Best of the Week: NZ tragedy, lessons from Cuba, Girl Swallows Universe

[View web version]( BEST OF THE WEEK And another thing... Welcome to Best of the Week, which I’m guessing will go out late today because I’m distracted by the events in New Zealand and can’t quite find the right words to say. (Plus after being happier and healthier than I’ve been in a long time in Cuba, my body has decided the price for such a solid run is to give my immune system the week off and see what happens. So far, it’s not going well). Terror hits NZ This morning, my brain is all over the place, and instead of writing, I am consuming too much content about our friends across the ditch. By now, there are already countless think pieces about why we should call the massacre in New Zealand a terrorist attack, why we shouldn’t give the alleged gunman what he wants and talk about/ link to his ‘manifesto’ (what a bizarre quirk of the system that we still say ‘alleged’ even though he live streamed the attack), how the social media networks struggled to deal with the live stream, and everything that is wrong with Senator Fraser Anning’s hot take on the tragedy. Yet scrolling through Facebook in bed this morning (something I really want to do less of, because, honestly, nothing good comes from scrolling through Facebook in bed), I came across an article I somehow always knew I’d end up seeing. “Australian man Brenton Tarrant, the alleged gunman in the massacres at two mosques in Christchurch, has been remembered by residents of Grafton in regional NSW as a “relatively normal” person”, proclaimed an article about the gunman posted by the Today Show. We’re also treated to the entirely unnecessary and useless piece of information that Brenton was punctual to work. Now I’m sure Nine aren’t the only ones to have gone down this frustrating and predictable path - so they can blame the Facebook algorithm for the fact it was the one that was brought to my attention - but this is a cycle we find ourselves in every time tragedy strikes, and something the media hasn’t really effectively dealt with. Every time a woman is murdered by her partner/ husband/ ex-partner, we are subjected to articles about how the perpetrator’s neighbour liked to chat to him over the fence about how best to keep their bougainvilleas alive, what a normal and friendly guy he was when he stopped at the 7-Eleven on Wednesdays at 4:23pm to buy petrol, a meat pie and a chocolate bar, and the time he helped an old lady cross the street, while simultaneously ensuring the friendly neighbourhood stray cat didn’t get run over. What a guy. And, every time, the media is implored to make the story about the victim/s, the tragedy and the loss, and not to spin the narrative of ‘Good guy does something uncharacteristically bad’. Yet here we are, being told that the terrorist was accepting of all shapes and sizes when he worked in the fitness industry (that particular example is real. I didn’t make it up). To make matters even worse, and to solidify my position as a hypocrite, last night in bed on Facebook (yes, it is now entirely appropriate for you to judge me), I sought out, found, and read the manifesto. I knew it was bad for my brain, I knew that it wouldn’t make me a better or happier person, and I knew that my previous activity of watching season two of Offspring on Netflix was a far superior option - but I did it anyway. It was a bad idea, and it made me really resent myself, and the information-overload, media saturated world we live in. Which brings me to why I’d very much like to hop on a plane (okay, fine, three planes and multiple frustrating stopovers), and head back to Cuba. Lessons from Cuba Being back sucks. There is no other, more delicate, way to put it. And although you might think it’s difficult to draw parallels between a socialist country with state-controlled media, and our ‘free’ and democratic press and independent creative industries, you’d be wrong. It’s not easy, but I’ll do it. In the five weeks I was off, I resisted the urge to read about what was happening in our industry. So no trips to [www.mumbrella.com.au](, and definitely no emails. I also tried as best I could not to obsess over what was happening in the wider world. This particular endeavour was helped by two factors: 1. My go-to news source is smh.com.au and I’d reached my limit of free articles for the month. I do indeed pay for content, and have a subscription giving me unlimited access to news, however I had a new phone, forgot my log-in, and couldn’t be arsed stuffing around, trying to get into my account 2. WiFi is quite new in Cuba. It’s not everywhere. In fact, it’s barely anywhere. You have to go to designated ‘WiFi parks’ - the only places in Cuba where you will see people collectively with their eyes down and glued to their screens - if you want to get online. Moreover, you have to have a card which enables you to get online for an hour. This can involve lining up for a very long time, and as much as I may have learned to slow down (somewhat) and relax (a bit) in Cuba, I still hate lines, and I can’t get away from the idea that time is money. The other option is to find someone in the park on-selling the WiFi card at an inflated price (capitalism?), but you still have to justify to yourself sitting in a park staring at your phone for CUC$1 an hour, instead of being out