Bird Watching

Curious Marketer
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  • Marketing

The podcast explores the stories, strategies and creative choices behind campaigns, films and cultural moments. Not to tell you what to think, but to help you notice what you didn't see the first time.

Episodes

  1. Aug 29

    When a Protest Starts Looking Like a Marketing Campaign

    What can a student protest teach us about marketing? Apparently… a LOT. For Episode 3 of Bird Watching, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole. It started with the NEET protests in India, and the way students used memes, placards, TikToks, artwork and WhatsApp groups to turn a serious issue into something people couldn't help but pay attention to. And then I started seeing marketing lessons everywhere. Why did a placard like “My pad leaks less than the exam paper” make me stop and look?What makes something scroll-worthy, and more importantly, what makes someone want to share it?And why do brands sometimes struggle so hard to manufacture the authenticity that people naturally create?WHEN BRANDS TRY TOO HARD TO BE FUNNY ON SERIOUS ISSUES This takes me into menstruation advertising, the fake 'blue' blood, the white pants, the perfectly uninterrupted lives and the decades-long attempt to make periods feel invisible. Because there’s a big difference between being relatable and actually understanding the person you're talking to. What happened to audience-first communication in these ads? We spend so much time talking about incentives, giveaways, discounts and engagement mechanics. But what if people don't need a reward when they genuinely believe in what you're asking them to be part of? Sometimes, the purpose is the incentive. I also went back to Netflix's Clickbait — because if there's an episode about attention, curiosity and the internet, how could I not? The show is basically a masterclass in creating a curiosity gap. ______________________________ NEET Protest Messaging & References: Subway Surfers Theme: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbDvS_uzmyp/TikTok Trends: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbKVEw2hBMp/Pad leaks less than the exam paper: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbDv7VyTN8t/Creativity in the Assets: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbK0k4Yk8rF/ https://www.instagram.com/p/DbI1FaCoP2Z/ https://www.instagram.com/p/DbC9Id5C6UX/ Serona Ads on Menstruation: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTf34OngYcQ/⁠Clickbait Netflix Series⁠: ⁠https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80991754______________________________

    When a Protest Starts Looking Like a Marketing Campaign

  2. Jul 4

    Can We Trust AI To Tell Our Stories?

    My 80-year-old grandpa sent me a WhatsApp video of a little girl dancing Bharatanatyam. Except she had five limbs. I replied with one word: "AI?"He replied: "Yes." That's the moment episode two of Bird Watching was born. AI has stopped being a "future of technology" conversation. It's in our ads, our flyers, our family group chats. So this week I went down a rabbit hole with Tourism Malaysia's fully AI-generated Citrawarna 2026 campaign. The visuals were gorgeous, the lighting was perfect, and the structure was just... too correct. And somehow, it didn't make me want to book a flight. That got me stuck on one question: can AI actually earn our trust? Inside this episode: • What was missing from a technically flawless AI tourism ad• The comment that's been living in my head: "We still don't know whether using AI is lazy... or downright genius"• Why Coca-Cola's AI Christmas campaign didn't just miss the mark, but took something away from people• How Polaroid's "Best of Summer is Analog" made nostalgia as a marketing win• Why a 1990s anime beat a big-budget CGI retelling of the Ramayana• The three questions I now use to test whether a story actually earned my trust ______________________________Tourism Malaysia Campaign: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1558545265663947 Polaroid – Summer is Analog: https://www.instagram.com/p/DaBN8m9lppi/?img_index=4 Coca-Cola’s AI-Generated Christmas Campaign – Holidays Are Coming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy6fByUmPuE Adipurush (2023) vs Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1993)⁠: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKcOjnDJfzk ______________________________ I'd love to hear your chirp: Pick any marketing campaign, ask yourself these 3 simple questions, and reflect on your answers: Did it make me feel something? Did it make me remember something? Did it make me want to do something? If you enjoyed the episode, follow Bird Watching and join me as we slow down, look a little closer, and discover why great creative work stays with us.

    Can We Trust AI To Tell Our Stories?

  3. Jun 21

    What If Great Marketing Was Never About the Product?

    Have you ever watched an advertisement and forgotten it was trying to sell you something? In the very first episode of Bird Watching, I'm unpacking Gap's Better in Denim campaign. Not because I have all the answers, but because I couldn't stop thinking about it. As a marketer (and someone who spends far too much time noticing the little things), I found myself asking: Why did this campaign feel more like a music video than an ad? Why did the visual direction become more memorable than the jeans? Can great marketing quietly change what we believe about a product? Growing up, my mum always told me, "Don't dance in jeans." They were stiff, uncomfortable and definitely not made for movement. Somehow, Gap challenged that belief without ever saying a word. What we explore in this episode: • Why Gap's Better in Denim campaign feels bigger than advertising • How choreography became the product demo • The childhood myth that Gap quietly challenged • Why brands are selling identity more than products • The shift from influencer marketing to cultural storytelling • Why some ads become part of culture while others disappear • What this Bollywood movie and Apple's HomePod commercial add to the campaign in focus This isn't a podcast about marketing news. It's a podcast about paying attention, but designed for marketers. _____________________________ Gap – Better in Denimhttps://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Gap+Better+in+Denim+KATSEYE Apple – HomePod featuring FKA twigshttps://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Apple+HomePod+FKA+twigs Race (2008) – Indian Movie American Eagle – Sydney Sweeney Campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK8s3iqL99c ______________________________ I'd love to hear your chirp: What's one campaign you've watched recently that stayed with you long after it ended? If you enjoyed the episode, follow Bird Watching and join me as we slow down, look a little closer, and discover why great creative work stays with us.

    What If Great Marketing Was Never About the Product?
  • 3 Episodes

About

The podcast explores the stories, strategies and creative choices behind campaigns, films and cultural moments. Not to tell you what to think, but to help you notice what you didn't see the first time.

Information

  • Creator
    Curious Marketer
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Curious Marketer
  • Show Website
    Bird Watching