We created this platform to house our real and honest opinions on what is happening in this world, be it in the industry, or, at a larger scale, the community we live in. As many of us are still reeling from the shock of Russia declaring war on Ukraine, Martin Albrecht, CEO Crossmedia Worldwide, shares his thoughts on a world forever changed by the recent events.
Over the last week, we had to reacquaint ourselves with war in Europe. Right here, in the bloodiest of continents, yet another unhinged imperialist unleashes atrocities against civilians of a country insisting on their right for self-determination. We are in shock, worried that 77 years of relative peace for most of us come to a violent end. For us – humble nationals and proud Europeans – growing up “post-war” and having children after the Berlin wall came down, this is the unthinkable: another bloodshedding full scale attack over national borders in Europe.
We have to reacquaint ourselves with the senselessness.
Mark Ritson – who is so consistently good at finding the right words that he is now the official World Champion of Drowning out the Marketing Bullshit – last week said that “at times of war, all marketing is rendered superficial and ridiculous”. True, but so does almost any other human activity. This is precisely the horror of war: everything else loses meaning.
But we might be guilty of having been obsessed with finding meaning – to the point of decadence: Our desperate search for a purpose for our brands, our careers our lives looks a little silly right now. Look at your social feeds from two weeks ago and what got you and your peers excited: still feeling the rage now? Don’t you wish that all that energy was directed to bigger problems? In a twist of that old joke “we were too poor to have allergies” – you might say that ‘culture war’ is a luxury the Ukrainians do not have right now and will not be craving for a while.
We have to reacquaint ourselves with the powerlessness.
Our children grow up being told that they can do and be anything. We are used to fame, fortune and omnipotence created out of little more than thin air. We applaud Zelensky, whose most important weapon is his phone, but most of us are still ordinary citizens, whose passionate urge to ‘do something’ is reduced to watching our screens in horror all day. Most of us are not Elon Musk, who simply prioritized the launch of his Starlink service in the Ukraine on day two of Putin’s attack. It is ok to not be Elon Musk. Actually, we are witnessing that the world is dangerously accepting of omnipotence: one thing we know is that the power of many is the only way to stop the madness – stay tuned for inspiring ideas, but whatever you do, stop calling it ‘symbolic’ and just get on with it.
We have to reacquaint ourselves with sacrifice.
Ukrainians will sacrifice in ways that only their grandparents and great grandparents had known and thought abolished. The rest of Europe, their allies and in fact the whole world will sacrifice with them. Ukrainians are forced into sacrifice, but the rest of the world has big decisions to make. Decisions that take the utmost of courage: FREEDOM DOES NOT COME FOR FREE.
If you thought that addressable TV or the cookie-less world was disruptive, think again: on Feb 24th, the world has changed, and the rules are new. The remarkable scale and speed of the U-turn of Germany’s foreign policy is reassuring: never has post-war Germany delivered weapons to a country at war before, never before committed to a such a vast increase in defence budget. But the comments of Germany’s new vice-chancellor Habeck are wise: “it is the correct decision to make, but whether it is a good decision – no one knows”.
So let us reacquaint with war. Take a deep breath. And then let’s reinvent meaning, power and courage to overcome.
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