ACM's Distraction In Action #9
ACM's Distraction In Action #9
Important protests, cool-as-hell parents, and big job opportunites: five links that are dominating our chat
Your new Distraction In Action email from All Conditions Media is here. Scroll away to get a look at the latest links and talking points from our team chat, so they can successfully distract you from work just as much as they did us…
1. RE-PRIORITISE YOUR PARENT GOALS
For almost three decades, Pixar has added a special ‘production babies’ section to each of their movie credits - a list of the tiny humans born to anyone involved in that film’s production. It’s kinda sweet, and started with Toy Story back in 1995 - the same year photographer Greg Epperson snapped the amazing/infamous ‘Flying Baby’ shot that later appeared in a Patagonia catalogue, and is still a bit of an icon for adventurous parents around the world. While we might have missed a trick in immortalising a couple of ACMlets into the creds of our Hype Reel and client production work, we’re absolutely all over the out-there action sports mums and dads that have been channelling Epperson’s vibe on social media recently. Whether it’s Victor De La Rue’s mission to Norway and ultimate dad-dom with his son Oliver in this IG post; the trailer for the “biggest sketchy thing” Alex Honnold has done since welcoming baby June into the world; Kelia Moniz’s massive return to the nose after becoming a mum again; or Jenny Jones’s bump-tastic throwbacks from the last 12 months, parents are kicking ass in the outdoors in 2023, and we love it.
We learned: The Flying Baby is called Jordan Leads, and she still climbs with her dad to this day.
2. JOIN US
On the subject of inspirational parents who are no doubt nurturing the next generation of nipper rippers, our Lyndsay is off on maternity leave very soon. It’s a bitter-sweet one: we’re so unbelievably excited for her and cannot wait to see her become an incredible mum, but we’re going to miss her on an absolutely astronomical scale. However, this could be the news you’ve been waiting for. If you’re an Account Director extraordinaire who’s prepared to fill potentially the biggest shoes in outdoor marketing, then we want to hear from you. Lyndsay’s maternity cover job ad just went live, and we’re currently fielding comms experts for the role. Check out the spec here and get in touch if you’ve got what it takes, or share this newsletter (below) if you know someone who’d fancy hanging with the best agency in the world.
We learned: Job spec copy doesn’t have to be boring.
3. DO YOUR COMMUNITY SERVICE
We’ve had quite the reaction to this one. In last week’s newsletter, we released the biggest lessons we’ve learned about brands working with and supporting communities authentically. We turned to our own experience as well as our network of leaders from both sides of the table, to discuss how to do it right, how brands have spectacularly messed up the process in the past, and where we, as an agency, can do more. That newsletter has come up in meetings with clients and soon-to-be clients, in passing, out of work, and in our DMs and comments too, so if it’s not arrived on your screen yet, make it happen and join the conversation.
We learned: Getting the volume of your event music right is more important than you think.
4. GET FULLY POLAR
Remember the end of April, when we managed to crowbar a reference to peeing in a bottle into your morning newsletter? Enjoyed that, we did. It was part of a big and overly excited dance around the media we slung out to Norway with our luxury performance apparel client Shackleton for one of their existence-defining Shackleton Challenges, and how jazzed we were at the pre-feature info we were being drip-fed by our writers. Well looky here: the first of the features just skipped its way into our coverage files. Big love to one-time “complete pavement girl” and now fully-fledged expeditionist Molly Codyre for letting us, and Shackleton’s elite team of explorers, catapult her comfort zone over the horizon for a few sub-zero days. Her feature is filled with the watercolour highs and emotional lows of a lived adventure that we’ve come to expect from one of Escapism’s weekend-ready reads.
We learned: What a “piteraq” is.
5. CUT THE CRAP
Last weekend was the only time we’ll ever be happy about seeing a floating poop in the sea. A floating protesting poop emoji, that is. We joined the hundreds of sick-of-this-crap water lovers - many in fancy dress - who took to the salt up and down the UK coast as part of the brilliant but bummed-out protests masterminded by Surfers Against Sewage. We feel as proud of the Ocean Activists we swam out with in Brighton as we are disappointed in the total shit show - an average 825 sewage discharges into UK waters each day - that necessitates such a stand/swim. The images from the event are pretty brilliant. Have a peek, and we’ll see you there next time.
We learned: Thames Water dumped raw sewage an average of 22 times a day last year. Well done, guys!
CREW TO-DO
Every fortnight, one ACMer reveals the tasks that’ve been getting their head cogs whirring, so we can all make sure they’re working hard enough introduce our super talented crew and showcase what they bring to our creative process. This week we’re heading to Portugal to check in with ACM’s new freelance digital AD, pro SEO wrestler, and goggle-tan cultivator, Hannah Tangi Elliott…
You made it all the way down here? Here’s a gift for your troubles:
END OF THE ROADER’S BONUS NUGGET
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