A very thoughtful and intelligent article - thanks. That ad from Banda for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is so powerful as it employs a universal human truth - that none of us is made for war. I do wish brands would go back to back to finding these big and small truths that unite us for their communications and stop trying to be new-style missionaries for whatever causes and ideas are trending on Twitter.
I wish we could have a substantive conversation about the social responsibility of business starting with a critique of Friedman's original essay in today's context w/out using the P word or blowing it all off on 'Twitter' (a forum that Adam Tooze recently said was more important for him than academic seminars)
Agree, conducting the whole conversation without the P word would be a good exercise – so much of the conversation is premised on purpose being part of the answer.
Just to clarify, I woke up this morning thinking that might sound off, it was meant generally, not pointed to here, and yes, P has taken on a tribal symbolic quality that gives me the creeps.
Just happened to pop up into my email as replying here, from Purpose Disruptors/GoodLife 2030, now, I watched that when it came out at COP and *cringed*, and yet in principle, of course, yes, there's a big f-ing problem. Anyway...onwards!
"It's a documentary that really connects with people in the industry. As Paul Billingsley, the MD at adam&eveDDB said "that really moved me, it was the most impactful film I have seen in over 2 years and we make really good films at Adam & Eve".
Replied on LinkedIn, but just to reiterate – I agree it's a beautifully honest ad, especially compared to the UK where joining the army gets spun as a glamorous career choice / break from the humdrum. But then I hope we can one day live in a world where such ads aren't necessary.
I'm not entirely buying the generational divide can be explained away by 'lack of political engagement' (patronizing & unsubstantiated where I've read it) or Cold War memory.
I could speculate it's a function of disinformation, breakdown of trust in 'media', possibly some 'can't change anything' nihilism, unwillingness to escalate thru blame game,
"The study we conducted on 4 March is not intended to reflect the overall American population, but rather a group of local high school students we interviewed locally (79 responses from students aged 14 to 18).
"Just over half (50.6%) of the students said they had first heard of the invasion through social media, and 46.8% of those following the invasion said they were primarily doing so through social media.
The majority of students who participated in the survey indicated they knew little or nothing about Russia and Ukraine's history before the invasion.."
Yes, fascinating – I agree that 'lack of political engagement' is a patronising conclusion to draw. It's a really interesting shift though. In the branding world, Gen-Z is so often treated as the ultimate source of wisdom on societal/cultural issues, with businesses anxious to take their lead. I wonder if this will change that.
Ha, totally relate to that – approaching 50 myself and equally confused/dismayed about where the liberal left has ended up. Console myself by believing most people are more sensible offline than they are online.
Well - fwiw I think we really shouldn't be cosying up to Saudi Arabia, I find it horrifying. This war, or rather invasion, concerns us directly, though - partly because it's in Europe, partly because it's really directed against the West, and partly because the UK has played its own substantial part in creating the monster that is Putin. I think globalism has moved a far way from the fluffy everybody-friends vision we were fed when I was a kid, certainly, and it's now being used as a means of oppression. The poor of one country being used to oppress the poor of another, as in the Primark model. No one should be doing business with Russia right now. I don't know of any Russians who have their eyes open who oppose the sanctions. The whole thing is a tragedy for the great mass of Russian people, but it's going to be a tragedy for them whether or not we (or France, or Germany) help fund Putin's war machine. Usually I'm all about nuance but I feel about this as I guess I would have felt in 1939. The time for carefully reasoned stances is kind of over. And in fact, if anything, it also exposes how we are being used against our own interests, feeling any kind of cosy feelings about these 'familiar brands'; the billionaires have DOUBLED their wealth over the pandemic. With OUR money.
Thanks for the comment Katy. Totally agree we have an extra responsibility for what has happened in Ukraine - it’s largely the result of bad foreign policy decisions (although the moral responsibility for invasion is still 100% with Putin). Also agree about romanticising corporate globalisation, which I don’t mean to do – that’s a separate thought about brands/creativity that I may try to work out in another post.
But I have to disagree about abandoning carefully reasoned stances at times like this, including 1939. I think they’re needed more than ever. It's not that I think sanctions are wrong, but I think we have to be super-vigilant about the case for them, the effect they're having (not encouraging so far – 81% support for Putin) and when (if ever) they would be scaled back. I've seen arguments against sanctions that are very similar to your 'we are being used against our own interests' point – ultimately, they punish the lower and middle classes, while the rich and powerful carry on as before, and all to no constructive end.
