‘Influencers are everything': Marketers focused on working with social media creators to reach consumers
'It was incredible — the amount of brands they met, the amount of opportunities that they walked out getting,' said Mann,
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Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
On Her New Album, Lorde Creates Pop At Its Purest – Performative, Playful And Alive To Paradox
' Describe the vibe ' goes the demand to commenters underneath the YouTube video for Lorde's latest single, 'Hammer'. Fans form a flow; a 'vibe check' in Zillenial parlance: The pure rawness … (@lynmariegm) A more raw true-to-self form … (@m3lodr4matic) This is pure art … (@anishm-g1r) Lorde's 2013 debut album was titled Pure Heroine. But, she tells us – and fans and critics agree – Virgin is the first album which ' does not lie '. Pure pop. Not lying is not necessarily synonymous with truth, however. Rather, not lying in the present cultural moment is more akin to the careful articulation of a whole vibe. For women in particular, truth, authenticity – dare I say realness – mean modulating their feelings, but also a particular calibration and presentation of their bodies in media. Such a balancing act is captured in that YouTube imperative which moves between the pencil ('') – the demand to describe – and the 'vibe', the very thing we often find too hard to write down or put into words. Pop music is often at the nexus of these two seemingly opposite moves. Think about going to a gig and afterwards being asked 'how was it?', and all you can say is 'you had to be there'. Of course it is not so simple. We are always putting our feeling into words – describing all manner of bodily responses. Lorde herself sings in ' Broken Glass ' about how her eating disordered body was marked by language: the 'arithmetic' of calorie counting. Elsewhere, she lists other social signifiers in which she is enmeshed: daughter ('Favourite Daughter'), siren, saint ('Shapeshifter'). Words and the body Nonetheless, the repeated theme in press interviews is that Virgin moves beyond language, towards a pure woman's body, free of the mark of sexuality. At the same time, the album is also ' ravenously horny ' according to one review. She is both as pure as a newborn (a 'Virgin'), but marked by her sexuality. The song ' Current Affairs ' most clearly demonstrates proximity between the sexed body and its description in lyrics. Lorde collapses into her lover's body ('He spit in my mouth'). But when he breaks her heart, she cannot put into language the hurt. Rather she blames her anguish on the news: 'current affairs'. Pop music and pop culture thrives off the market exchange and saleability of sex, particularly young women's sex. When I first wrote about Lorde 11 years ago, I pitted her against Miley Cyrus, noting the outrage at Miley's 'growing up' (from Hannah Montana to adulthood), which mapped onto her perceived new working class, tasteless identity. Against the crass vulgarity of Miley, I argued then, we had the middle-class intellectualism of Lorde. The argument stands. Virgin certainly adds a heightened sexiness to Lorde, but it is far from crude. She is branded, not just by the market (the cost of tour tickets and merchandise), but also by her identity as a tasteful and hip woman. More fleshy ('wide hips/soft lips' she sings in ' GRWM ') than the teen ' Royal ' of 2012, but still on Universal Music Group's repertoire and still circulated as an 'alt' option for pop fans. We can also think of Lorde's collaboration with her current working class alter, and last year's popstar commodity, Charli XCX. In Lorde's verse in ' Girl, so confusing ' she notes Charli is, essentially, a 'Chav' – 'still a young girl from Essex'. But in the same verse, Lorde shows her awareness of both women's function on the market: People say we're alike They say we've got the same hair It's you and me on the coin The industry loves to spend This knowing wink to how women move within the pop-culture marketplace produces a different kind of purity, one based on an intimacy between the popstar and her listeners. We all know Lorde's difference from Charli is about image: the 'poet' versus the party girl. Intimacy as purity is part of what cultural theorist Anna Kornbluh recently dubbed the pressure of 'immediacy', characterised by an apparently ceaseless flow and demand to constantly share images and video of our bodies, afforded by the scroll of social media. While the depiction