Contents

October 2008

 
Gordana Ristić
Editor-in-Chief 

We are entering an autumn of great instability on the American and, by association, European stock markets. Just when we had started believing that money was ominpotent and forever in the same hands… That`s not the case, it seems. We are entering an autumn of changes in behaviour patterns among the elite at the Elysee Palace. Carla, an Italian, the First Lady of France, sings about “my thirty lovers” on her new album…  

Sometimes I think that everyone who used to think that money was the be-all and end-all, is now paying the same money to be accepted and recognised. Provided they still have the heart. The Forbes list of the world’s most powerful people shows that everyone needs to be accepted and recognised as a human being. The motivation of the rich is to prove to themselves – and sometimes to others – that they are humane. But let`s not kid ourselves, the rich are necessary, just as wealth is. As Bob Isherwood puts it: “The most effective remedy for poverty is wealth.”  We are entering an autumn of great transformations. It may seem that all is quiet and the same in a country where nothing new is being created… But the world is changing at break-neck speed, driven by the crisis in the West and the new superpowers in the East. Our cliché is old and tedious. Let`s shatter it and break free of it.

We are entering an autumn where plaid will be the fabric of choice. And the ‘’Fića’’, the car of choice… personally, I like something a bit more powerful, provided it doesn’t pollute the environment. A friend of mine was telling me about his cruises on a yacht that uses more petrol than a car in three months, polluting the sea at the same time… What kind of a holiday is that when fish are dying in their masses and future generations’ chances for survival are ever slimmer? Make room for others, leave the planet to future generations too!

We are entering an autumn of plaid trousers and skirts… A particle (Hick`s bozone) is being sought in an experiment simulating the creation of the world that cost eight billion, money that could have been spent on feeding thousands of starving people. And the number of starving people all over the Planet is constantly increasing due to rocketing food prices. 

We are entering an autumn of self-centredness and a lack of consideration for the consequences of our self-centredness on others. And vice versa, it could be said. The differences are minimal. Of course, I am ambitious myself. But, I like my success to give others a chance to be ambitious too. I daren’t even think how few opportunities we have left since everything we can do to generate profit and make life better has been claimed by a small group of people. There are visionaries, those who, while building their empires, create opportunities for others. It is important to highlight that difference. The history of capitalism is full of examples of people who worked not only for the benefit of their nation, but the benefit of all mankind as well.  Capitalism can have a human face.

We are entering an autumn that reminds us that we can wear plaid, and that we can no longer be arrogantly excluded from an ever-changing world just because of the absence of a signature to say that we are closer to Europe… We won’t rejoin Europe until we allow ourselves to move closer to the whole world. Let the world enter our thoughts and lives. The whole world. Europe is part of that world. The solution for all our problems is Europe, where, incidentally, plaid will also be in fashion this autumn…

What will the world look like in ten years` time? I do not know exactly what will be in fashion then – probably not plaid – but there will certainly be some novelties. A new division of powers will create new opportunities. Presumably, someone here is giving it consideration and, maybe, projecting the future… out of common decency, if nothing else.

What does any of this have to do with the media, commercials and brands? If commercials are unable to compete with the news in terms of interest level, then they are worthless. The media must accept the word NEW. And brands always aspire to the future that they are already selling today, recognising and becoming NEW. 

© 2008-2009 Freemental Communications. All rights reserved. Homepage About us Partners Marketing Conditions of Use Impressum Contact