Framework of a Future Shot

A Friday newsletter that won't be imposing tariffs or annexing countries. Yet.

Dear agency readers, geopolitical rubberneckers, cognac curious and hair of the dog enthusiasts.

This week we are talking, dead simple, dangerously smooth. Think “nightcap at a jazz club in 1955” energy. And before we get into that, I somehow managed to scrape together a few bits of brain matter to draft my second article for Little Black Book - a column we’re calling Agency Interrupted (Agencies interrupted by AI, get it?).

This week’s article is more than just a cute little robot in a post-apocalyptic agency landscape. It is about the battle and consequences we are all now embarking on and dealing with now, The Authenticity Arms Race. “The signal-to-noise ratio has collapsed. Your client’s campaign isn’t competing with other campaigns anymore. It’s competing with an endless scroll of AI-generated slop, algorithmic filler and faceless content farms. That’s the new context for everything.” Anyway, give it a read and let me know what you think.

Where was I? Oh right. The Stinger. A dead easy, two-ingredient shot featuring cognac and crème de menthe that has been settling nerves since 1890. It started as a New York society drink, the kind of thing Reginald Vanderbilt would make for guests during three-hour cocktail sessions at his mansion long before Andy Cohen had been corrupting his distant family member, Anderson Cooper, on CNN New Year’s Eve celebrations.

During Prohibition, the mint masked the taste of dubious bootleg or bathtub-made brandy. By 1956, Frank Sinatra was getting a little ‘Hair of the dog’ with a Stinger served up by Bing Crosby's butler in High Society.

So yeah, it’s a drink for millionaires and spies and people recovering from too much champagne earlier this week. This is your Friday shot.

After a week of watching Trump mix up Greenland and Iceland at Davos, threaten tariffs on allies and announce the “framework” of a deal nobody seems to know the details of, reading Taylor Swift text messages and trying to figure out what the heck the Beckhams are feuding about, you deserve a little something that takes the edge off. This is it.

The Stinger:

• 2 oz cognac

• 1/2 oz white crème de menthe

• Stir with ice, strain, drink, repeat.

1. Ad History: EA Sports NHLPA (1992)

It’s in the game. This one still has such a 90s vibe in that iconic staccato voice over and tagline.

2. Ad History: Lanny McDonald Fur Ad (1983)

You can’t tell me that when Hockey players had to do local ads like this, the game wasn’t better?

3. Ad History: Benson & Hedges Yes (1970s)

While surfing for old whiskey ads this week, I fell in love with these wonderful and colourfully bold Benson & Hedges cigarette ads. Say yes!

4. Ad History: Crown Royal (1990s)

I went down a wormhole of Doug Ford-driven Crown Royal vintage ads. This peak 90s goldfish ad kills me. You don’t write “Cruelty to animals” unless you actually drank the product. Today’s ad agency writers might not be able to do this.

5. Ad History: French’s (1958)

Um, In 1958, French’s invented the“saucewich” and I’ve only known about it for about a week. Keep your eye on the ball people. Innovation can come and go, and you could miss it.

See you next Friday. Stay thirsty for advertising, my friends.

Jackson.

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The Drink Cart Friday Shot is your late Friday pick-me-up for pop culture brains and ad junkies. A fast pour of ad insights and hot takes, served like a quick round at your favourite dive bar after a week of client feedback.