13th March 2020

Hello Dear Subscribers. Most stories at the moment, in almost any sphere, obviously relate to Covid-19 to some extent. With this in mind it may seem somewhat extraneous to be offering a selection of stories that seem inconsequential in the circumstances. Having said this, I still think it is worth persevering in order to offer some alternative, perhaps more upbeat and diverting content; and because I have been providing this missive almost continuously for 7+ years and seems a shame to break the cycle. I hope this sounds ok. Nick 

.…And in this vein, here a very warm, insightful and fabulously delivered video essay from the always engaging Nerdwriter. Can philosophy and morals be transmitted through a painting? (The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David)

From Aeon – Hypocognition is a censorship tool that mutes what we can feel. ‘Every now and then, a new term will bubble up; a new concept will burst forth – to give meaning to walks of life previously starved of recognition, to instil life into our inchoate impulses, to tell the stories that need to be told.’

Nice piece from Apple relating to International Women’s Day. ‘Meet the women changing the world Behind the Mac.’

Fast Company’s 10 Most Innovative Video Companies of 2020. Interesting to see the small but highly innovative team at USeek in at number 9 – ‘for producing hard-to-ignore interactive video ads.’

Nice piece from The Current, a new publication fromJigsaw –  ‘Disinformation campaigns are more than fake news. They’re coordinated, targeted efforts to shape perceptions. Yet for many, their inner workings remain a mystery. HT @here_forth

For Nietzsche, life’s ultimate question was: ‘Does it dance?’

‘From the Pringles and Rick and Morty collaboration, to Habito’s gleeful cartoon nightmares, daring brands are turning into animaniacs.’ How, advertising embraces adult animation’s existential turn (try saying that fast….)

At 13 years old, Najiah Knight is a bull rider. She is the only girl competing on the Professional Bull Riders mini circuit for kids. ‘Don’t let the term “mini” fool you into thinking it isn’t a dangerous sport. Knight is riding bulls that can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. They buck hard, they kick, and they stomp…’

‘There’s a secret formula at the heart of almost every successful sitcom…the four central characters of most hit series can be classified in terms of a nuclear family of: matriarch, patriarch, craftsman and clown.’ (In Sex And The City, Carrie is the patriarch, Charlotte the matriarch, Samantha the clown and Miranda the craftsman).

Apple is back with another superbly choreographed spot in which its AirPods Pro transport the wearer into another world. 

Finally, it would be remiss not to mention that MDSG (close friend of The Filter) won the Advertising Agency of the Year award (for the second year running) at the Travel Marketing Awards on Monday. Here is the team receiving the award from Russell Kane.