In this week’s Our Take: Spotify’s ballsy branding sparks reaction, Columbia brings back the secret rave, legends of metal launch a bloody campaign, and modern movies’ bland colours fall flat.
SPOTIFY’S ICON-IC DISRUPTION
When Spotify temporarily swapped its iconic green app logo for a shiny disco-ball version last week, the internet reacted exactly how you’d expect: badly. Users called it ugly, confusing and unnecessary, while others compared it to a loading symbol. However, while people complained, they also did something else: they noticed it.
The redesign formed part of Spotify’s 20th anniversary campaign, pushing users toward an in-app nostalgia-focused experience centred around their listening history and earliest streams. Yet, the main insight here is less about nostalgia and more about disruption.
Most people interact with apps like Spotify subconsciously: open, play, close, repeat. The icon itself becomes invisible through routine. By changing something so familiar, Spotify forced millions of users out of autopilot and straight into conversation, successfully achieving what most modern brands cannot get enough of today – attention.
The icon redesign didn’t need universal praise to succeed. The backlash itself became part of the campaign strategy. Spotify leaned into criticism online, joked with users, and kept the conversation alive, ensuring the icon itself became social content. Spotify’s move is a reminder that the brands that cut through today are often the ones willing to interrupt routine, spark reaction and make audiences feel something, even if that feeling is annoyance. And judging by the reaction to Spotify, it works!
RAVERS COMPLETELY OFF THEIR GRIDS
Columbia’s third HikeFest did exactly what the name suggests, taking a few hundred people deep into the Peak District for a rave in a cave.
The ravers don’t know where they’re going. They get GPS coordinates in the morning, then small groups of them are guided through the wilderness. No signal. No contact with other groups. Rain bucketing down.
Eventually, when they get to their destination, it’s a literal hole in the ground, called the Devil’s Arse (which is either the best or the worst name for a club we’ve ever heard). But it’s exactly where they want to be. The DJ – Duskus – is brilliant. The other groups arrive. Everyone is on the exact same vibe and everything kicks off.
It all sounds like a night in Dublin in the ’90s. Except for the fact that nobody was soaking wet, since everyone was kitted out for the hike in top quality Columbia gear.
Sign us up.
METALLICA OUT FOR BLOOD
Metallica are asking fans to donate blood around their UK tour dates this summer, teaming up with the Welsh, English and Scottish blood services through their charity foundation in what’s billed as the first hook-up between UK blood services and a major rock band. Donation sessions will run near the shows in Cardiff, London and Glasgow, building on US and Australian runs where one Philadelphia stop alone pulled in 152 units.
Which is, frankly, the most middle-aged thing we’ve ever heard. The band that once made rock heavier, and metal more metal, now want you well-hydrated, sitting still for ten minutes, and back on fluids before the encore. Rage against the dying of the light, then a nice biscuit and a cup of squash.
There’s a poetic justice to it all. Ozzy Osbourne’s blood-soaked stage antics from metal’s early days are the stuff of gruesome legend. Now the genre’s elder statesmen have a gentler, more wholesome take on blood. We love it. We bet Ozzy would too.
FROM TECHNICOLOR TO TECH, NO COLOUR
Modern filmmakers have technical tools that early movie makers couldn’t dream of. So, why do so many people keep talking about how films used to look, and complain how, when it comes to colour at least today’s big movies (literally) pale in comparison.
Take The Devil Wears Prada. Looking at the original release next to its sequel, the difference is night and day. The older version is full of rich reds, blues and warm tones, while the newer one feels noticeably muted. Pale. Desaturated. Technically cleaner? Maybe. More memorable? Nah.
Part of the shift comes down to how we watch films today. Movies no longer just need to work on a cinema screen – they need to look good on TVs, laptops, tablets and phones too. Creating an image that works everywhere often means playing it safer with contrast, colour, brightness and saturation.
Older films often felt visually unique. Today, despite having more creative tools than ever, many productions seem to live in the same visual neighbourhood.
The fact that audiences keep sharing these comparisons suggests they’re not just longing for the past. They’re longing for images that feel warm, cool, vibrant… ALIVE.