Strands of Genius: Inconvenient Truths and Convenient Fantasies, Modeling Cognitive Empathy, A Principle Isn't A Principle Until It Costs You Something

Guest curated by Nick Asbury, Writer at Asbury & Asbury

Dec 21, 2023

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, NICK ASBURY ::

LOCATION: Bollington, Cheshire

Hello, I'm Nick and I'm a writer. I think of my working life as a long corridor in which I open various doors and spend time in a few different rooms. I've been in the humour room, writing Perpetual Disappointments Diary (a downbeat journal of despair). I've been in the poetry room, writing Realtime Notes (three and a half years of daily poems about current events, correctly described by critic John Self as 'the best chronicle of the 21st century'). I've been in the songwriting room (working with Kate van der Borgh on writing songs and writing about writing songs). I earn my keep in the Writing for Design room (chairing the D&AD jury in 2023 and generally working on branding/design stuff). And I've spent a lot of time recently in the polemical room (writing about Purpose and the politics of advertising and branding) – which is mainly how I've made the connection with the excellent Rosie and the excellent Faris.

Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): Nick is our last guest curator this year, and this is not an edition to miss! We especially loved the first video Nick shared, as it’s something we’ve been thinking about as well.

:: THE LINKS ::

INCONVENIENT TRUTHS AND CONVENIENT FANTASIES

If you have a foot in the corporate, marketing, advertising, design or branding worlds, and if you have any concern for climate change, ESG and progressive politics, then you need to spend 15 minutes watching this talk. The ESG agenda affects every brief that lands on your desk, and it's closely tied to the 'purpose' agenda that is so dominant in awards and institutional bodies. Maybe you feel broadly in tune with the spirit of it, but on some level, you feel something isn't adding up. This is an accessible talk from someone who's been on the front line of how ESG and purpose play out in the corporate world. It should give you pause for thought. The ad industry helped spread the purpose meme; we can help unspread it. (YouTube)

MODELING COGNITIVE EMPATHY

One of the main jobs of advertisers and branders is to think their way (as best they can) into the shoes of diverse audiences. It's called cognitive empathy, but for now that doesn't matter. It comes down to this: If a client asks you “What the hell is going on in the minds of anti-vaxxers?” or “What the hell are 'two-spirit' Gen Z-ers? And how the hell do I market to them?”, then you should be ready with a perceptive, non-judgmental, empirical answer.

Ad agencies are unfortunately terrible at this, as most will share the values of their clients and think that other people are stupid, terrible and on 'the wrong side of history'. I share this article not because I'm anything close to an anti-vaxxer, but because it's an enlightening exercise in thinking yourself into the mindset of other people. As an industry, we either get better at that or we go home (The Guardian)

A PRINCIPLE ISN'T A PRINCIPLE UNTIL IT COSTS YOU SOMETHING

You might have heard this quote before, from adman Bill Bernbach. But did you know it came from a 1971 LA Times interview where he's discussing the ethics of tobacco advertising? I see 'A principle isn't a principle until it costs you something' as the counterbalance to 'Do well by doing good'—the easy, win-win mantra of the purpose movement. Ethics are more difficult than that, and Bernbach knew it. (Newspapers)

Looking for more from Nick Asbury? Coming Friday, look for an interview from him in your inbox!

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: Poetry

:: City :: Liverpool, the city Carl Jung dreamt about

:: Book :: Lyrical Ballads

:: Podcast :: Robert Wright's Nonzero

:: Album :: Blonde on Blonde, Bob Dylan

:: I DELIGHT IN YOU ::

I feel like the guy getting a guitar out at a party, but this is a song about finding purpose outside work, not inside it. I wrote it! It's recorded and performed by Kate van der Borgh, a copywriter whose first novel 'And he shall appear' is out with Fourth Estate in 2024.

I wang on about Purpose at nickasbury.substack.com and I have a book out next year called The Road to Hell. It's also about purpose.

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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 :)

Strands of Genius