So many people ask me, “Wow, do you guys even work at Hurae? You’re always doing fun stuff, right?” First of all: yes, we’re always doing fun stuff. I’ve been working in the creative industry for 15 years now, and if you want to come up with ideas, you need a lot of oxygen in your brain.
Second of all: of course we also have to do the not-so-fun stuff. The trash doesn’t take itself out, the timesheets are constantly tapping on everyone’s shoulder, and yes—those receipts really do need to be tracked properly.
I bring up creativity because it’s something you constantly need to protect. It’s so easy to get caught up in the technical side of ad campaigns and forget the very foundation of it all: a strong concept. Something that’s different. Everyone wants to stand out, yet somehow they all end up doing the same thing.
So, let yourself be inspired this week by Nokia’s trash graffiti. He creates pieces so ugly, they become brilliant. In the middle of all the typical graffiti styles, here’s someone who just goes, this is me. And I’m not like the rest of you.
Or take skater Gou Miyagi. He’s built an entirely unique style, the purists can’t stand him, and yet—I haven’t seen that kind of freedom in years.
And lastly, look at these Thai ad campaigns. The competition among content creators in Thailand is so intense that brands are forced to really step up—and they do!
Must reads 👀
A lot of clients come to Hurae because they want to stand out: “something different”. On Tiktok, Telegram, Snapchat, or just in the streets.
It's hard to explain how we at Hurae set out to fulfill that desire but a big part of it is absorbing a lot of knowledge. About artists, about life, about technology. About everything. So we read up a lot on trends and we are always happy to share that knowledge with you. By giving some examples you can understand how our brain works:
How to curate your personal canon (I really love this, reminds me of Alleen Elvis en zomergasten too 🥇)
A personal canon is the books, essays, films, and even conversations that have shaped how you think and see the world. It’s not necessarily a list of favorites or even the best works you’ve consumed. Sometimes it might include works that you struggled with or maybe even disliked, but what’s important is that they stayed with you in a meaningful way. Your personal canon reflects your intellectual and creative foundation, the influences that have formed your worldview, guided your thinking, or left a permanent mark on you. So why create one? I consider a personal canon a tool for intentionality. When so much of what we consume is determined by algorithms, trends, or what everyone else is talking about, it’s a way to reclaim control over your intellectual life.
Young people can’t buy homes, but they can generate intellectual property. Now that internet culture is mainstream culture, virtually anyone can create a trend, but vanishingly few make a career from or even briefly monetize it.
Communication in these digital times:
As much as texting and social media can amplify disputes among teens, they can also transform these disputes into something quieter, more confusing, and sometimes harder to deal with. “Tech creates these subtle fault lines in communication” 👀How to Win Followers and Scamfluence People 🥲
Format Boy makes a living teaching Yahoo Boys, notorious West African scammers, how to use AI and deepfake technology to ensnare their next victims. Did you know 50% of us is scared to admit they have been scammed?
Why some young people are ‘quitting’ music (sounds weird but kinda makes sense too, I go running without music for example) 🎶
From no-buy years to dumb phones and social media detoxes, people are rethinking their consumption. Now, some are questioning their relationship with music – is tuning out the next step in a wider movement of self-reclamation? There is a growing desire among Gen Z to reclaim their autonomy from their phones and remove themselves from what Shaz describes as a passive state of being. For Shaz, it wasn’t the music itself that became the problem; it was how she’d come to rely on it. “Growing up, I used music as a coping mechanism, as I’m sure a lot of us did, and it was a way to distract myself from my real feelings,” she explains. “Quitting music feels like a fog has been lifted from my brain. I feel like I have more clarity to think. I’ve become so much more reflective simply because I’m no longer in this daydream state of being.”
The Hottest Thing in Fashion Advertising? Books. 📚
The ubiquity of tech has made old-fashioned reading a way to signal luxury. It’s about demonstrating intelligence, demonstrating discernment and demonstrating the value of time, because to have your own time is one of the greatest luxuries in the world
Why Are There So Many ‘Alternative Devices’ All of a Sudden? 📵
The dream of a phone without problems. As evidence mounts of our collective phone addiction — and the toxic effects of social media — there's a growing appetite for the Gospel of Appstinence. Searches for dumb phones have been surging. From Amsterdam to Brooklyn, there's a growing trend of nightclubs requesting that revelers leave their phones at home — or at least keep them off the dance floor. We recently had a vivid discussion (via the Kidsunplugged movement and the workshop for young content creators we do at Molecule) at the parent committee of my son’s school and in the end the consensus was that a world where kids only start with phones at 15 might be possible one day. I’m optimistic, especially since the kids themselves make these choices already.
the Creative Power of Walking 😌
When I’m not talking, just walking (which is most of the time), I try to cultivate the most bored state of mind imaginable. A total void of stimulation beyond the immediate environment. My rules: No news, no social media, no podcasts, no music. No “teleporting,” you could say. The phone, the great teleportation device, the great murderer of boredom. And yet, boredom: the great engine of creativity. I now believe with all my heart that it’s only in the crushing silences of boredom—without all that black-mirror dopamine — that you can access your deepest creative wells.
Hurae - Experiental Marketing 🧗🏼♂️
Most agencies think out of the box. We think out of the blue. Or out of this world. We think of anything that gets people talking about your brand. Offline & online. The best content is not necessarily created for social media, but content that gets talked about on social media. Eyes Eyes Baby!
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Last week we spent three days with the team in Lille. Some quality time visiting Villa Cavrois, Karafun, food at Bierbuik. Really enjoyed bonding with the Hurae crew. We made a personalized hoodie for everyone. Based on film titles.
