KEEP ON JUMPIN’

This weekend I went to the Electric Paradise Festival in Milton Keynes. Almost against my better judgement, because I wasn’t a fan of a lot of the live music (apart from Grace Jones – goddess) but the draw was some of the most iconic 90s DJs was too magnetic. Not an expensive ‘from London’ festival, but something where everything felt much more in step with more of the UK.

The festival wasn’t advertised in traditional media, but in social, and 50,000 people rocked up for the day to dance. A huge crowd of a lot of people who were here ‘the first time around’ because social is not a young person’s channel anymore, and hasn’t been for a long time. Big sound system, groove, house and techno names like Norman Jay, Todd Terry, Danny Rampling, Fat Tony, Armand Van Helden and Dimitri From Paris. Even Roger Sanchez was supposed to play (but didn’t turn up, turns up he in Ibiza). A lot of music built for nostalgia, and plenty of people very happily reliving it.

Those people have serious spending power in the UK and they get relatively little attention from advertising. The music is being used everywhere in ads, to appeal to the rediscovery of tracks on TikTok, but I was surprised there wasn’t much brand presence at Electric Paradise at all, certainly compared with some of the other festivals. It was pretty bare, when there would have been nothing better for a brand than to stand out to a crowd coming together to celebrate one of the things that matter to them most, where the troubles of the sandwich generation can be aside for a moment.

We work in an industry where you hit 50 and become almost invisible, while the culture around us is busy rediscovering the music, fashion and ideas those people helped create.

And there were loads of younger folk there too.

There’s clearly a real 90s thing happening with Gen Alpha/Z at the moment, but seeing such a mix of ages together made me wonder why brands are still so obsessed with age brackets which separate, rather than fandoms which connect. And how important it is to think culture-first with even the most traditionally delivered campaign ideas.

Music doesn’t really care about demographics. Neither do fans. The dancefloor already knows this.

There’s something in that for brands. Not another templated generational targeting strategy, but finding the things people genuinely love and becoming part of them for real, speaking in their language.

A great track doesn’t ask your age before it moves you. Fandom doesn’t segment people neatly into demographic boxes, it ignites connections and passions

So you know, Norman Jay was the best DJ at the festival IMHO closely followed by Todd Terry, and Grace Jones nailed it yet again. And I can say I’ve seen Cameo and Candi Staton a few days off her 87th birthday.
You can listen to my playlist here.