Strands of Genius: Ambient Information, Global Humor, Wicked's Cross Promotion
Plus: Spotted in the wild
WRITING FROM | Chattanooga, TN
WORKING ON | loving our neighbors
LOOKING AHEAD
Nov 5 - Dec 21 | Chattanooga, TN
Dec 21 - Jan 2 | Isla Mujeres, MX
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
After hosting for four weekends in a row, and then a 5th overnight guest during the week, we were excited to have a weekend at home with very few plans! On Friday night, we hosted another couple for dinner and put to use turnips and rutabagas from the farm, along with radish, turnip, collard and rutabaga greens cooked down with chicken broth and diced ham. I also made pretzel crusted chicken tendies bc I love cooking with thighs and Faris is more of a breast guy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ so I sought out a recipe that would be something I’d normally skip over. In this, you make your own honey mustard, dredge the chicken breast tenderloins in that and then the pretzel crumbs and top with hot honey. I also ended up making my own ranch dressing for dipping, and what I learned is that I will never be buying ranch dressing again bc holy smokes it’s so easy to make and is super delicious!
Earlier in the week, we attended the Empty Bowls fundraiser, which raises money to help deal with food insecurity in schools. My mom, Judy, along with my sister Lillian, and her husband Jason joined us for the fundraiser, and I had a blast introducing my family to all my pottery friends :) And with a weekend of no plans, I spent nearly two full days throwing, trimming, painting and carving pots in my ramshackle pottery studio at home!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
new clay, my Shimpo wheel, underglaze, abstract design, raccoons, dried flowers, friendship, Spinnin, Ren, Fall Out, Crabtree Farms, hot tub mechanics, lidded jars, new recipes, and YOU!
:: THE LINKS ::
AMBIENT INFORMATION
Still not here for any election takes tbh but this piece seems very germane to the particular problem of brand communication in a highly fragmented world. We know fact checking doesn’t work to displace false narratives, that’s been clear for years, but more importantly is how to people arrive at their opinions, unfounded or otherwise? Most people are not seeking information about politicians (or brands) - an obvious datum in support of this proposition was the surge in google searches for “Did Biden drop out” in the days before the election.
“The science historian Michael Shermer, in his book “The Believing Brain” used the term “patternicity” to describe the way that people search for patterns, many of them erroneous, on the basis of small information samplings. The patterns we perceive now rise less from information gathered in our close communities and more from what crosses our awareness along national paths.”
Compare with the classic Bullmore quote: “People build brands the way birds build nests. Through the straws and scraps they chance upon.”(NewYorker ArchiveLink)
GLOBAL HUMOR
Recent discourse and research have strongly supported the case that humor is powerful as a way to attract attention and drive emotion, which makes obvious sense. That said, can every copywriter write good jokes? And how does humor operate differently in different markets? Lots of Faris’ British ‘jokes (featuring self deprecation, irony and various layers of linguistic manipulation) don’t immediately land with Americans, for example Yes, that might just be him but humor is different.
”Our sense of humor is deeply rooted in our nationhood, our shared view of the world, and the norms that are so familiar to us, but so foreign to others. But there are deeper levels of humor – comedic elements that cross boundaries and tap into something universally human. Knowing the difference can be the key to capturing the comedic imagination of your audience, no matter where they are from.” (LeapLondon)
WICKED BRAND PROMOTIONS ARE ALL OVER
We’ve been excited about the movie Wicked since we first heard rumblings, and it turns out there’s no shortage of brands that are feeling excited as well. From movie-inspired clothing and beauty products to homeware to games and collectibles from brands like Crocs, Béis, Gap, H&M, Lego and Conair… even Voluspa’s got a set of pink and green candles. There’s a lot going on to promote what is sure to be one of this year’s biggest movies, and with these limited edition items quickly selling out, it seems like this is a win for the brands and the movie alike. (The Hollywood Reporter)
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:: SPOTTED IN THE WILD ::
Thanks Jane! Previously spotted in a bookshop in Vietnam!
Not read Paid Attention yet?
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie | your friends over at geniussteals.co
(still want more? @faris is still “tweeting” while @rosieyakob prefers instagram stories)
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. We have a distributed team ourselves, an accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)