Sorry I'm closed 🏖

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list

John Cleese once gave a brilliant talk about creativity, explaining how our minds operate in two modes: closed mode, where we’re focused, practical, getting things done and open mode, where we’re playful, curious, and relaxed enough to let new ideas emerge. The magic, he says, happens in open mode.

I’m heading into a 3-week holiday firmly in open mode. No mails, no notifications, no newsletter. Just playing with the kids, reading books, driving mountain roads and letting my brain stretch out a little. Creativity needs space, and so do we. Talk soon!

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:

• The “multiverse fatigue” (Good read!)

  I’m not ignoring your message – I’m overwhelmed by the tyranny of being reachable. A friend messaged me the other day. I saw it. I didn’t reply. A week later, I finally responded with the classic: Sorry for the late reply, just got to this.

• An American mega-influencer flew to Lithuania. Then the chaos began.

  The streamer IShowSpeed drank pink soup in the Baltics and marveled at cars in China. Are his tours propaganda, or just good advertising? (Celine Dept was in his video’s too when he came to Belgium) The trip went so viral that the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper hailed it as a ‘digital-age Marco Polo journey.’

• How a Video Studio Embraced A.I. and Stormed the Internet 🥇

  The Dor Brothers are indie filmmakers whose viral videos are generated entirely by artificial intelligence. A.I. artists like Mr. Dor argue that the tools are actually a purer form of expression, offering the most direct link between the artist’s brain and the end result, without the compromises required in large productions or the constraints that come with complex shoots.

  “The only thing that will matter is creative ideas, unique ideas, unique creators,” Mr. Dor said about the future of A.I. video. “The rest will be irrelevant.”

• The Instagram Flex of Summer 2025? The Perfectly Timed Status Post

  ‘proximity posting’, when the location becomes the flex because the actual event can't be shown. There’s value in subtlety. “We see this every year with the Met Gala,” Janelle says. “Anyone who’s close to the Mark Hotel is going to post something from there, even if they’re watching the live feed at their apartment in their pajamas. The fact that you’re posting from this location where so much activity is happening means that you’re going to get more eyeballs on it because of the halo effect.”

• Let Your Kids Watch TV (Really, It’s Fine)
  A refreshingly honest take on screen time: TV isn’t ruining your kids, guilt might be. Kathryn VanArendonk argues that shows, even the mindless ones, help kids learn narrative, structure, and joy. Ditch the panic and let them watch Pokémon (just maybe not YouTube alone). A must-read for every modern parent navigating the screen-time shame spiral.

• Who Is Watching All These Podcasts? 👀

  “I think podcasts could become kind of the new basic cable television. Think: shows that are cheaper to produce than so-called premium streaming content, consumed by audiences used to half-watching television while scrolling their smartphones, in a wide variety of genres. (Perfect for advertisers)

• Meet the Normans: The Defining Person-Type of 2025

  Mullets, mustaches, and Matty Matheson. Anthropomorphic pizza mascots. The Normans are the Loyle Carner-loving style tribe with a big sandwich fetish—and they’re coming to a town near you.

• Influencer trips got a vibe check 😅
  Forget Insta-perfect influencers, brands are now flying out Substackers, stylists, chefs, and filmmakers. Why? People trust tastemakers with actual jobs more than selfie pros. ROI is shifting from follower count to cultural cachet. Less sponcon, more storytelling. It’s not just about reach anymore, it’s about who sets the vibe.

• The Age-Checked Internet Is Here
  The UK just launched strict age-verification laws for adult content—face scans, ID uploads, and more. It’s part of a growing global trend, but critics warn these laws threaten privacy, chill free speech, and give a false sense of safety.

• Reddit Is Booming — But It Might Be Training Its Replacement
  Reddit’s blowing up, with over 100M daily users, thanks in part to Google pushing people there for actual human answers. In a web overrun by AI junk, Reddit feels real. But here’s the twist: AI companies are using Reddit to train the very bots that might make it obsolete. For now, it’s the last cozy corner of the internet. How long that lasts is the big question.

• Can You Orgasm Your Way To Your Dream Life? Meet “the O Method,” a masturbation-cum-manifestation technique that centers on visualizing your goals the moment you climax. 👀

• Being protective about your IP, the key to long-term succes

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!

By the way: join Hurae for an inspiration trip to South Korea in October

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Enjoyed the Belgian Formula 1 race at Spa with my son next week