A cautionary tale

D&AD’s new search for untapped talent, a bunch of camels with botox, the ultimate sponger, and seeking comfort in a group of unexpected outcasts.

Has the heat from your laptop left the tops of your thighs with a constant soft-red glow you’ve come to consider comforting?

Is your thumb now in a permanent backward state from years of newsfeed scrolling?

Are your eyes burning?

Where to go for a digital detox.

Britney Spears and Brighton Pride? Naturally. Britney Spears and… Scarborough? Apparently?

Clichés. And national ones at that. Capturing the ‘social landscape of modern Russia’, Ukhta-born Alexander Anufriev takes us up close and personal with that which supposedly defines the Putin nation.

This is the world we live in now.

‘Some of the best creative minds may never be discovered, may never create,’ says D&AD president and Google Creative Lab executive creative director Steve Vranakis.

The New Blood Shift programme is a free night school for untapped creative talent from diverse backgrounds, which asks the industry to look to different places for new faces, and not to just default to the conventional settings.

Talk about an eggstreme reaction.

Rain, sleet and that sort of snow that isn’t quite snow but still chills you to the bone didn’t stop thousands gathering for the Time’s Up Women’s March in London last weekend. As the role of protest continues to stir and inspire, Vogue talks to six women about the need for it more than ever in 2018.

Oscar noms. They’re out, and people care. A lot. Leading the race with 13 nominations is Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy thriller, The Shape of Water - the tale of a mute janitor who falls in love with an imprisoned sea creature. What else?

Other notable noms include ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’, ‘Dunkirk’, ‘Lady Bird’ and the superbly intense ‘Get Out’. Is this proof that the Academy has finally come to surprise us?

In the arena of cinema – and video games - the second trailer for Roar Uthaug’s upcoming Tomb Raider film reared its cliff-jumping, vine-swinging, indisputably kick-ass bonce this week. The reboot to end all reboots? See for yourself.

Movement in the Twittersphere, as company COO, Anthony Noto departs to become SoFi CEO.

Facebook. Changes are a-foot. Debunking why putting users before stakeholders is the right move, Mark Ritson explains the benefits and long-term value.

Amazon made history this week, opening Amazon Go in Seattle. No cashiers. No checkout lines. Payment by phone. Finally, bringing the true meaning of loneliness to the masses. Speaking of which.

The tightening of the P&G belt continues as the ad powerhouse announces plans to cut 50% from its roster and bring more media capabilities in house. That’s 4,700 firms axed from its books by the end of 2018. Ouch.

Building and designing your own world Monday to Friday doesn’t leave much room for boredom. Game artist and illustrator, Catherine Unger talks goblins, space rovers and haunted houses.

News of UK employment at an all-time high. Side note: sponges still out there.

To conclude, a cautionary tale.

Written and directed by Us, Chris Barrett and Luke Taylor, Cautionary Tales tells the story of Aaron, a man with an unusual facial disfigurement that has plagued him all his life. Seeking comfort in a group of unexpected outcasts, this is storytelling at its finest.

One for your lunchbreak.