Coldplay Sneaks Ads In Local Papers To Promote New Album
The band ditched a mega campaign in favor of fan letters and ads in the classified section of newspapers in Devon, North Wales, Sydney and more. Guitarist Jonny Buckland worked at the North Wales Daily Post – the newspaper of choice for this campaign.

The Influencer Economy Hurtles Toward Its First Recession
Brand deals have dried up; sponsored posts have been delayed. The great reckoning is unlikely to topple the influencer industry—by now, it’s already too big—but the business of influence is going to change.

The Four-Letter Code To Selling Just About Anything
As the father of industrial design, Raymond Loewy had an uncanny sense of how to make things fashionable. He believed that consumers are torn between two opposing forces: neophilia, a curiosity about new things; and neophobia, a fear of anything too new.

The Traffic Merchant
Google Chrome extensions promised useful tasks like converting webpages into PDFs. But once installed, they injected ads and generated massive amounts of invalid traffic, the ad industry’s term for fake or manipulated views, users, or clicks. More than 60 of those extensions were owned by Daniel Yomtobian.

What Comes After TV?
A mobile-storytelling platform called Quibi has loomed on the content horizon, promising that, when its app launches this spring, it will be a home to a huge library of short-form shows made specifically for your phone. But Snapchat has been operating in that space for years. It’s harder than you’d think.

The Most Loved And Hated Classic Novels According To Goodreads Users
Reading classic literature is like going for a 6am jog. It has its loyal fans but few enjoy it. Curious to learn about what classics people actually enjoy, Daniel Frank delved into the Goodreads data to find what classics users love and hate the most.

“No Other Way To Say It”, A Comedy About Advertising
Director Tim Mason pulls the curtain back on the glamorous world of advertising in this short comedy about a voiceover actor trying to nail the right tone for a pair of indecisive ad creatives selling a fictitious children’s ice cream brand.

Is Hollywood Doing Enough To Fight The Climate Crisis?
Amid the gathering storms, there is growing criticism that mainstream TV news organizations and storytellers in Hollywood haven’t done enough to raise public awareness of the need for action.

How Journalists Covered The Rise Of Mussolini And Hitler
How to cover the rise of a political leader who’s left a paper trail of anti-constitutionalism, racism and the encouragement of violence? Does the press take the position that its subject acts outside the norms of society?

The Eternal Revenue Stream Of Led Zeppelin
In the rapid-fire age of digital everything, with young listeners eager for discovery, the ground has shifted beneath record companies’ feet and catalog departments are being called upon to be hubs of innovation and fresh creativity.

The World Through The Eyes Of The US
There is always that one country on America’s collective conscious. After looking at 741,681 section front headlines of The New York Times, Russell Goldenberg found out which countries around the world have preoccupied Americans the most each month since 1900.

How ‘1917’ Was Filmed To Look Like One Shot
“1917” stars George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch and was filmed to look like one continuous shot. Cinematographer Roger Deakins explains how he and director Sam Mendes did it, from digging up a mile of trenches to attaching cameras to cranes and drones.

Inside The Booming Business Of Background Music
The background music industry – also known as music design, music consultancy or something offered as part of a broader package of “experiential design” or “sensory marketing” – is constantly deciding what we hear as we go about our everyday business. The biggest player in the industry, Mood Media, supplies music to 560,000 locations across the world, from Sainsbury’s to KFC.

Quibi CEO Meg Whitman Plays The Long Game On Short Video
Quibi is an audacious new streaming service for high-quality video meant to be viewed on your phone. The business raised giant pools of money because “Hollywood quality is expensive, baby.” Meg Whitman’s last act is her biggest bet yet.

Counterspy: The Russian Plot To Take Over Hollywood
They wanted a spy at the center of the industry. He had bigger ambitions. The wild true story of wheeling and dealing double agent Boris Morros and the woman who became his nemesis.

Hollywood Is Quietly Using AI To Help Decide Which Movies To Make
AI will tell you who to cast and predict how much money you’ll make. Despite skepticism about specific applications, the tide might be turning. A single factor has convinced Hollywood to stop dismissing big data: Netflix.

Carlsberg Beer, Niels Bohr, And The Infinite Pilsner Pipeline That Wasn’t
Carlsberg gifted Niels Bohr, the famous Danish physicist, a home complete with a pipeline that pumped fresh beer directly into his residence. It’s a great story and one that has been reported on by publications such as Forbes and The Guardian. The only problem with the story is that it isn’t entirely true.

Michael Jordan The Story Versus Michael Jordan The Man
Jordan was the closest embodiment of the ideal athlete that we’ve ever witnessed. After his retirement, however, the intimate identification he inspired during his career soured into something weirder and sadder.

Deepfake Video: The Weaponization Of Fake News
The technology to manipulate video has become so sophisticated that words can literally be put into people’s mouths. Mark Kelley explores how it’s done and why the implications have led the U.S. Defence Department to work to protect itself against the “weaponization” of fake news.

How To Find New Music You’ll Actually Like
Some people can dig up great music like magic, or have friends inside the industry who keep them updated. Others are perfectly content with their weekly Spotify Discover playlist. But if you need more ways to find music, here are some ideas.

IKEA Let Customers Pay With Their Time Instead Of Currency
For the opening of the Swedish retailer’s new outpost in Jebel Ali, a large commercial port located on the harbor of Dubai, the brand wanted to encourage shoppers to journey to the new store by allowing them to use the time it took for them to get there as currency.