))
E8: Oren Aks on Marketing the Fyre Fest, the Infamous Cheese Sandwich, and Why Our Culture Can’t Look Away from Colossal Failure
Manage episode 424862458 series 3581217
Content provided by Natalie Toren. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Natalie Toren or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Oren Aks was a designer at Fuck Jerry Media, the agency behind the signature marketing of the now-infamous Fyre Festival of 2016. In this episode, Oren recounts his ground-level realization that the festival was a fraud, sharing new details about the debacle chronicled in two documentaries. Oren also tells us about the backlash he experienced after the festival, shares his well-earned lessons around trust, and offers perspective about our cultural fascination with failure. Jesse Genet is joined by a special guest co-host Matty Mo, an artist who made headlines for putting on a fake fire fest as satire in Los Angeles.
--
RECOMMENDED PODCAST:
🎙️ Second Opinion - A new podcast for health-tech insiders from Christina Farr of the Second Opinion newsletter. Join Christina Farr, Luba Greenwood, and Ash Zenooz every week as they challenge industry experts with tough questions about the best bets in health-tech.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1759267211
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A8NwQE976s32zdBbZw6bv
--
Catch up on host Jesse Genet’s own crucible moments from her entrepreneurial story in Episode 6:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3HQKu4vbaIuAvhgKLBuyYk?si=UYb2aGlJTxynO_B8UzMkUQ
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode preview
(03:00) How Oren and co-host Matty first met
(04:35) Oren relives landing at Great Exuma for Fyre Fest
(13:30)The social distortion field Oren witnessed at Exuma
(17:00) Distraction efforts and the angry mob
(20:55) Things take a turn
(34:20) Processing the failure while Oren was on the island, and then back in NY
(44:30) The documentaries
(45:25) The red flags in hindsight
(49:00) Financial breadcrumbs
(54:00) The orange square and power of social proof
(01:00:20) Billy McFarland’s new thing
(01:05:18) Why the Fyre Festival has lasting power in the zeitgeist of colossal failures
LINKS REFERENCED:
Oren Aks agency Atomic Milk: http://www.atomicmilk.com/
Matty Mo's site: https://www.themostfamousartist.com/
X:
@fyrefestival (Oren runs this now)
@jessegenet (Jesse)
@mostfamousartist (Matty)
@inthearena_pod
11 episodes
Share
