ISSUE 50 /

A BULLETIN FOR
BIG IDEAS AND
BETTER BUSINESS.

OPINION / CREATIVITY

The only
resolution
for 2025

💬 Sir John Hegarty 

It’s the moment in the year when our lives make a sudden about-turn. From the unstructured stupor of the holiday season, we emerge with renewed tenacity. The coming twelve months will represent an exercise in self-mastery, and the full force of our professional potential will be realised here. More so, given that we’ve arrived at the dramatic mid-point of the decade. New years’ resolutions rarely unfold the way we’d like, but for now, it’s essential to believe. After all, optimism is fundamentally important for creative work – and cynicism is fatal.

Here's a suggestion for 2025. And it’s more achievable than that torturous gym routine you were planning. I implore you to throw significant effort into having ideas. New ones. Fresh ones. The sort that capture imagination, and ensure that your brand continues to drive conversations this year. Marketers have spent much of this decade obsessing over data and trying to anticipate consumer behaviour. But the greatest businesses don’t predict the future: they create it.

One definition of an ‘idea’ lifted from the pages of the Oxford English Dictionary is: “A thought or plan formed by mental effort”. The last two words in this line are worth paying attention to. Some ideas spring forth from the well of our subconscious. Others require some work upfront. In both instances, they need developing when they show up. Ideas are the great leveller. They don’t require equipment, money, or a smart office. They represent the means to out-manoeuvre the competition, corner markets, or unearth new ones. Crucially: they allow you to imagine the future that your audience would like to live in.

THE AGENDA

✏️ Pencil it in: your agenda for the coming week

1.
Adult Day (Seijin no Hi) is a rite of passage that sees Japanese twenty-year-olds gather for traditional ceremonies that celebrate youth and encourage them to enter a new chapter of maturity with a sense of responsibility, courage and optimism.
13th January

2.
Wicked and Conclave lead the nominations at this year’s Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles. These awards are often seen as an important precursor to the Oscars, with a strong track record of predicting Academy Award winners ahead of the ceremony in March.
12th January

3.
A new docu-series about Jerry Springer exposes his controversial talk show’s scandals. Hot off the success of its recent Martha Stewart documentary, Netflix has struck a winning formula.
7th January

4.
The annual Consumer Electronics Show kicks off today in Las Vegas. The event provides a platform (or rather, an enormous trade show) for tech companies to showcase everything from connected John Deere tractors to spoons that make food taste saltier.
7th - 11th January

5.
Next week sees the release of Pope Francis’ autobiography, Hope. The first memoir ever written by a sitting Pope, the book is an account of his life that also addresses thornier issues such as sexuality, environmental crisis and social policy.
14th January

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US / LAW

The clock is
Tik(Tok)ing for
creator economy

Despite being one of the country’s most popular apps, TikTok’s future in the US is hanging in the balance. According to a new law, the platform’s alleged ties to the Chinese state mean it could be banned in America unless its Beijing-based parent company sells up by January 19th. And while proponents of the ban claim it will help curb excessive screen time, it seems optimistic to expect its 150 million US users will form more wholesome habits. It’s far more likely that other apps such as Instagram and X will profit instead, a shift which may have serious knock-on effects for the creator economy. TikTok has proven itself as a valuable platform for self-expression, and unlike other influencer-driven models that require a large audience, its algorithm levels the playing field by enabling short form videos to blow up regardless of someone's follower count. More creativity, less clout.

ON CREATIVITY /

UK / MEDIA

Deep focus:
inquiry into
UK film and TV

From Barbie to Bridgerton, a staggeringly high proportion of the latest of the big and small-screen smashes were made in the UK. It’s a vital economic booster, with lucrative tax incentives and highly skilled crews luring personnel from Los Angeles to the UK (now nicknamed “Brollywood”). Since reaching a record-breaking £6.3 billion in 2022, however, the combined spend by film and high-end television productions in Britain has fallen — something the UK Commons Culture committee intends to investigate this week. A new inquiry will look into what needs to be done to maintain and enhance the UK as a global destination for production and how the independent film sector can best be supported. It will examine issues around skills and retention in the industry and what must be done to ensure the sector can adapt to challenges such as the (you guessed it) rise of artificial intelligence. Here's hoping they can find a jump cut to a flourishing sector.

GLOBAL / MUSIC

Nostalgia:
caught
in a trap?

Tribute acts around the world will be dusting off their blue suede shoes tomorrow to honour what would have been Elvis’ 90th birthday. This year has a real treat in store for the King’s loyal legion of devotees — more than half a century after his death in 1977, the swivel-hipped star is set to perform again. This spring sees the opening of the new Elvis Evolution immersive experience in London, an AI-powered spectacular featuring a life-size digital Elvis performing his most famous songs. Following in the footsteps of Abba Voyage, these kinds of shows position themselves as joyful celebrations of the legacies of iconic acts. But at a time when the music industry is foundering, we risk getting stuck in an endless nostalgia loop. Innovation needs to be focussed on helping fresh talent find a platform rather than just ghoulishly reincarnating stars of the past.

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