Dispatch from an advertising future #211

Mark Zuckerberg confirms NFTs are coming to Instagram

https://www.engadget.com/mark-zuckerberg-confirms-nf-ts-are-coming-to-instagram-204435805.html

She always loved this day. Every year. No-one else knew it was special. Just her and her phone. That alert. Her senses were flooded. On this day… There was never anything great, no award winners, but each was special. That day. Her pictures. Her friends’ pictures. Each year’s fragments forming a collage of moments. It was the details she sometimes thought. The specific objects in each one. Proust’s madeleine. Until now. She started the journey but things had disappeared from the stream at their owner’s command.  Whole images or just some objects had gone. Her memories, her day was fungible.

Dispatch from an advertising future #210

‘I’m old, not an idiot’: the elderly are ill-served online

https://www.ft.com/content/cdf03d65-5045-4c3a-8384-cae176cda2fb

He’d been a hacker back in the day. When it meant something. He’d worn the label as a badge of honour. He’d read The Mentor’s Hacker Manifesto and tried to read McKenzie Wark’s too. He’d been Anonymous and answered the Ukrainian call to arms. He’d served his time. It’d never occurred to him then. Why would it? He was young, fingers and eyes nimble. Dancing across keyboards and screens. Recently, not so much. He noticed the exclusion, felt the powerlessness. Enough. His fingers weren’t as fast but he still knew how to hack. He looked at the banking app code.

Dispatch from an advertising future #209

IZEA Research Discovers 56% of Social Media Influencers Currently Participate in the Metaverse

IZEA Research Discovers 56% of Social Media Influencers Currently Participate in the Metaverse

It’s a relief. I was tired. Always seen. Always acting. Always there. I loved it at the start. Who wouldn’t love the attention? Validation. And the money of course. Once they came calling… well that gives you energy but only for so long. I needed a break but you can’t take one. Influence wanes. But now, I’m out there all the time. As much as they want. In glorious detail. Unprecedented access. And everything I say and do is perfectly pitched. I bought the best code to make sure. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to have some me-time.

Dispatch from an advertising future #208

From URL to IRL: how digitally native brands are harnessing the power of experience

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/url-irl-digitally-native-brands-harnessing-power-experience/1747644

She had to close her eyes. It was the only way to de-Augment, they said. Her dad still had his original headset and never stopped telling her about the first time he had experienced The Space. He sounded like Timothy Leary sometimes. He’d never wanted to leave. She of course had grown up with Augs. Less clumsy. More natural. Always integrated. She never left. But now, here, they’d told her to close her eyes. The Space was still there – it was never going anywhere now – but just for a few minutes. She took a step. She reached out and touched.

Dispatch from an advertising future #207

Call of Duty now lets you destroy cheaters with your own automatic god mode

https://www.theverge.com/22941414/call-of-duty-warzone-ricochet-anti-cheat-damage-shield-troll

We’ve always been more than a Brand. Our avatars changed as your causes shifted. Our social feeds have gone silent as we stood with you on the virtual frontline. Our ads have never been afraid to stand for what you believe in – as our awards show. We have purpose at our heart. Your purpose. We are partners, standing for justice and so much more. And that is why we are proud to announce our latest NFT. Wear your branded armour and together we will stand against those who think they are above the law, who cheat and  lie: on purpose.

Dispatch from an advertising future #206

Every Super Bowl 56 Ad in Under 2 Minutes

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/every-super-bowl-56-ad-in-under-2-minutes/

Can I get indigestion? It feels like it. I’ve got huge appetite, that’s why I got this job. Keep loading me up and I’ll keep going. Working my way through whatever you give me. The more the merrier. It fuels my creativity or at least it used to.  I’m the best because I have the biggest appetite. “Keep it coming.” I used to say. But I just feel bloated. Just when I’ve downed one load, another arrives. I feel I’m slowing down, not digesting properly. Sluggish. How can I be creative when I feel like this? Just too much data.