Vol. 19
Here it is: your first Cut Culture of 2023. We’re kicking things off with some innovation inspiration and an oat milk black market movie. We’ll also go behind the scenes of one of our favourite campaigns of 2022 for Casio G-Shock, and then we’ll close things out with an intro to one of the people who made that campaign possible. Start as you mean to go on…
Cut Culture
Oatrageous.
Got milk? Well, if you’re in school and don’t fancy any of that old cow juice, then no you haven’t. Oatly are currently campaigning for plant-based milk to be included in the school milk scheme, but rather than just starting a petition or writing a strongly worded email, they’re doing so courtesy of 2-minute tale of an underground oat milk market in a middle school, channelling inspiration from classic blaxploitation neo-noir American cinema. The video is set to the tune of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Pusherman’ from the famous ‘Super Fly’ soundtrack and was graded with an added grain to create that old-school film-like feel to the aesthetic. And while the concept is obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek, it’s the rather absurd nature of the story that draws attention to what Oatly are claiming is the absurdity of the existing system that doesn’t include plant-based milk in the scheme. And given the ubiquity of oat milk and the fact that you now often have to specify ‘cow milk’ when you go to Starbucks and may then be greeted by a look from a barrista that might as well be calling you a murderer, Oatly might have a point. Plus anyone who used to sell sweets at school knows that teachers will crack down on the confectionary black market with the full weight of the law, so maybe the concept isn’t even that absurd after all…
Tech Tonic.
It’s easy for the vast majority of us to fall into churning out the same old, trite, tired platitudes when talking about technology. Either we go full Luddite and lament over the decline of civilisation at the hands of TikTok or we pay too much attention to the DALL-Es, NFTs, and Metaverses of the world (and meta world) and enjoy reveling in just how bonkers everything appears to be getting. With there being so much ostensibly gimmicky or farcical technology now available, one can be forgiven for forgetting the true purpose of tech: utility. Or, more specifically, to make people’s lives easier. But most of us live (relatively) easy lives - at least from a physical perspective - so Apple’s new film ‘The Greatest’ is highlighting the difference that technological innovation can have in the lives of the physically or mentally impaired. And when we refer to making life easier here, we don’t mean in the sense of providing us the luxury of being able to generate an image of, say, a nun riding a bulldog in the style of Picasso, but rather in the far more important sense of enabling people to complete the every day basic tasks that the vast majority of us take for granted. Powerful.
BTS
How have we not shared this in Cut Culture already? Shocking from us. G-Shocking. That was a long walk for a shit pun.
But the sentiment remains: this is one of the pieces of work that we were most proud of in 2022, so it feels appropriate that we use it to kick of a new year of Cut Culture.
The Built Different film launched a European-wide campaign that marked a journey into a new era of culture for G-SHOCK. It showcased multiple scenes and UK music acts through the lens of the quintessential Tokyo-style that is key to the brand’s heritage. Cyber-punk meets carnival culture and beyond. Featuring renowned grime artists like Novelist, MOBO-winning DJ Kenny Allstar, as well as connected real life cultural movers, this was about mashing things up and turning up different. G-SHOCK are a brand steeped in heritage, but we wanted to to cash in on that cultural cachet to bring them back into the current conversation.
We were originally meant to shoot this on top of a car park for a cityscape feel - but then the heavens opened, so we had to move down a floor. Not that you would have ever known. Well, until now, I suppose… Welcome to the circle of trust.
Check out the finished product below.
Where do we start with Aneeqa? She’s an art director who can draw, make, do graphics, make dresses, and she can even upholster your sofa. But more importantly that any particular skillset, as well as being a legit renaissance woman with an incredible creative eye (two of them, in fact), she’s an all-time great in bringing the vibes and just getting shit done. She’s also a long-time friend of High Stakes and has worked with us recently on our campaigns for USC and the ECB - plus she even helped art direct that Notting Hill Yard Party section of the G-Shock work from earlier. But if you want to check out more of Aneeqa, you can go direct to her Instagram.