Hey,

We’re about to start a new series on Attention Matters called STAY HUMAN. It’s all about making B2B marketing more human. We love making reading lists at Storythings so here is a hand-picked selection of things we’ve read/watched/listened to as part of our research. If you’re interested in how to make your brand more human sign up to Attention Matters and never miss an episode. If you’d like to chat with us about strategy, research or production hit that button below.

OK. Enjoy this week’s stories.

Hugh

'The Traitors', Agatha Christie, and The Kierkegaard Edit (7-minute read)

Steven Soderberg’s Seen and Read - 2024 (list)

How the Algorithm is Making Fashion Bland (4-minute read)

Disguised Repetition and Making the Familiar Stranger (5-minute watch)

The Flywheel of Brand (1-minute read)

You Might Just Have To Be Bored (5-minute read)

The Best Logos of the 2020s So Far (5-minute read)

What Are the Most Commonly Used Movie Clichés? A Statistical Analysis (3-minute read)

Jon Ronson on Going From Bad to Good in a Couple of Steps (6-minute read)

Behind the scenes of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (14-minute watch)

Don’t become a B2B zombie. STAY HUMAN.

Storythings is the content marketing agency that helps you STAY HUMAN in a sea of marketing slop. If you think you’re at risk of becoming a B2B zombie, we’ve got the antidote. Click the button below for your first dose.

'The Traitors', Agatha Christie, and The Kierkegaard Edit (7-minute read)
I loved this from Joel Morris, one of the comedy writers behind Philomena Cunk and author of the superb Be Funny or Die. If you’re interested in the difference between how we consume stories and how stories are made you will love the dynamite fact about how The Traitors creates really satisfying endings in ways other shows don’t. You don’t have to be a fan of the show but if you are you’ll see it in a totally different light from now on.

Steven Soderberg’s Seen and Read - 2024 (list)
For the umpteenth year, I’m sharing the media diet of Steven Soderberg because it’s always so useful! Soderberg, who directed films such as Sex, Lies and Videotape, Erin Brockovich and his Oscar-winning Traffic has a broad and eclectic taste. Find out what films, books, TV shows and plays he watched last year so that you’re never short of a bit of inspiration.

How the Algorithm is Making Fashion Bland (4-minute read)
For a long time, fashion was shaped by gatekeepers but in the age of TikTok, the people and the algorithm have more power than ever. As regular readers will know, the problem with the algorithm is that it flattens culture making it harder to be interesting or stand out. Shaun Singh, founder of trend company DTS thinks that fashion needs to find new spaces for its customers: “‘For brands, the answer isn’t just to feed the algorithm,’ which Singh says is a race to the bottom. 'Instead, fashion must consider where it can create its own spaces — platforms or communities where designers and creators set the rules,' he says. ‘If algorithm-driven platforms are here to stay, the question isn’t how to play their game but how to redefine it. Could fashion shift its focus from playing within these platforms to building ecosystems that exist outside of them?’”

Disguised Repetition and Making the Familiar Stranger (5-minute watch)
I’m a big fan of the Uncensored CMO podcast and there’s a great bit in this video worth watching. The conversation is around the importance of not mistaking consistency for lack of creativity and how a big part of creativity is about making the familiar feel strange or the strange feel familiar. Watch the clip or better still enjoy the entire conversation in which Sarah Carter and Les Binet, authors of How Not To Plan, discuss what marketers need to know in 2025.

The Flywheel of Brand (1-minute read)
An interesting short read on advertising's waning influence on shaping the brand and the importance product now plays in the brand flywheel. It’s obviously a much more nuanced conversation than what is covered in this short post and graphic but a conversation worth having.

You Might Just Have To Be Bored (or How to Fix An Attention Span) (5-minute read)
Some good advice on how to manage your phone addiction and the value being bored brings: “Boredom is when you do the dishes, run the errand you’ve been putting off, respond to the text you’ve left on read. Boredom is when you bring a book to read on the subway or make small talk with the person in front of you in line about how slow the pharmacy is. Boredom is when you do the things that make you feel like you have life under control.”

The Best Logos of the 2020s So Far (5-minute read)
There are some excellent logos in this list that belong there and others that don’t. But hey, that’s what listicles are for, right?

What Are the Most Commonly Used Movie Clichés? A Statistical Analysis (3-minute read)
Stats Significant is an excellent newsletter that does all kinds of fun statistical analyses of movies. Recently they looked at cliches that are becoming more or less common. Find out whether phrases like “Follow that car” or “How hard can it be?” are on the up or down.

Jon Ronson on Going From Bad to Good in a Couple of Steps (6-minute read)
Jon Ronson’s Substack is one of my favorite weekly reads. It’s normally a paid newsletter but over Christmas, he made this one free to all. Jon is given a long-lost recording of a radio show he made and re-listens making notes. One thing he notices is how bad the first 19 minutes are.

Behind the scenes of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (14-minute watch)
A behind-the-scenes look at how the animators at Aardman created the latest Wallace & Gromit adventure. As we head into a new year in which AI is going to feature more in filmmaking there’s something really lovely observing the craft that goes into each element of the process.

And that’s it for this week. Sharing with your friends and colleagues is always appreciated. And if you have ideas of how we can improve it, we’d always love to hear from you!

Have a great weekend!

Hugh, Matt, Anjali and the rest of Team Storythings