Robert Marbury on LinkedIn: #gyatt (2024)

Great to catch this article in my news feed, by the amazing blake simpson. “Diversity isn’t a luxury; it’s a public health imperative.” https://lnkd.in/eW6PJabP

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Growing up, I was what you might’ve called a weird kid. You can’t blame me, considering I was raised on strange TV, odd films, and I lived in Baltimore.In my work, I have always found ways to bring weird elements into storytelling, even when working on Healthcare campaigns. I take it very seriously and believe those weird elements add a layer of humanity that makes a campaign breathe.I am, likewise, attracted to the weird stories, styles, and personalities in culture.I often reference creators who have a style that is unusual and strange. For example, Kim Gehrig makes such beautifully weird commercials, Childish Gambino, in partnership with Hiro Murai and Shay Latukolan III, just released another stunning video and Mischief @ No Fixed Address has made a model agency for the weird.Earlier this month, my son’s 3rd-grade class put on the Scottish Play. He played Macbeth. While helping him memorize his lines opposite the three Fates (HadIthreeears,I’dhearthee...), of course, I saw that in the text they are identified as the “Weird Sisters”. The evolution of the word “weird” took a massive detour with Shakespeare. Before 1606 weird or wyrd meant fate or having the power to control destiny. So here is an example of art having the influence to build a secondary and more powerful meaning on top of a word’s original meaning. I know that this is not unique (Ohio rizz, for you young folk), but it still feels like a clarifying revelation and a wonderful partnership of meaning.That parallel meaning of weird hits me differently as a creative director, than it hit as a kid. As a storyteller, I believe that the audience remembers weird characters, settings, and stories better than they remember the normal ones. That is in part, because we all see ourselves as a bit unusual/special and therefore can relate to the outsiders.So, it is our role as creators to make sure we bring that uniqueness, that weirdness to our work, even in the most regulated fields. I once read that the most powerful stories feel like they are intercepted letters between two strangers. Sealed, fated, and weird.By the way, Gen AI is incapable of being weird. It can be uncanny, wrong, or not quite right but it does not have enough contextual information to be weird. For now, that role is left to us.Kim Gehrig https://lnkd.in/eEzm5DDvChildish Gambino https://lnkd.in/e2pPC9bWMischief Cash App https://lnkd.in/eGjB8xFB

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Love seeing our team get this recognition from Digiday. The partnership with the Stihl team, IBM, The Weather Channel and the imre Consumer Team constantly pushing for what will resonate creates innovation. And seeing AI in this light (as a tool to improve customer experience as opposed to the trips and traps of other generative usages) gives me hope. CongratsBrian Davidson Jack Prigel Kate Rubin Jordan Levine Kyle Rubeling @ben Myers Daniel Braswell II (we see you E. Zach Travis Ben Ruoff Nick Eber) and anyone I missed I will update.

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If we have spoken in the last few month's you probably know I have gotten obsessed by Desire Lines, these landscape alternate paths that we create over time when the concrete doesn't take us to where we want to go. I have committed to looking for these Desire Lines in my work and in my own life. For Brands, I think of the concrete paths as the structure a Brand manager assumes should exist. It solves the Brand's most immediate needs, but the consumer, patient, HCP probably will want more and eventually develop their own paths. Just look at all the self-created GRWM or Day in the Life content made by medical professionals on Tik Tok if you need any proof that audiences will make their own paths, where Brands might not. Social makes it easier to see cultural Desire Lines than ever before.I have spent a good amount of time over the past year flying over deserts. It is pretty straightforward to see Desire Lines in the desert, and from an airplane. I find a lot of joy seeing the lives of people etched on the ground: people making decisions, finding efficient routes, riding bikes in cycles, and exploring the pleasures of living. With all of the challenges of the current cultural-social-political landscape, I think it is even more important than ever to look for what pleases you. As Adrienne Maree Brown wrote in Pleasure Activism, "Pleasure reminds us to enjoy being alive and on purpose".

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It is so important to empower clients behind the scenes and to be proper guides on expectations, challenges and opportunities. And, it is amazing when you get to work with people who thrive in a curated production space. More on the good people at ASRT....#clients Jessie McDonald Brian Wilcox Benjamin Myers Mackenzie Kaufman Ally Feldman and a special shout out to my home away from home: Little Bear Coffee

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Sometimes in this business, you are fortunate to get involved with a cause that is really important to you. Helping elevate the visibility of Medial Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals (Rad Techs, y'all) is just that time for me. Truly, healthcare would not be the same without them! Besides the wonderful ASRT team, I was fortunate to partner with Jessie McDonald and Stephanie Friess (all caps); get some travel time out west with Ally Feldman, Kate Rom (she/her) and Daniel Barry; and on-set time with Mackenzie Kaufman, Benjamin Myers & Brian Wilcox. Next time you cross paths with these technologists, please say thank you.

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Today, Alix and I teach our boys about Thích Nhất Hạnh and Bayard Rustin.

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Do you know what we call weird kids when they grow up?Adults.And the best part of creating art and advertising is being able to tap into your inner weirdness for inspiration.And if you needed a word fact for the day, the original meaning of the word “weird” (wyrd in the late 1400s) was “having the power to control or influence the fate”.

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I believe that internship programs, partnerships with art organizations and connections to colleges/universities are integral to building agencies. My personal introduction to advertising was so peculiar and I am committed to the idea that talented people deserve a nudge forward. I am very appreciative of the people on my team that have invested their time and their hearts in building our internship program. Shout out to our newest graduate, Catera Dosunmu.

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