I've just been reading this alternative take on the same subject – https://www.marketingweek.com/mark-ritson-brands-staying-in-russia-statement-of-support-for-putin/ It's much more satisfyingly outraged / black and white than mine. And I know mine could look like mealy-mouthed whataboutery in comparison. But I really think the binary thinking is part of the psychology of how wars spiral and everyone starts flattening out and ultimately dehumanising the other side.
It's all such a difficult subject though – I totally get the spirit of your comment and will keep it in mind.
Aw, I'm not calling you mealy-mouthed! And you're right - if you can keep your wits when all about you, etc. This is a HUGE subject, way too much for any lone blog post to bear all the weight of. The pros & cons of sanctions are another thing altogether & I guess that, while I've always seen it as what you describe - useless damage to ordinary people - in this case I am seeing the point, because it's such a particular situation. Because the billions these oligarchs have been splashing around in our cities and our harbours is largely ill-gotten wealth that, had it been required to be accounted for (as you and I have to account for our money), would not be allowed.
This is already a cataclysm and I think it's already gone a bit past trying to protect 'living standards' - in Russia, here, in Germany... What we NEED is just for our own super-rich not to seize the opportunity to wage war against US, which of course is just what they're doing. That's all I really care about now.
You don’t know of any Russians who oppose the sanctions? I guess you don’t really know many Russians personally (especially those who live in Russia). I’m 100% against the war and Putin’s policies but the sanctions are not just about Uniqlo, it’s also about stopping clinical trials in Russia, about medicines and medical equipment. It’s about stopping funding for the volunteers who are currently fighting terrible fires all through Siberian forests. To dismiss it all as if it’s a small price to pay is to ignore the consequences of these sanctions completely because support for this terrible war inside Russia actually increased as a result of the sanctions when many people within Russia realised they are truly abandoned between Putin who doesn’t care about the people and the West who also don’t care about the people.
A very thoughtful and intelligent article - thanks. That ad from Banda for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is so powerful as it employs a universal human truth - that none of us is made for war. I do wish brands would go back to back to finding these big and small truths that unite us for their communications and stop trying to be new-style missionaries for whatever causes and ideas are trending on Twitter.
I wish we could have a substantive conversation about the social responsibility of business starting with a critique of Friedman's original essay in today's context w/out using the P word or blowing it all off on 'Twitter' (a forum that Adam Tooze recently said was more important for him than academic seminars)
Agree, conducting the whole conversation without the P word would be a good exercise – so much of the conversation is premised on purpose being part of the answer.
Just to clarify, I woke up this morning thinking that might sound off, it was meant generally, not pointed to here, and yes, P has taken on a tribal symbolic quality that gives me the creeps.
No worries, totally get that
Just happened to pop up into my email as replying here, from Purpose Disruptors/GoodLife 2030, now, I watched that when it came out at COP and *cringed*, and yet in principle, of course, yes, there's a big f-ing problem. Anyway...onwards!
"It's a documentary that really connects with people in the industry. As Paul Billingsley, the MD at adam&eveDDB said "that really moved me, it was the most impactful film I have seen in over 2 years and we make really good films at Adam & Eve".
Are you talking about this film? Hadn't seen it before – had to watch it on 2x speed to get through it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkUVI60Ags
Replied on LinkedIn, but just to reiterate – I agree it's a beautifully honest ad, especially compared to the UK where joining the army gets spun as a glamorous career choice / break from the humdrum. But then I hope we can one day live in a world where such ads aren't necessary.
Good read, again! The polling variance is interesting, and also, YouGov/Economist https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/03/29/our-polling-reveals-a-striking-generational-divide-on-ukraine I'm guessing the Economist's poll/question is causative of the polls on brand sanctions.
I'm not entirely buying the generational divide can be explained away by 'lack of political engagement' (patronizing & unsubstantiated where I've read it) or Cold War memory.
I could speculate it's a function of disinformation, breakdown of trust in 'media', possibly some 'can't change anything' nihilism, unwillingness to escalate thru blame game,
Interesting bit of qual. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/how-teenagers-feel-russia-invasion-ukraine/
"The study we conducted on 4 March is not intended to reflect the overall American population, but rather a group of local high school students we interviewed locally (79 responses from students aged 14 to 18).
"Just over half (50.6%) of the students said they had first heard of the invasion through social media, and 46.8% of those following the invasion said they were primarily doing so through social media.