and about in Havava, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Vinales, Santiago de Cuba, or wherever you may be. NOT being on my phone, was often the winning option. And here’s the thing, the less news and content you consume, the less you feel you need to consume, and the less hopeless and helpless you feel. That’s not to say being under-informed or ill-informed is the answer. I can avoid it all I like, but climate change is happening (as the protesting students have so starkly reminded us), “good guys” all over the country are “snapping” and killing their wives, and Donald Trump is still the president. But I can’t tell you how good it was to be more measured, controlled and careful about when and how I consumed the news. I allowed myself a few concessions. I read about ScoMo’s International Women’s Day blunder (not sure why this one made the cut), and I kept across the Cardinal Pell trial and sentencing. In addition, I would quickly scroll the Sydney Morning Herald homepage every few days to make sure a tragedy (such as in New Zealand) hadn’t occurred and - given my proximity to the US, and its continually strained relationship with Cuba - that nothing too bonkers was coming out of the White House. For some unknown reason, I also read that Dancing With The Stars wasn’t rating very well. It’s the important things. (At Mexico City Airport on the way home, I also plugged in and watched the trailer for Bachelor in Paradise featuring exes Alex and Richie, because you can take the girl away from the trash, but you can’t take the trash out of the girl). It’s been truly fascinating to observe the effect this had on my mental health and general wellbeing. Not only did I lose weight in Cuba, despite my diet consisting almost 100% of meat, rice, sugar and alcohol, but my skin got clearer, my eyes brightened up a bit, my hair was better behaved, and I rediscovered my neck. I carry SO much tension in my shoulders and neck, to the point where more often than not it hurts to simply touch them or move them. Looking at photos from my final few days in Cuba, I can see how much my traps muscles have reduced, and how much longer and relaxed my upper body is. Despite the tension creeping back in, at this stage, I can still touch my neck and shoulders without wincing. There are less angry chemicals floating around in my body, and my heart rate is significantly lower. (I’ve probably just worded that in a very Pete Evans-esque pseudoscience way, but hopefully you get my drift). I am not a ‘relaxed’ person, and to say I operate differently and have a different mindset from the Cubans is an understatement. I don’t want to get too ‘White Girl Goes To Foreign Land And Discovers A New Way Of Life That You Should All Follow’, but I do want to highlight how important it is to slow down. Our Mumbrella NeXt State of the Industry research revealed just how serious this issue is. 69% of our respondents regularly worry about their health and wellbeing. Not just think about it, worry about it. 62% worry about the balance they have between work and family. 41.5% often worry about their workload, and a further 19.8% say they are always worrying about this. That’s a lot of stress, tension and worry to be carrying around, which could lead to shrinking necks. We are a stressed and worried bunch of people, who clearly all need a holiday. I was genuinely more relaxed in Cuba than I have ever been, yet every local who approached me to salsa (not a euphemism, I genuinely mean the dance), had the same response. I would agree to dance, and before they had even laid a hand on my shoulder, they would look at me and say “relax”. Turns out indignantly responding “I am relaxed” doesn’t actually trick them into believing I am a super-chilled person. One day, I tired of walking slowly everywhere, and decided we just needed to walk at normal pace. As I revelled in moving my body at what I felt was an appropriate speed, I was crash tackled from behind. Alex, my local tour guide in Cuba and one of the genuinely kindest and happiest people I’ve ever met, asked “Where’s the fire?” I, of course, had no idea what this meant. “Where’s the fire, Vivienne?” Again, drawing a blank here, Alex. He wanted to know what I was running to, and what I was running from. There was no fire at either end, so I just needed to slow down. Over the coming months, as we hurtle towards Mumbrella360, and I get to know and train a new team, hopefully I can have that question in my head as the tension starts to creep back in. Speaking of tension, we have multiple elections on the horizon, and that is where I can genuinely draw a parallel between Cuba and Australia. While I was there, Cuba was having a referendum for a new constitution. There was an incredibly active campaign for the ‘Yes’ vote. Voting yes was seen as supporting the revolution, and the right thing to do for the country. The government, which controls the media, wanted you to vote yes. Unsurprisingly, the ‘no’ vote - which actually included some people who wanted constitutional change, but felt that this attempt at rejigging the constitution wasn’t progressive enough - didn’t get any air time. The streets were plastered with signs and hashtags about voting yes. I saw no evidence of support for the no vote. The risk with voting ‘no’ because you wanted more, and felt this iteration of the constitution