Wired UK magazine has started an advertising thing called The Wired Index, showing “fascinating new facts” on billboards around the country throughout August. Here’s one of the new Wired Index video ads:
This campaign reminds me of this one by the old Wired UK around 1996/7, under the title “What you need to know about the digital revolution”:
These facts, and others, shown here on postcards, were also used on advertising posters on underground trains, and possibly elsewhere.
Which isn’t meant to be an unhelpfully bitter and snarky “Ha, this was done fifteen years ago, you’re so lame!” kind of thing. Just an observation that facts and figures seem to be consistently thought of as the way to amaze and attract the general public to Wired. I’m not sure that’s right. I’m not sure I want it to be right — single stats like this seem a bit dry, and not as amazing and transformative as one initially thinks they might be. I guess they’re cheap though. Still, it’s interesting to see.
If, fifteen years ago, we’d tried to imagine what facts would be used for such a campaign in 2010, I wonder if anyone would have guessed remotely right. Either the subjects or the quantities. Could we guess now what figures would be featured in a campaign in 2025?
"Every day an eminent writer, thinker, commentator, politician, academic chooses five books on their specialist subject. From Einstein to Keynes, Iraq to the Andes, Communism to Empire. Share in the knowledge and buy the books." Interesting. (via @suegyford)
phil.wilson at 5 Sep 2010, 10:35am. Permalink
"Norfolk used to be x square kilometres in size until the floods of 2018, that's 1,000 football pitches"