APG Sideways
About our guest: Manasi Damle
Manasi Damle is a Senior Strategist with 8+ years of experience in advertising across industries such as CPG, tech, personal care, banking & finance, and travel. Prior to moving to Toronto, she has worked extensively in India in agencies such as FCB, VMLY&R, and DDB.
Her background in design has shaped her holistic approach to solving brand problems. She is curious about creativity in all its forms, and particularly inquisitive about people and culture and the varied stories it brings with itself.
When not working she loves to travel, read, and watch movies. On the weekend, you can find her exploring Toronto and the various cuisines it has to offer.
Previous Posts
Brilliant Weird Best
Planners are curious folks so we asked Manasi to tell us the most brilliant, weirdest and best thing she’s come across recently.
Brilliant: Non Museum on Instagram
AI has entered our lives and everyday we are increasingly discovering its capabilities. I came across this account on Instagram where it explores art in all its forms & possibilities through AI.
I especially love their posts where they explore how various great artists in history would have portrayed iconic art works. It demonstrates how art is timeless and what’s important is the idea and the story communicated through art, no matter what style it's portrayed in.
Weird: “Michael CeraVe” I CeraVe Super Bowl Ad
The Super Bowl is the ultimate season for us advertisers and every year, we get to see something funny, something amazing, and something weird.
This year’s ad by CeraVe starring Michael Cera is honestly one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen. I found it funny and entertaining, with a high recall. This trend of cringe, bizarre, escapist content is on the rise and the audience can't seem to get enough!
Best: Always | Like A Girl Campaign
I watched this ad 10 years ago when I was just starting out in advertising and it has stuck with me ever since.
It’s a masterpiece which I must’ve watched hundreds of times, and every time it has moved me and continued to inspire me. I dream of being able to do such work one day.
Top Guilty Pleasures
Not all of our consumption habits can be academic. In fact, sometimes the most random things can spur our thinking. So we asked Manasi to give us the sources to her creativity.
Books: Children’s books
I love fiction and yes I read books written for adults, but when I’m feeling particularly uninspired, I read a children’s book.
I still have my favourites from my childhood such as ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and books by Roald Dahl such as ‘Matilda’, ‘Charlie & The Chocolate Factory’, and many more. I have discovered some recently as well books such as ‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’ by Charlie Mackesy.
In my opinion, children’s books are for adults as well. They are innocent, timeless, tell a purely entertaining story with emotion and have an ability to connect brilliantly with the reader.
Social Media:The comments section
I am guilty of spending a large amount of time reading the comments section on social media.
I love reading people being nice, nasty, sweet, offended, and even supportive to complete strangers. There are people who come together to defend their beloved celebrity, express their bold or controversial opinions, and share their intimate stories - all on a public platform! It’s a place where someone might put on a completely different avatar from how they are in real life and that fascinates me.
It’s super entertaining and I believe it points towards a trend or a cultural change that the society at large might be headed towards.
TV shows: Fleabag, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office, Modern Family.
I love watching crime shows but when it comes to mindless bingeing, I resort to my comfort shows. I find these shows to be the best written, funniest, most moving, and relatable.
Other shows that I have recently watched and loved are Only Murders In the Building and Derry Girls.
This month on Slack
In case you haven’t been following us on Slack lately, here are some of our most recent and popular links.
Midnight for the mainstream: The dawn of the delta
Contributor: Ben Percifield
Gen Z, with 91% considering mainstream pop culture outdated, sees the current cultural landscape as a river delta, diverging into countless streams of different feeds, interest graphs, and niches, requiring marketers to embrace plurality or claim increasingly specific brand identities.
Thinking about the social impact of ‘common-sense’ ideology
Contributor:Sid Khanna
In 2024, a historic global surge in voting is expected, with elections in at least 64 countries and the EU. Amidst this, a conservative momentum is noted in major economies, attributed to a "common sense" philosophy that emphasizes economic pragmatism and cultural identity, posing both potential for division and an appeal for simplicity in governance.
In 2024 Let’s Be More Interested
Contributor: Spencer MacEachern
At a time when smartphone use is pushing 4.5+ hours a day it’s probably not a coincidence we’re spending more energy on activities easy to do on a screen like collecting and curating. However, in the process it feels like we’re turning genuinely interesting ideas and culture into signifiers of being interesting.