandemic could have ruined this sustainable business. But instead, it’s expanding nationwide. 

NASA filmed the Sun for 10 years and condensed it into 90 seconds.

Love these prints ‘celebrating’ the re-opening of pubs today in England. Boris enjoying a pint – at The World’s End.

The perfect five second Tok Tok video. 

Does this ring a bell for anyone? It really resonates for me. From The Guardian – I’ve got a serious parcels habit – do I have to kick it?

Carlsberg welcomes us back to the pub.

Wonderful.  A public health expert’s daughter could not resist chiming in on her live BBC interview. Mummy what’s his name? 

A weird yet deeply relaxing ASMR video of a man chatting as he drives around North London. The School of Zen Motoring.

Airplane at 40. The best spoof comedy ever made? 

A short video essay from Film Scalpel,  ‘The Apartment gets the starring role’. Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and all other visitors have been scrubbed from Billy Wilder’s movie: their appearances erased, their voices replaced by a soundscape. Quirky and strangely compelling.

Has E.T. Gone Home? Global UFO sightings from 1990 to 2020.

This really isn’t how I expected the Batman vs Spiderman showdown to go.