wasn’t good enough, was the message wouldn’t necessarily get through. The referendum was so black and white - ‘yes’ to this new constitution or ‘no’ - meaning there was no room for nuance. The risk was the government would think you don’t support the revolution. You don’t want change. You want it to stay the same, or, perhaps, you want to swing back in the other, less-progressive direction. The yes vote carried with 90.61%. Cubans will now have the ability to sue the government for negligence, and the presumption of innocence within the legal system has been restored. There are now more rules and regulations around being in power, and there is a recognition of foreign investment and private property. We’re not all that different though. Tensions emerged over same-sex marriage. The words “between one man and one woman” have been removed from the constitution when it comes to describing marriage, however an earlier attempt to make it “a union between two people… with absolutely equal responsibilities” was undone due to conservative backlash (sound familiar?) So now, marriage isn’t explicitly between a man and a woman, but there isn’t foolproof recognition of same-sex couples. With our own struggles at home to get same-sex marriage across the line, and indeed [calls for our rules around political advertising to be changed](, Cuba might be another world, but it’s not as far off as you might think. Girl Swallows Universe While I was away, I had far more time than I was used to. It’s amazing how much time you have when you stop fucking about on your phone. As such, I managed to read Becoming by Michelle Obama, Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales and Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton. Boy Swallows Universe is still messing with my head, so if you have read it, please get in touch and let me know how I can process it, and some of the nuances I may have missed. One thing that really landed with me from Trent’s narrative, was the idea that you should be able to tell any story, yep, ANY story, in three words (a task I have manifestly failed at here). So, how would you summarise what happened in New Zealand? What’s your three-word headline? ‘Ordinary guy snaps’? ‘Tragedy hits NZ’? ‘Christchurch terror attack’? ‘Muslims unfairly targeted’? ‘Whites fight back’? You can see the difficulties and tensions that emerge when you only have three words. What’s the story? Since returning, I’ve squeezed in quite a few meetings, during which I’ve asked people to summarise what happened while I was away. Aside from the fact that by and large they preferred to hear all about Cuba than talk about the ins and outs of adland over the past five weeks (fair), the question of “So what’s been going on?” largely drew blanks from my chosen targets. I still don’t really know what’s gone on. I know there are [rumours of Alan Jones’ imminent departure]( (are these legit, or is it a case of people saying something enough, so that one day they are eventually right, and can say they called it?) In the headlines I’ve scanned since returning, strange ones stuck with me: [Clive Dickens leaving Seven]( (hand on heart, didn’t see that one coming),[Danny Bass leaving IPG Mediabrands]((I did indeed call this some months ago, but was wrong at the time, so not sure I can count that as a win), [Ita getting the ABC gig](, [Paul Brooks joining Nine](, and Pippa departing AdNews. I am aware that is an odd combination of stories that stuck to the wall. So, tell me, in three words, what happened when I was gone? Can you do it? The next challenge, however, could be even harder. In Boy Swallows Universe, you should also be able to summarise your life, your story, in three words. In Cuba, my now very good friend Sophie was helping me work through a difficult and complicated situation I’d found myself in. She was lamenting the latest series of unfortunate events and said “It’s just so frustrating, because it was so good, and then it got weird”. I burst out laughing in the middle of Old Havana, noting the name of my autobiography could very easily be “And then it got weird - the Vivienne Kelly story”. I’m not sure I’d like the sum total of my life to be reduced down to “it got weird”, but as I stare down the barrel of 30 (29th of March, day after CommsCon, thanks for asking), I think it’s a pretty accurate summary of my social and romantic life thus far. Other options are “thinks too much”, “burn it down” (which weirdly works with “where’s the fire?”), and “tries very hard”. I’d love to know how you would frame your life, your story, if you had only three words. What’s the adland story of 2019 in three words? Can you do it? And now that I have used far more than three words to tell my story, it is time to go. There is no fire, but I have things to do. I honestly have stories and thoughts for days about Cuba, what I learned, what I saw, and what I felt, so if you’d like to help ease my post-holiday blues and listen to my stories, please get in touch to organise a wine (or a rum): vivienne@mumbrella.com.au Viva la revolución, Vivienne Kelly Editor - Mumbrella Sponsored Post The [Cooperate]( platform transforms how marketing teams visualise their customer journey, deliver content at each stage of the journey, and see how it performs - from one place. 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