Rather a Mexican than a Rat

I just finished Sir Ken Robinson’s book “The Element” and because of the hard fact I had to leave a great company to go back to school only to start off again in a few months where I already was; I am in more of a mental war towards the educational systems worldwide, harder than ever before. I know that makes me a phony at this point. But a phony with a proud mom … yes yes.

How I strongly believe society is completely taking the wrong direction when it comes to education and degrees. In less than 30 years more people will graduate from college than ever before throughout the entire history! What will a degree be worth you think? [nothing] And you’re asking yourself why you can’t get a job? Because there’s no point of differentiation anymore. Only climbing up. A job that only required a BA in the past now asks for a MA, a job for a MA a Ph.d or a second MA … and so on. How far can we climb?

People could say to me “You have it easy, you already know what you want”. But I strongly believe everybody should be given more changes to figure out what they really want with their lives; even before choosing which education towards a career to pursue. And that is the fundamental problem society has brought itself into now (in primary and in high school). The problem is not that there’s so much to choose from, people can’t choose anymore. The problem is that there’s so much to choose from, but everybody has been educated since the beginning of kindergarten in the same system, with the same rules, the same priorities, the same focus and the same dogma’s. No wonder people have a hard time figuring out what to do with their lives after all having being conformed towards the same (now profoundly mistaken) direction.

This was a long introduction (I could write, speak and debate about this subject for hours – give me a call), only to share with you a short story that somehow reminded me of this whole school mess. I found it on an old planning agency’s website that is no-more but still likes to have their words floating around the world wide web. You may think it’s a little naive, but you’ll get the point.

The Irony Of The Rat Race

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs…I have a full life.”

The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.

“And after that?”

“Afterwards? That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?”

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends!”

I’ll Find my Own Way!

So I blogged about Apple and Siri before and how technology is driving us more and more away from basic human interaction, understanding and communication (click here). Yesterday I stumbled upon this new Siri commercial:

Not only will you get my point that the latest technology (with Apple at the forefront) is making us more lazy, subordinated and unskilled to handle our own problems and questions; I wander if the planning department at Apple / TBWA is doing this on purpose or not? It’s clear that these latest commercials are not relevant anymore for the bigger (older) Apple story. At least not to me. I don’t think we’re talking about the same target audience anymore. I don’t see those people in the ad, relying on their smartphone for every simple, stupid question are the same creative, independent, “think different” people that suited the core idea of Apple already more than a decade ago.

I recently wanted to take a picture of a metro cabin in Shanghai full of people busy on their own iPhone. Then print out that picture with the copy “Think Different” and you would have gotten my point. Then I understood that would be a wrong idea because Apple’s story does not tell you “buy our product and you’ll be different” it actually says “with the benefits of our product you can develop different, creative material” (as in: Apple provides you a tool for you to differentiate yourself in). So I withdrew myself from taking that picture – I suddenly understood even better the bigger picture of Apple. But that bigger picture is NOT in line with Siri commercials like these I’m seeing everywhere nowadays.

Could it be Apple is getting himself into trouble because the gap between their product and communicative messaging is widening? They develop high quality products that are all here to make our life easier, more organized, more controlled. Yet their successful and effective communication strategy has always about “do it yourself – don’t rely on conforming to the status quo, it’s creative people like yourself that make this world a better place.” You see the gap? And software like Siri is only confirming this idea I think. I don’t like it.

Lui Liu

If you happen to be in Shanghai; I strongly advice you to go to the Shanghai Art Museum for the solo exhibition of Lui Liu, open until next week, so hurry up! I stumbled upon it by coincidence as we were looking to go to another exhibition close by but they were wrapping it up already though the flyer said it was still the last day (welcome to China).

LL is a born Chinese who emigrated to Canada in the early nineties. His work brings oriental and western contemporary elements together, often creating mystical settings with an everyday touch. His authentic oil painting technique combined with a modern twitch, invites the viewer into a world beyond rational and habitual.

I love them. Each work, you get sucked into a story you want to know more about. It looks like every character in the painting came to a certain point that made his/her live change and it is exactly that moment that was captured in the painting. You wish to know the past of the person and why it brought him (or more often ‘her’) to this point. And what will happen after.

