Edition 2: The Spark December edition 🎁

Welcome to The Spark, home to everything Team Mission Drive has found fascinating this month.

Happy December and holiday season!

This month we have some excellent musings for you. From the world’s most eye-wateringly expensive adverts, to finding your life purpose through the Japanese concept of Ikigai – to forest bathing, syncopation, and the science of creativity. You can’t say we don’t spoil you!

If you missed our first edition of the Spark, you’re in for a treat. This is no regular newsletter or marketing round up (you can check out and subscribe to our weekly digest Little Missions for that lovely stuff). It’s a little more personal – and a spot more leftfield. But we think you might like it. 

So pop the kettle on, put your feet up, and get stuck in.

This month’s Big World Stuff

The 5 most expensive adverts ever 

One of the blessings and burdens of digital marketing is being able to show what returns our clients get from ad spend. But what happens when money is no object? This list of the most expensive ads starts at a mere £11.1 million, and ends up at stratospheric budgets more suited to a major blockbuster. The multi-million dollar question is – is it worth it? I can’t answer that. But whatever the ROI, I can’t help but admire the sheer bravado.

Aviva – £11.1m

What do you do when you want to brighten up your image, changing your name from fusty Norwich Union to the forward-thrusting Aviva? You look for all the spare change you can find down the back of the sofa and hope you can afford Elle Macpherson, Bruce Willis, Ringo Star, and Alice Cooper to explain why changing names is good. And hope your sofa crack is deep because you’ll need about £11.1 million.

Ford – £16.2m

It evidently takes boldness and big budgets to steer your car advert away from the worn tropes of coastal roads and glossy bodywork. In Ford’s case treading the path less followed meant shining a light on future innovation and spending about £16.2 million. They still had the gloss, but my biggest concern is how they managed to get the guy stuck on the ski lift down.

Amazon Alexa – £16.5m

Involving a celebrity actor makes for pricey ads. But when you’ve got Amazon’s deep pockets, why let that get in your way? Screw one celeb! We want two. And that’s what Amazon served up for their 2022 Alexa Super Bowl ad. Recruiting real life couple Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost, reportedly pushed the budget up to £16.5m. Was it worth it? Ask Alexa….

Guinness – £18.9m

After breaking the mould with Surfer (one of the most awarded adverts of all time), Guinness broke the bank with Tipping Point (2007), a riotous set of reactions featuring cars, dominoes and burning bales of hay. Want to hire an entire high altitude Arginitinian village and hundreds of extras for your advert? Make sure you’ve got £18.9m.

Chanel – £43m

What do you get when you combine Nicole Kidman at the height of her fame with maximalist film director, Baz Luhrman? A two minute ad that’s more like a film in both production and budget. 2004’s Le Film cost a mind blowing £21.5 million. Per minute. Oh to be a fly on the wall of the pitch meeting. ‘So, £2.5m for Nicole, lighting, makeup, doughnuts … equals £43 million. Cash or card?’

Find your ikigai

Ikigai is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. ‘Iki’ means ‘life’ and ‘gai’ describes value or worth. Find and follow your ikigai by asking yourself these four questions:

1. What do I love?
2. What am I good at?
3. What does the world need from me?
4. What can I get paid for?

It’s hard to find a balance between living a life with meaning and enjoying a lifestyle that you can afford with the money that you earn. Often it’s tricky to find something that you’re good at that you love, and can make money from. Finding that balance is what it means to discover your ikigai.

There are ten rules of ikigai and each one resonated with me. One of my favourites is ‘Take it slow. Walk slowly and you’ll go far. When we leave urgency behind, life and time take on new meaning.’  As someone who’s always wanted to live life on their own timeline, it really validates how I feel. 

Isn’t it funny, when we’re younger we can’t wait to grow up. But once we’re older, we wish we’d taken our time and just lived life at our own pace. This pairs well with ‘Live in the moment. Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it.’ 

I don’t want to regret missing out on anything in my twenties. Often, we dwell so much about the past or worry about what’s to come in the future, that we forget to live in the present. I’m trying to take things slowly and enjoy the now. I’m yet to find my ikigai but I’m on my way. As famed Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl says, ‘If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet, it is your mission to discover it.’ 

Read Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life if you want a guide on how to find your purpose or reason for living.

The compelling nature of curious time rhythms in music.

