Strands of Genius: How To Manifesto Like A Pro, How To Save The World (The Right Way), How To Be The Funniest Person In The Room
Guest curated by Wesley Jon, Copywriter @ FP7McCann, Dubai
Each year we aim to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. This edition is guest curated by Wesley Jon, Copywriter @ FP7McCann, Dubai.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, WESLEY JON ::
LOCATION: Dubai
F: Hi Wesley, tell me about yourself. What do you do?
W: …
F: Wesley, you’re muted.
W: -oops sorry. Hi Faris. Can you hear me now?
F: Yup. Go ahead.
W: So, I’m a Malaysian copywriter based in Dubai. Currently poaching for Lions in FP7, McCann. Loving the international creative community here, but not the humidity.
F: That’s great! So before we begin, I have 2 offers for you as your Creative LIAisons mentor. One, I’ll send you a copy of my book. Two, I’ll offer you a spot to curate for my weekly newsletter, Strands of Genius. Sounds good?
W: Sure! Count me in.
Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): This is indeed pretty much how our call started and how I decide to invite who to guest curate - anyone interesting, especially people with a view askew, that we encounter, however. I increasingly think that ineffable qualities like taste and a sense of humor are crucial in advertising. We know emotion is good in ads, but, as I keep thinking, how to emotion?
Also, see how to save the world (the right way) below - if you aren’t embedded in the culture you only get a surface level understanding of something - you focus on superficial elements not the more nuanced meaning and thus hidden real challenges.
Oh and check out Noah’s Manifesto AI generator thing too its fun. Interestingly, the first thing it asks you is
:: THE LINKS ::
HOW TO MANIFESTO LIKE A PRO
Manifestos. Love it. Hate it. They are here to stay. And most of them are treated like client-facing deck fodder to land an idea. Maybe it’s time to write it with the hopes that one day, it'll be produced... because the best ones are. Just like the examples in this manifesto writing resource. (Manifesto Writing)
HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD (THE RIGHT WAY)
The dust has settled on Cannes 2024. That just means we’re in full swing for Cannes 2025! The open briefs fill the Slack channels, creative teams are retrofitting ideas from their idea banks, and the ECD is busy selecting ideas for that ‘global council’. But amid the excitement, we must ask ourselves, “Is it a creative idea, or an idea for creatives?”. Use this video about why Western designs fail developing countries as a litmus test. (YouTube )
HOW TO BE THE FUNNIEST PERSON IN THE ROOM
Humor is making a comeback (as seen at Cannes). But it’s hard to be funny because you might sound like you’re trying too hard. Ok, that sentence might’ve tried too hard. Anyway, this podcast on how to be funny feat. Gary Gulman could help (starts around 18:25). (Spotify)
Looking for more from Wesley? Coming Friday, look for an interview from him in your inbox!
:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: Game :: NYT Games. I literally wait till midnight for the puzzles to refresh.
:: City :: Tokyo to visit, Copenhagen to stay.
:: Book :: Animal Farm by George Orwell
:: Podcast :: Land of the Giants
:: Song :: Dance Macabre by Ghost
:: FUN FACT ::
Did you know, otters hold hands while they're sleeping so they don't drift apart.
Stalk me on LinkedIn and if you like what you see, let’s connect. Don’t worry you’ll be anonymous because I don’t have a premium account.
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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. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, 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 :)