Data, culture, creativity. Here's your monthly guide to what's going on in the world of marketing.
June's Take
News this month has been pretty grim. In the UK, public attention was captured by the story of two men found guilty of felling the 150-year-old Sycamore Gap tree, a famous tourist attraction and much-loved feature of Northumberland. More recently a shocking incident in Liverpool where a man drove into post-match crowds, injuring over 100 people. Police released information about the suspect within two hours, perhaps a strategic move to quell misinformation, but also a stark reminder of how close we may be to broader unrest.
Globally, the picture isn’t much brighter. Ukraine and Russia continue peace talks as drone strikes persist. In Brazil, policed foiled a bombing plot at a Lady Gaga concert in Rio. In the US, headlines continue to swirl around Trump’s impulsive policy moves, including a potential revocation of student visas, the ongoing trial of P Diddy, and Joe Biden’s recent prostate cancer diagnosis.
Yet, glimmers of hope peak through. Several US federal district courts have paused key executive orders, signalling judicial resistance of Trump’s overreach. Meanwhile, the UK, France, and Canada have finally joined voices condemning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza – a long-overdue shift in geopolitical relations.
In tech the pace is not slowing down. Legacy platforms like Skype are bowing out while new models from DeepSeek, Odyssey, and Anthropic’s Claude stir both excitement and concern. As AI spreads into industries from healthcare, customer service, manufacturing and ad creation, questions around ethics, data privacy, and job displacement intensify. With AI becoming ever more embedded into our lives, marketers will need to respond with transparency and a new appreciation for digital imperfection. Let’s dive in.
Demystifying AI
Currys has appointed Native@AMV to help ‘demystify AI’ for everyday consumers, with a brief to make AI feel accessible, useful and culturally relevant. You’ll see a dedicated AI-focused social channel with funny, digestible content to explain what emerging tech can actually do for people. It’s a sign that brands are clocking growing confusion, and a little exhaustion, around AI narratives that feel too abstract or too intimidating to comprehend.
Foresight: We could be reaching the first plateau of the AI hype curve. For marketers, this signals a shift from breathless innovation to grounded usefulness. Expect more briefs around AI to pivot from “big vision” to “small wins”, normalising it through storytelling.
We might also see brands lean on humour, everyday language, or even anti-tech cues to make AI feel relatable. As with sustainability, AI demystification is the next marketing frontier aimed at translating its uses into the everyday.
Rejecting digital perfection
As AI makes perfection effortless - flawless grammar, seamless edits, polished visuals -creators are pushing back. The hyper-gloss of the 2010s is out, as seen in Stills’ 2025 photography design trend report, which highlights a shift toward rough, unedited photography. Even Steven Bartlett, in his interview with LinkedIn’s CMO Jessica Jensen, noted that his team intentionally leaves minor grammar mistakes in to make content feel more human.
Foresight: The hyper-polished aesthetic of the 2010s has been on the decline for years. Imperfection has always been a marketing strategy – whether that’s a means of capturing attention of the keener-eyed, or making a brand feel more down-to-earth. But how is this reaction against AI different?
It’s certainly ironic that creating something that feels human now requires more work. For marketers, this means crafted messiness: typos, texture, hesitation. Expect to see AI tools evolve to include “human-like” flaws to enhance believability. But consumers can sniff out performative imperfection. The next frontier won’t be about mimicking humanity but making space for it. Where the real challenge (and opportunity) lies is in choosing when not to automate.
Hinge: love and storytelling
Hinge has launched the second phase of its No Ordinary Love campaign, this time collaborating with five contemporary writers (including Hunter Harris and Tomasz Jedrowski) to retell real-life dating stories from both partners’ perspectives. Created by Dazed Studio, the campaign leans into emotional nuance and literary storytelling, far from the quick-swipe culture most dating apps are built on.
Foresight: We could see a growing shift from attention-seeking content to attention-keeping content where brands invest in slower, more layered storytelling to build emotional relevance. By borrowing the structure of fiction and flipping viewpoints, Hinge invites daters to see love as a shared, messy unfolding.
This kind of narrative marketing, especially through third-party creative voices, may become more common as brands seek authenticity by association. Expect to see more partnerships with writers, poets, and Substack-native creators who offer introspection. It’s less about selling a feature and more about signalling emotional intelligence.
If there’s a pattern emerging this month, it’s this: we’re at the edge of fatigue. AI fatigue, perfection fatigue, content fatigue. The opportunity for brands isn’t just to be seen, but to feel real.
That means shifting from:
As ever, stay relevant, not by shouting louder, but by tuning more finely into behaviour.
So come say hello, amigo@amigopartnership.com