The long and winding road
Sharing the blurb for The Road to Hell, my new book coming out in spring—plus a few strands of genius, and a brief 2023 round-up.
It’s nearly six years since I wrote my first article about purpose (inspired by the timeless Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad above). Now I’m finally pulling my thoughts together into a book, out in March/April 2024.
If you’ve been reading this Substack for a while, you’ve been a fellow traveller on this journey down the purpose rabbit hole. I write in order to find out what I think, but it’s so much better when readers come along for the ride—so: THANK YOU.
Here’s the blurb as a taster.
The Road to Hell
How purposeful business leads to bad marketing and a worse world
(And how human creativity is the way out)
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, says the proverb. Never has that been truer than in the case of corporate purpose, the movement that took over the business and advertising world following the financial crisis of 2008.
Guided by the mantra ‘do well by doing good’, businesses embraced a social purpose agenda that sought to align doing good for society with doing well in the marketplace. The result, according to author Nick Asbury, has been a wave of humourless and hubristic advertising, and a spiral of worse social outcomes, as businesses wade into issues beyond their remit, while neglecting their real ethical responsibilities.
Diving into examples including Bud Light, Patagonia, Cadbury and Unilever, Nick Asbury builds a compelling case against purpose—covering what it is, where it came from, how it leads to worse marketing, and how it leads to worse social outcomes. As a positive alternative, he makes the case for creativity, cognitive empathy and valuing the human over the corporate.
Amid the fierce and topical debate about purpose and corporate politics, The Road to Hell is a sharp and entertaining intervention, shedding light on how we got here—and where we go next.
I hope it’s sharp and entertaining anyway. You’ll be the best judge—please save up your pennies for when I announce details.
In other news…
I’ve guest curated an edition of Strands of Genius, the Substack hosted by legendary brand strategy double-act,
andAnd today I’ve done an accompanying interview.
Aside from that, it only remains for me to wish you a happy Christmas do a self-promotional round-up of my main posts this year. They include:
Bernbach to the future
In which I dug into ‘A principle isn’t a principle until it costs you something’ and where it came from
I heart creativity
In which I talked about the ‘We Heart NYC’ campaign and why purpose loves ‘we’
All art isn’t political
In which I examined the relationship between politics, creativity and creative education
The road to hell, part 1
The first in the series that forms the basis for the (bigger and better) book
Purpose is temporary, creativity is permanent
Thinking back on a year of awards judging amid the (fragile) purpose vibe shift
Plus appearances on the Let’s Talk Branding podcast with
And the Penteract podcast with
Once again, thanks for reading this year. I started down this Substack road with little idea of where I was heading or why. But I hope the book will be the culmination of the journey, or at least this stretch of it.
In an ideal world, I would make a launch video with Kendall Jenner handing a copy of the book to a smiling police officer as the crowd cheers ecstatically. But that may be beyond my budget.
Finally, I will genuinely wish you a Happy Christmas if you would like to have one.
I honestly can’t wait to read - and review - this book. Very exciting. But don’t let it get in the way of the festive spirit(s) and wafer thin mints. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.