I adore a ‘crunchy’ time signature. Something a bit jarring that shouldn’t work, but does. Recently I listened to an entire set on irregular rhythms on Tom Robinson’s 6 music show, and it was completely absorbing. I can’t find any formal study as to why odd rhythms would be so pleasing, there’s far more out there on regular beats. So what’s the deal? 

Two of my theories happened to get unpicked in this BBC Crowdscience podcast on Ear Worms (a great listen by the way). Theory one asks, is liking a regular rhythm hardwired in us, as it mimics a heart beat or a walking pace? And theory two busts that by musing that the kind of rhythms that do it for us, could actually just be cultural. In the west we’re used to hearing even 4/4 time signatures. But these aren’t the norm globally.

According to the experts on the podcast, the main thing that makes a song appealing is actually not necessarily rhythm (crunchy or regular), but things like repetition and memorable musical hooks. So even if you have an arrhythmic song stuffed with wonderful weirdness to give your brain a workout – if there’s a great melodic hook, then of course you’re going to love it. How else can we account for the popularity and ‘hum-ability’ of songs like Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing, or The Stranglers’ Golden Brown (which uses 6/8 and 7/8, with the opening in 13/4 time). MGMT’s Electric Feel is also a beautiful arrhythmic jumble. And Toto's Africa, although using common time, makes very good use of some mad polyrhythms and syncopation. 

So perhaps what’s happening is, I just like a good tune? With some extra crunch on the side. Either way, musicians won't stop exploring bonkers time signatures, purely for the art. And isn’t that a great thing. In a sea of regulars, why not stand out?

The science of creativity

What does creativity mean to you? I’ve gone through most of life thinking it’s a binary outcome – either you are/aren’t creative, and I was the 0 (aren’t) outcome of this measure. This mindset changed on a contemplative commute to Brighton earlier in the year. I was tuning in to my favourite podcast, Diary of a CEO by Stephen Bartlett, and I cherry-picked an episode with a guest I admired – Richard Osman. A man who has gone from national treasure to international star in just a few critically acclaimed books. 

As always, Stephan asked probing questions, and one that stuck out was when he tried to unpick Richard’s creative process. Richard being the eloquent gent he is, tried to put into words how he formed such brilliant characters and narratives for his books. The gist was that his mind searched for connections between his thoughts until a new thought emerged. Almost like the collision of atoms that leads to an explosion of energy. In an instant, this changed my understanding of what it means to be creative. It isn’t something that you either have or haven’t got, it was a thought process that could be developed over time. A ladder that you could climb with hard work, a muscle that could be trained just like any other in your body. 

Find yourself on the lower rung of that ladder? This HubSpot article gives great tips on how you can hone your creativity so that you can start benefiting from a creative mindset today. Let’s be honest – being creative has not done Mr Osman any harm. The rights to his series of books have been bought by world-renowned film director, Stephen Spielberg.

The Japanese art of forest bathing

My grandmother always told me, her friends and family to, ‘always keep walking’. She was so right, and that might have something to do with her living to the wonderful age of 100! 

‘Forest bathing is not just for the wilderness-lover; the practice can be as simple as walking in any natural environment and consciously connecting with what’s around you’ - Sunny Fitzgerald

I’ve always loved walking, especially in nature. Not only because it reminds me of my grandmother, but also because of how it makes me feel. I’m lucky enough to live in the South Downs National Park, in Sussex – meaning I’m close to an abundance of rolling hills and plenty of magical woods to explore, and get lost in on my walks. But there’s something especially wonderful about the feeling of exploring the woods. It’s almost like entering a secret land where the trees rule the roost. I learnt recently about forest bathing – a Japanese Art, and this National Geographic article The secret to mindful travel? A walk in the woods, explains it beautifully.

The best part is you don’t have to live in New York, Costa Rica, New Zealand or Kenya to experience this – find a wood close to you and give it a try. You won’t regret it! 