of our bodies and selves on screens is fundamental to this moment, according to Kornbluh, we contradictorily lose sight of this screening. Feeling as though we are #NoFilter – present and real. Key to this is the exhibition of our feelings and emotions. For all women, but particularly those in the public eye, the sharing of these feelings materialise into 'coin'. Vulnerability, pleasure, all-the-feels-all-the-time – especially for women – make 'bank'. Intimacy and knowingness Vulnerability has been a catch-cry in media characterisations of Virgin. Critics and fans equate Lorde's lyrical confessions and press tour patter with a market-valuable 'purity', equated with immediate access (to quote the YouTube fan above) to a 'true-to-self' Lorde. One of her more amusing (but fitting) press engagements was on Bella Freud's Fashion Neurosis podcast. On the couch, we hear Lorde, wearing a Yohji Yamamoto blazer, musing about vulnerability, gender and her mother – with the great granddaughter of Sigmund Freud. Fashion Neurosis: Lorde on the psychiatrist's couch. While the Charli XCX track shows Lorde's intimacy through her knowingness about her role as 'coin' for the music industry, the music videos from Virgin offer a more embodied intimacy. The clip for the album's first single, ' What Was That? ', features an extreme closeup inside her mouth. The album cover itself is an X-ray showing her hips and her IUD. Kornbluh suggests this emphasis on often literal bodily interiors – people's 'insides' – produces an ersatz sense of closeness and sociality, as our relationships become more and more beholden to the alienating circuits of 'social' media. Virgin does not lie. It traces a truth of our times – a paradoxical truth – that we are at our most intimate, our most pure, when we are unmediated, all the while bearing out the imperative to 'Describe the vibe' – to mediate and expose ourselves onscreen. My own vibe check? I love the album. It is pop at its purest – performative, playful and certainly worth paying attention to.
Scoop
7 days ago
- Scoop
Taikura Kapa Haka Returns To Te Papa For Matariki
This weekend, Te Papa will once again come alive with the wairua of over 600 kaumātua as Taikura Kapa Haka 2025 takes centre stage. This annual festival celebrating and showcasing kapa haka and kaumātua takes over Aotearoa New Zealand's national museum on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June. Whether you're a long-time supporter or a first-time attendee, nau mai, haere mai, tautoko mai – come and witness the living legacy of kapa haka. The event will also be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, watched by over 100,000 people from around the world, and ensuring whānau near and far can join in the celebration. Each of the 17 regional, marae-based, and hāhi rōpū brings its own regional flair, waiata, and kōrero, creating a rich and vibrant showcase of traditional Māori performing arts, deeply rooted in whakapapa, tikanga, and mātauranga. Chair of He Kura Te Tangata Trust, Turongo Paki says, 'Taikura kaumaatua kapa haka is a festival for all kaumaatua from across the motu to gather and share our culture, the culture that was left behind to us by our tuupuna. 'Although this kaupapa has grown and has become popular, we still have a kaupapa to maintain and that's to celebrate iconic composers such a Tuini Ngawai, Paraire Tomoana, Kingi Tahiwi, Te Puea Herangi, Kingi Ihaka and many more. 'Taikura is the only platform where you would find such taonga showcased by our revered reanga, our kaumatua', adds Turongo. Te Papa Kaihautū | Māori Co-leader, Dr Arapata Hakiwai acknowledges the importance of this kaupapa. 'Taikura Kapa Haka is a deeply powerful celebration of whakapapa, vitality, unity, and our kaumātua who are the taonga of our communities. 'When they stand on stage, they carry the voices of their tīpuna and the hopes of their mokopuna. Their strength, grace, and aroha remind us who we are and where we come from. 'This event embodies the spirit of Matariki mā Puanga: coming together, honouring our past, and looking forward with hope. 'It's an honour for Te Papa to host these living legends.' Carl Ross Te Matatini Te Manahautū | Chief Executive says, 'It's proven that participation in kapa haka promotes physical and mental wellbeing, while the social connections and cultural pride enhances mental health and emotional resilience. 'The Taikura Festival invigorates our kaumātua and gives whānau an opportunity to support and celebrate their nannies and koros performing on stage. 