Meet the Author

Something’s…off. You don’t remember exactly when it happened, but now you can’t unsee it. Every ad features an uncanny, poreless face. Every voiceover has the same eerie sing-song cadence. Every tagline reads as if it were written by a committee of aggressively average clones. You thought the future would be more like Blade Runner: Replicants running around trying to pass as humans and slick, dazzling holographic adverts. Instead, the robots are just boring us to death.

The wheel.

Sliced bread.

Heated Rivalry.

Very few inventions in human history have had the same monumental impact as Artificial Intelligence. What started out as the stuff of science fiction (who could shake the chilling “I’m sorry I can’t do that, David”?) has rapidly become a staple in our everyday lives. 

There’s an old saying in our industry: “Marketers plan. God laughs.” Okay, if it’s not a saying, it should be. 

In many ways, marketing has always been a game of chance. We pore over spreadsheets, deploy our ever-growing arsenal of “disruptive” tech, and triple-check against audience personas. Then, we cross our fingers that everything pays off as planned. But these days, there’s too much at stake to rely on hope as a strategy. 

Working remotely has its perks, but there are some experiences that just aren’t the same over Zoom. We’ve faithfully practiced even the smallest traditions to get the most out of our human-centered culture through a two-year global pandemic, like terribly singing Happy Birthday together at every Beer Friday meeting. Still, there’s no substitute gathering and there’s certainly no way to create a virtual version of our (infamous) annual holiday party.

Picture this: Sunday. You’ve cracked a beer and the buffalo sauce is flowing. You turn on the TV for the Big Game, and the first ad of the night begins to roll.

It’s morning, and a woman casually runs around a corner in her activewear. Fast-forward several hours to the end of the day, and she comes around the same corner. This time, she’s in casual clothes — and holding a six pack of ultra light beer! 

Cue the eye roll.