NORTHERN PLANNER

There's a great quote about fast food, "Speed and convenience is everything, flavour is secondary".

Now one could argue that culture has followed suit beyond food; with music, films, books,telly everything- lots and lots of stuff when you want it, how you want it, with less thought about quality and more about quantity. And predictability.

Then there's the devices and media we enjoy stuff on these days.

The impact of 3D cinema in place of actual content that takes your breath away.

An IPod that's an approximation of the rich tones you get from an old school seperates system.

Watching a high quality, cinematic HBO drama on an IPhone.

Somehow we're managing to squeeze the 'occasion', full flavour and TEXTURE out of the experience.

Like fast food.

More, more more.

Now, now now.

Without bothering with flavour.

Or stopping to taste it.

On the part of the makers, creating more clones polystyrene for jaded palates to cram themselves.

On the part of the consumers, not giving content the respect it deserves.

Like drinking vintage wine from a plastic cup.

Or buying Yorkshire Tea Gold and not making it in the pot.

Yes yes, more stuff out there, more interesting, more connections for all sorts of ideas.

But more isn't always better. To make connections and mould newness out of the cacophony requires quietness and concentration. Instead of blocking out yourself and your consciousness with constant noise, remembering how to hear and feel them.

Little wonder then, that when something comes along with real texture and flavour, people respond.

They remember what it's like to feel something, to be challenged, to escape pre-programmed life for a bit and experience something real, tangible and maybe a little raw.

The unashamed joy and feelgood that was Mamma Mia. For example.

 

The wave of mixed up pride, hope, connection and wonder that was the Olympics.

 

No surprise that advertising that sets out to make us feel something these days can be commercial dynamite.

From a very complex mixture of guilt, hope, inspiration and, perhaps, even revulsion…….

 

To the pure, uncomplicated joy that is being around kids.

 

Or even a shared, intake of courage and pride and determination.

 

No surpise then that  John Lewis' fantastic output won the IPA's.

It sets out to make you feel something and tugs at the cultural mess around the need to resolve the tension between the need to still buy new stuff and appearing to be a bit more considered and 'old fashioned values' in austere more morally ambiguous times. 

 

 

Little wonder when so much advertising is banal, pre-programmed, triangulated, message orientated, devoid of texture and flavour, work like this reminds us what we have become, and what we should really be aiming for.