The majority of students who participated in the survey indicated they knew little or nothing about Russia and Ukraine's history before the invasion.."
Yes, fascinating – I agree that 'lack of political engagement' is a patronising conclusion to draw. It's a really interesting shift though. In the branding world, Gen-Z is so often treated as the ultimate source of wisdom on societal/cultural issues, with businesses anxious to take their lead. I wonder if this will change that.
Ha, totally relate to that – approaching 50 myself and equally confused/dismayed about where the liberal left has ended up. Console myself by believing most people are more sensible offline than they are online.
Well - fwiw I think we really shouldn't be cosying up to Saudi Arabia, I find it horrifying. This war, or rather invasion, concerns us directly, though - partly because it's in Europe, partly because it's really directed against the West, and partly because the UK has played its own substantial part in creating the monster that is Putin. I think globalism has moved a far way from the fluffy everybody-friends vision we were fed when I was a kid, certainly, and it's now being used as a means of oppression. The poor of one country being used to oppress the poor of another, as in the Primark model. No one should be doing business with Russia right now. I don't know of any Russians who have their eyes open who oppose the sanctions. The whole thing is a tragedy for the great mass of Russian people, but it's going to be a tragedy for them whether or not we (or France, or Germany) help fund Putin's war machine. Usually I'm all about nuance but I feel about this as I guess I would have felt in 1939. The time for carefully reasoned stances is kind of over. And in fact, if anything, it also exposes how we are being used against our own interests, feeling any kind of cosy feelings about these 'familiar brands'; the billionaires have DOUBLED their wealth over the pandemic. With OUR money.
Thanks for the comment Katy. Totally agree we have an extra responsibility for what has happened in Ukraine - it’s largely the result of bad foreign policy decisions (although the moral responsibility for invasion is still 100% with Putin). Also agree about romanticising corporate globalisation, which I don’t mean to do – that’s a separate thought about brands/creativity that I may try to work out in another post.
But I have to disagree about abandoning carefully reasoned stances at times like this, including 1939. I think they’re needed more than ever. It's not that I think sanctions are wrong, but I think we have to be super-vigilant about the case for them, the effect they're having (not encouraging so far – 81% support for Putin) and when (if ever) they would be scaled back. I've seen arguments against sanctions that are very similar to your 'we are being used against our own interests' point – ultimately, they punish the lower and middle classes, while the rich and powerful carry on as before, and all to no constructive end.
I've just been reading this alternative take on the same subject – https://www.marketingweek.com/mark-ritson-brands-staying-in-russia-statement-of-support-for-putin/ It's much more satisfyingly outraged / black and white than mine. And I know mine could look like mealy-mouthed whataboutery in comparison. But I really think the binary thinking is part of the psychology of how wars spiral and everyone starts flattening out and ultimately dehumanising the other side.
It's all such a difficult subject though – I totally get the spirit of your comment and will keep it in mind.
Aw, I'm not calling you mealy-mouthed! And you're right - if you can keep your wits when all about you, etc. This is a HUGE subject, way too much for any lone blog post to bear all the weight of. The pros & cons of sanctions are another thing altogether & I guess that, while I've always seen it as what you describe - useless damage to ordinary people - in this case I am seeing the point, because it's such a particular situation. Because the billions these oligarchs have been splashing around in our cities and our harbours is largely ill-gotten wealth that, had it been required to be accounted for (as you and I have to account for our money), would not be allowed.
This is already a cataclysm and I think it's already gone a bit past trying to protect 'living standards' - in Russia, here, in Germany... What we NEED is just for our own super-rich not to seize the opportunity to wage war against US, which of course is just what they're doing. That's all I really care about now.
Anyway, good post.
You don’t know of any Russians who oppose the sanctions? I guess you don’t really know many Russians personally (especially those who live in Russia). I’m 100% against the war and Putin’s policies but the sanctions are not just about Uniqlo, it’s also about stopping clinical trials in Russia, about medicines and medical equipment. It’s about stopping funding for the volunteers who are currently fighting terrible fires all through Siberian forests. To dismiss it all as if it’s a small price to pay is to ignore the consequences of these sanctions completely because support for this terrible war inside Russia actually increased as a result of the sanctions when many people within Russia realised they are truly abandoned between Putin who doesn’t care about the people and the West who also don’t care about the people.
Thank you for such a nuanced, thoughtful article in these terrible times.
Belated thanks for the comment – it’s a terrible humanitarian situation on so many fronts.