Authenticity is performative anyway. Why Michael Corcoran is doubling down on escapism instead.
My ramblings are more Lightning McQueen than Steve McQueen, but two muses for the case for escapism nonetheless.
I keep hearing AUTHENTIC being batted around (again) for 2026 as a creative solution for brands – in particular my wheelhouse of social media – BUT less as a rule to be relatable (whatever that means), and more as an antidote to AI, where imperfections, mistakes, and scrappy creations will be an edge to standing out.
And I get there’s truth to it, the ‘real’ side of creativity: the imperfections in design, copy, or showing the creative process. BUT you really need to convince me how a brand can be authentic, and that the word isn’t just being used as a hot take, or as social media marketing experts’ reasons why brands have not cracked social media, with the solution normally said to be: lo-fi + unhinged = authentic.
To me, the success of lo-fi and unhinged (Gonzo for the OGs) as a direction served more as an unexpected behaviour of normally curated, bland brands rather than the desire to be authentic. It won attention, and it worked, to an extent – until now. Low-fi and unhinged is saturated.
Outside of the recent AI case for Authenticity, I question whether it was ever possible for any brand to be Authentic. VERY, VERY few, I think, can.
One thought: can a brand REALLY be authentic? Founder-led, perhaps. But IMO all content & creative is performative, even those who share ‘warts and all’ moments. When ‘shit hits the fan’ content is shared, it’s a glimpse into their real world, BUT remember when that moment happened – the human or brand had to turn on their camera or plan when to capture that ‘authentic’ moment of performative ‘vulnerability.’
Imagine: “Bollix, I’m having a MENTY B… WAIT, I need to record it and post it online for authenticity, and defo not for attention and help sell stuff.”
EVERYTHING you post and publish, as a founder and brand, is PERFORMATIVE. You have an agenda to win attention and convert people. You are choosing when to do this to capitalise. That’s NOT authentic; that’s performative. That’s ok. That’s the game.
A second thought, based on the world right now: being real and reacting to news cycle culture is risky as hell. The world and the internet are a cesspool of crap right now, so would you even want to try to be authentic for fear of landing on one side of a polarised world when one feeds off the other, striving to use anything as sensationalism? That’s what you are appearing between – well, that and pictures of your weird cousins, motivational quotes, or clips from Diary of a CEO.
Humans want to get away from reality, and there’s still that need. As much as they want to see real/authentic content, leave authentic to the everyday human, and brands, how about focusing on Escapism & Entertainment instead?
Brands, how about focusing on Escapism & Entertainment instead?
Those who creatively play and give humans a moment of escape from the chaos on their binge on social media might win more attention and, more importantly, be more memorable. Play with fantasy & fiction too as a way to exaggerate and escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see – thanks, Freddie.
AI ain’t that bad for this; it can enable it too, once the idea slaps and not slops.
So: less authentic bullshit buzzwords, more performative & escapism in creative ways where you have a system or cues that help people remember you, after you ENTERTAIN them first.
Entertainment is not bound solely to humour, but it does help.
OK BYE!!!
We asked Michael a couple of questions on how he personally relates to creativity, here’s what he had to say…
TBOC: What is your creative North Star?
MC: My ride or die are Entertainment and Escapism. If you are not evoking emotion, creating tensions, making people feel something, it’s not creative enough.
TBOC: What has inspired you lately?
MC: In a recent piece of strategic work with Slice, we’ve been exploring sampling in the music industry as the creative scaffolding for a legacy brand – using creative classics of the past and remixing them to make them contemporary for new humans, while using cues to re-engage people collectively so all creative can continue to build a brand.
If you are not evoking emotion, creating tensions, making people feel something, it’s not creative enough.
Michael Corcoran is the Co-Owner of Slice, a social media consultancy, and the former Head of Social and Creative Content for Ryanair and Betfair (Paddy Power Betfair).