This month's Big Recommendations 

Music to muse on

Vince Guaraldi

I got lost in one of those digital thread-pulls recently. You know the kind. You hear about one thing, and it sends you on a knowledge quest via ALL the platforms, until you arrive at your destination as an armchair expert in *insert random thing here*. My latest pod to Spotify to Wiki adventure has involved unpicking the incredible works of the late, great, jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (round of applause for the moustache, please). Pretty underrated, Vince is likely the man behind some of the TV tunes of your childhood, as he composed and played all the music for the famous Peanuts TV cartoons. Tell me you haven’t heard Joe Cool. And in keeping with the festive season, his arrangement of Christmas Time is Here is bittersweet brilliance. And lastly, an Easter egg for 6 Music listeners – have a listen to Guaraldi’s Linus and Lucy and see if you can place who uses it as a regular musical sting in their show…

Spotify Wrapped

Since making the switch from Apple Music to Spotify a couple of years ago, I have always looked forward to my Spotify Wrapped every year. It’s a campaign that allows users to view data of their listening activity over the past year, including your most listened to song, different genres you’ve listened to, top five artists, and how many minutes you spent listening to music on Spotify! It even creates a playlist for you. 

This year I spent 109,902 minutes listening to music. Which is more than 99% of other listeners in the UK! My top artist was Filipino singer/songwriter Zack Tabudlo and Spotify put me in the top 0.005% of his listeners this year, which honestly was expected since I had him on repeat most days… I’m curious to know, what’s in your Spotify Wrapped this year? 

Here’s my Spotify Wrapped playlist. Now it's your turn!

Pick of the podcasts

Zoe Science & Nutrition

I recently discovered a new podcast series:  Zoe Science & Nutrition – where the world’s top scientists explain the latest health, nutrition, and gut health research in an accessible way to help you improve your health. 

The first podcast I listened to was The truth about vitamin supplements Let’s talk about vitamins shall we? and it was especially illuminating. It’s true that the media pushes a pro-vitamin agenda, without having the scientific evidence (or data!) to support their claims. This episode digs into the details of the topic and experts, Prof. JoAnn Manson and Dr Sarah Berry help us better understand how vitamin supplements affect our health.

Have a listen if you're curious, or if you have a cupboard full of them and aren’t sure which to keep. Now, about that (recommended) low dose of Vitamin D while I hibernate for the winter…

TV to talk about

Escape to the Chateau, Channel 4

This show has been around for over seven years now but still offers a relaxed and calm hour of TV each week. It follows Dick and Angel Strawbridge as they buy and renovate their 19th-century Château in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, France. Nine series in, and I’m still in awe of just how creative and inventive they are!

His Dark Materials (series 3), BBC One

Starting on 18th December is the third instalment of the adaptation of Philip Pullman’s written trilogy by the same name. For a fan of the books, this is an absolute treat as it both stunningly visualises what I’ve read – but also shows some creative licence. Entering its last series, book three contained war, love, afterlife and mini assassins… so all the good stuff!

Books to borrow 

The Lord of the Rings

This book series is a classic. It is one of those that regularly appears in top 100 shortlists, and the rights to the franchise were bought a few years back for an eye-watering £250 million. I’ve not met many people who haven’t seen at least some of the films, however, only a small percentage have also read the books. And if that’s you, you’re missing out on some hidden gems. There’s a whole world to explore, and even characters in the book who never made the films. Sacrilege! To add, if you’re thinking of watching (or have watched) The Rings of Power – the long-awaited prequel to LotR, the books help to crystallise the events and allow you to get a much greater understanding of the characters. 

Advanced warning: the trilogy contains half a million words. That’s about four times the length of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club. Plan your time accordingly!

Cosy up with crime at Christmas

There’s something about curling up with a gentle (or even a not so gentle) ‘whodunnit’ during the festive season. I’m sure there’s some interesting psychology at play there! Here are five crime novels that are perfect for whiling away your winter break.

1. The Christmas Egg: A Seasonal Mystery – Mary Kelly
December. Chief Inspector Brett Nightingale and Sergeant Beddoes have been called to a gloomy London flat. An elderly woman is dead on the bed, and her trunk has been looted. The woman is Princess Olga Karukhin – and her trunk is missing its treasure… 

Christmas, Manhattan. Married couple Nick and Nora solve a murder whilst mixing drinks and trading witticisms. But whodunnit?

The only Christie book set at Christmas time. Join Poirot as he solves a bloody murder on Christmas Eve in a country house.

Friends and family are gathered round the fire at Warbeck Hall, set for a perfect snowy Christmas. But as the bells chime midnight, a mysterious murder takes place. 

There’s a body hidden inside a snowman, a foreboding Victorian estate, sinister guests, an unexpected death, and a mystery to solve. And, of course, it’s Christmas!

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Take care and we’ll see you next time,

The Mission Drive Team