A couple of years ago, a friend of mine mentioned being on something called Tinder, and was somewhat aghast that I wasn’t up enough on technology to be on what is an online dating/hookup app with a lot of swiping involved.
I was very happily hooked up and asked my friend what would happen if his wife found out about his wanderlust.
He laughed that off, except when bumping into him a few months later, his wife had indeed found out about him because she was also following her own wanderlust on Tinder.
Guess the point is that though video might have killed the radio star, technology- much of it, anyway- has robbed us of, well, real human emotions including human foibles and vulnerability.
Technological everything has made it okay to be in dysfunctional relationships and accept follow-the-dots “creativity” lacking in soul as being the real thing.
This in turn has devalued love, life and music-music where everyone is a “musician” and quantity has taken over from quality- with almost everyone online these days calling themselves a “digital creator”.
Instead of cream, mediocrity has been allowed to rise to the top, because, maybe, very few know real talent from the various Mr and Ms Ripleys who have talked themselves into positions where, once upon a career, some of us had to prove our worth and work ourselves up to wherever it was that we might have thought we wanted to go.
It’s here where I can always mention life without mobile phones and with no need for more and more apps for saps and everything truly creative achieved by actually having an original idea.
These ideas came from everyone like Dylan and the Beatles to Jim Henson, Spielberg, Coppola and Scorsese.
It underlined what my mentor in advertising- Keith Reinhard- was always making us understand how and why the technique and technology were never the idea.
The idea came from some magical place within one’s self and took many of us on some incredible journeys that fulfilled us until new inspiration came knocking again on that invisible door to creativity.
There was a pride in ownership.
Though we in advertising might have had our ego turns and become unbearably superficial, we were passionate and fiercely interested in improving ourselves and very much invested in the creative process, especially the teamwork.
These days, inspiration appears to be in short supply mainly because of leadership that very often doesn’t know what they want and good from mediocre.
It also has to do with why we’re often surrounded by too many spouting Wikipedia Wisdom, whatever can be Googled for the answers and, more often than not, something or another eventually coming out from the sausage factory of derivativeness.
For example, in music, whatever it’s labelled, it’s still a boyband with a repetitive chorus, choreographed moves going back to the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, and decades before them, the far more interesting Four Seasons.
And weren’t the Beatles the world’s first boyband?
Think about it.
Maybe?
Still in Hong Kong for the time being, what must be faced is that the city needs help and not more and more hyperbole.
There’s an urgent need for things that have substance and not more “plans” and “blueprints for the future”.
Extremely few believe that any of this will happen, but realise the need to say nothing and make whatever hay is left while the sun still shines.
As someone who has been in advertising and was very much part of working with Daniel Ng, the eccentric and savvy and much loved Chairman of McDonald’s in Hong Kong and China on launching and expanding the Golden Arches, these were Feel Good days.
We were creating and never wanting to become formulaic though this was to takeover what I had named Canto-Pop.
But some of us in Hong Kong did bring something new by way of being commissioned to produce very brave remixes by Bowie, Robbie Williams, Placebo, Kylie and John and Yoko and a John Lennon solo album only made available in this region.
Hong Kong advertising created extremely effective and international award winning advertising work. Many of the PSAs- Public Service Announcements- tackled subjects like AIDS Awareness, depression with work for the Samaritans, anti drug advertising etc were all pro bono work and with free media space given to ad agencies by newspapers, magazines and the MTR.
Much of this work was noticed overseas and strengthened the brand personality of Hong Kong.
Where’s this type of thinking hiding today?
Does it even exist- this independent thinking that led to work we believed in- like the award winning campaign I initiated for the Right of Abode for Hong Kong’s ethnic minority group of which I am one?
Hong Kong is in dire need of this type of investment in time with no thoughts about financial rewards.
Something like Hope doesn’t come with a price tag.
While continuing to question the raison d’etre for the government funded CreateHK, it’s been proven time and time again that work like PSAs cannot be the job of the government.
The government today seems to be prioritising bringing more and more “culture” and “Pandanomics” to Hong Kong.
Many are waiting to see what incoming head of culture, sports and tourism In Rosanna Law who replaces Kevin Yeung might bring to the buffet table to revive the somewhat sluggish city needing a pulse.
Things really cannot continue like they have been doing because all this doing hasn’t shown tangible results seen by most of Hong Kong despite set narratives without audits made public.
This is why there’s the need for a community spirit in every aspect of Hong Kong life that does what it can to help- without asking- and this includes marketing and advertising and creating.
No more walking on eggshells and putting up with more puffery and personal agendas.
It’s this independent thinking that’s going to work to make a difference.
Why?
Because it’s coming from the right place- the heart.
And also because, as Bob Dylan advised us not to follow leaders and watch your parking meters instead of wasting time- and actually doing things that matter by following your heart steps.
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