Discover more about and from the artist on his personal website http://www.luiliu.com/

Off to the Land of the Crazy

After my previous sentimental post about leaving AKQA (click here), I am here for the last time in January to make me feel better about myself again. Today I take the plane to Japan for a full two week adventure of more Asian craziness. I shouldn’t complain about my life at all, should I?

Oh Japan … the land of the most insane candid camera and reality shows, sushi (although I like sashimi better), Yamazaki whiskey, anime extravaganza, out of proportion whale-consumption, a wicked underground music scene, a work hierarchy I probably wouldn’t function in, an economy we can all learn from, one of the most expensive cities on earth and a heritage and history I am extremely excited to discover a little more about. And although I don’t feel myself being up for THIS, I know I will have a blast travelling there.

So no new fetish posts for a while. Could be a month, could be less – depends on my mood I suppose. I can also say to you, that as for a blog where posts are fully related to what comes up in my mind that day or the day before; most likely the coming months, posts will be again a bit more about music, art and world thoughts/ideas while the previous posts have been dealing more around the industry of advertising and planning. It’s inevitable that I write what I am busy the most with during the day and since I won’t bother you with my study- and thesis-related material (Thank-You donations can be transferred to my Paypal account), I will probably use my blog again as my personal portal for some mind-refreshing and -refueling content. I have been on a good roll here for the past half year and would like to continue that.

Until a week or three;

For those in China: Happy Chinese New Year.
For my student friends: finally rock some hell after your exams.
For all the rest: try to find me on porn websites and email me what you can find. Much appreciated.

Today is a Sad Day

… a very sad day.
Today is my last day as an intern at AKQA Shanghai and I can assure you this is a very hard fact for me that suddenly was there. Of course I saw it coming, but since time passed by so incredibly fast, I never really stopped to think about it was coming so close.

I had a blast over here. Not only is this an agency I strongly believe in and is to be watched out for very carefully, this office and this team has welcomed me with open arms into the family and given me the opportunity to explore my own messed-up lunatic ideas. I am proud I got to contribute in bringing in new business, show what I am capable of and more importantly: do what I’ve always known of myself I wanted to do: advertising planning in the traditional meaning of what it luckily still is, even in a “digital” agency. Going from business objectives to relevant creative story-telling that has meaning. Getting paid to explore and dig into life around you. Is there any better job (except for being a rock or a porn star)?

I go back to school now for one last final semester, only to get back in 5 months where I am right now. Oh, the irony of doing (successful) internships in between your studies and before you actually graduate. It made me realize a few things I’ve already known for a long time about myself and the world – but this wonderful experience has confirmed it without any doubt: for doing what I’ve been doing here and what I’d love to continue doing, I don’t need a degree. Everything that has helped me getting from point A to point B in the projects for the past months, were things I did not learn in school. Sure, university has given me the time and the opportunity to explore other fields, arts, books and everything else that made me passing an exam with 10/20 instead of 15/20. I know my family is reading this as well, but I also know they’ve always supported me on this one – thank you so much.

I will miss this place. I will miss feeling like an appreciated employee that contributes to something bigger and better, rather than feeling like a tool of an education system again. I rather spend the rest of my days saying I’m “the f*cking intern” than saying I’m a student. The next 5 months will be hard for me – tremendously hard. I feel obligated towards my family that has been investing in my education for the past 5 years (!!) already and probably also towards myself: once you start something, you finish it. I am determined to bring this to a good end, but I already know lots of sweat, swearing and stress will come along the way.

A big thanks goes out to my boss Gavin who did not only approved for having me over without knowing how I would drag him into breakcore music, hangover days, email spamming and lots of swearing; but also for creating this freedom and environment for me here where I hang out with my own thoughts and ideas and developed my thinking towards liberating clients and businesses. Also, for giving me many responsibilities I hope I didn’t screw up. Thank you so much man.

The biggest thing that keeps me positive today is the fact I know this story has not come to an end yet. This story is to be continued.

AKQA Shanghai, thank you so much for the opportunity, the experience, and the free Heineken.