PSFK's PurpleList

In one of the most anticipated keynotes of PSFK 2017, Morgan Spurlock broke down the key elements of storytelling to make an impact, which he has put into practice in his filmmaking career and production company Warrior Poets. He divulged behind-the-scenes anecdotes from his groundbreaking documentaries Super Size Me and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold and recalled how the two movies extended beyond themselves, inspiring audiences to consider the mechanisms behind practices that we take for granted as the norm. Spurlock’s up-close-and-personal critique of McDonald’s quickly became a touchstone for the public’s troubling subjection to corporate America. So when it came time to get sponsors on board for his next project, he was deemed “brand cancer” and repeatedly rejected. Nonetheless, he was determined to make The Greatest Movie Ever Sold the “Iron Man of product placement.” Describing the road to produce what turned out to be the most sponsored movie ever, Spurlock emphasized persistence of vision: “No one wants to be first to say yes. Everybody wants to be first to be second.”

Analyzing the “why” factor and looking beneath the surface of human behavior is what Abigail has spent her lifetime doing, dating back to her elementary school days. More recently she did so in the agency realm for Publicis and DDB New York, and now leads a team of senior strategists inside Google’s ZOO, a global creative think tank partnering with agencies and C-level marketers. There, her team develops highly strategic and creative brand solutions for the digital space based on strong insights with global brands ranging from Warner Bros to Fed Ex to Heineken. What’s more, she even authored a series of studies called Humanizing Digital which is an industry-first thought leadership series based on anthropological research on human beings’ deep, emotional relationships with the digital space. We sat down with her to pick her brain on our fascination with the familiar and how the saying “don’t focus on the product, but the experience” isn’t necessarily true.

How do you tell stories that make an impact, with just the right amount of crazy? Just take a leaf out of Morgan Spurlock’s book—or films, rather—as he put this into practice in his filmmaking career and production company Warrior Poets. PSFK founder and editor-in-chief Piers Fawkes sat down with him to get his exclusive behind-the-scenes anecdotes from his groundbreaking documentaries Super Size Me and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. He recalled how the two movies extended beyond themselves, inspiring audiences to consider the mechanisms behind practices that we take for granted as the norm.