'I am pleased that Te Matatini will continue to strengthen our longstanding relationship with Te Papa as a supporter of Taikura 2025.' Taikura Kapa Haka 2025 is supported by Te Matatini, Te Māngai Pāho, Te Tumu Paeroa, and Te Taura Whiri I te Reo Māori. About Taikura Kapa Haka: The origins of Taikura Kapa Haka date back to early 2000s and the late Te Arikinui Kahurangi (Dame) Te Atairangikaahu who saw the need for performers who no longer participated in Māori performing arts competitions to have a place where old action songs, poi, haka, and waiata could be performed again. As a result, in 2005, under the chairmanship of the late Tama Huata, Taikura was introduced to Te Matatini with the kaupapa of reviving and performing compositions that were composed prior to 1970 by iconic figures such as Princess Te Rangi Pai, Ariki Te Puea Herangi, Hone Heke. Sir Apirana Ngata, Paraire Tomoana, Kingi Tahiwi, Guide Bella, Te Aritaua Pitama, Tuini Ngawai, and many others. In 2008 the He Kura Te Tangata Trust was formed to oversee the kaupapa with the late Tama Huata as the inaugural Chair, alongside trustees, Te Paekiomeka Ruha, Mamae Takerei, Julie Dwyer and the late Puti Mackey.
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- RNZ News
Sir Graham Henry, herpes, and an award-winning ad campaign
Sir Graham Henry. Photo: Supplied When Sir Graham Henry got a call from a young ad man asking him to front a campaign about a taboo subject, his answer was surprising. "It was quite daunting to call him up," says Sam Stuchbury, creative director and founder of Motion Sickness. "No one really wants to be in a herpes ad." Sam Stuchbury, executive creative director of Motion Sickness Photo: Supplied But Sir Graham said 'yes' to the campaign, and last week took his support of the campaign further by beaming into the prestigious Cannes Lions global ad awards with a tongue in cheek message of congratulations to New Zealand for being "the best place in the world to have herpes". The campaign was awarded two Grand Prix and four other prizes at Cannes, where they competed with more than 26,000 entries. Stuchbury tells The Detail how he nervously phoned Sir Graham, and before he could complete his pitch the former All Black coach said, "yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll do it". With Sir Graham on board, the team at Motion Sickness then approached other New Zealand "icons" including Sir Ashley Bloomfield, Sir Buck Shelford and comedian Angella Dravid. The agency had been given a brief from the Herpes Foundation: to remove the stigma from genital herpes , an infection that one in three sexually active New Zealand adults have. Foundation trustee Alaina Luxmoore says the organisation had been trying to destigmatise herpes for more than 20 years. A still image from the award-winning herpes ad. Photo: Supplied "It has never, ever, ever worked," she says. "You're up against mainstream media; being the punchline joke in movies and songs and TV; decades and decades and decades of internalised shame about herpes as being akin to some type of sexual proclivity or uncleanliness. "It felt like you could never shake the stigma." When the agency came back to Luxmoore with the campaign tagline "Make New Zealand the best place in the world to have herpes", her reaction was instant. "'Oh my gosh, that's it.' By the end of the weekend after we'd heard that line for the first time I couldn't shake it and we were giddy with excitement." Both Luxmoore and Stuchbury were shocked at the worldwide reaction, with 22 million PR impressions, a reflection of the number of people reached by the campaign in the first eight weeks, and more than 10,000 hours of educational content watched. "I didn't expect the level of admiration from overseas people and we had a lot of herpes organisations from other places around the world reaching out and saying, can I share your content, can you tell me about it. "American podcasts, English researchers who are doing their degrees on the stigma around herpes. Lots and lots of international eyes on us and I didn't expect that." For Luxmoore it was also a surprising personal experience, as she fronted for media interviews for the foundation about why destigmatisation was so important. "It was like, 'who is the person who can speak to the lived experience of herpes' and that's me. The reason I'm on the board is because I have herpes." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
