Introducing Motormouth

Christ. The audacity of launching a marketing newsletter in 2024. The sheer hubris.

Welcome to Motormouth, you gluttons for enlightenment.

Yes, it's another newsletter. Before you reach for that unsubscribe button (we see you), let's talk about a pattern you've probably noticed: success kills everything interesting about a company. You've seen it happen - the moment a brand "makes it," something shifts. The voice gets safer. The edges get softer. The personality gets replaced by best practices.

But here's what makes this moment fascinating: some companies are fighting back. Liquid Death is betting millions that weirdness scales. MSCHF is rewriting rules about how brands can act. Upstarts across industries are proving that maybe, just maybe, success doesn't have to mean surrender.

But for every brand that stands out, countless others slip into the safety of sameness. So who are the people and companies worth paying attention to? Who's fighting against the gravitational pull toward blandness, and why does it matter?

Nearly a decade into this new era of brand communication, there's still no central source dedicated to analysing this ongoing experiment: Can brands get big without getting boring?

That's where Motormouth comes in.

We're a magazine and weekly newsletter investigating why success so often sucks the life out of companies. Through creative insights, unflinching critiques, and sly commentary, we track the brands betting against bland, the risks they're taking, and what really happens when personality collides with profit.

The idea

Motormouth isn't your run-of-the-mill rag dissecting marketing buzzwords or recycling branding trends. We've got bigger fish to fry.

Every Friday, we're diving into what it really means for brands to be themselves and stand for something beyond profit. We're here to scrutinise and challenge the forces pulling the strings behind how we all communicate and express ourselves—right at the messy intersection of commerce, culture, and conformity.

We’re digging into:

• Commerce Screwing with Culture How are commercial interests warping our cultural norms and values? We dive deep into how businesses not only mirror society but also twist it to fit their profit-driven agendas, often blurring the line between genuine expression and a sales pitch.

• The Soul-Sucking Pressure of Conformity What happens when success demands you become just like everyone else? We expose the obvious—and not-so-obvious—ways industries enforce sameness through language, branding, and corporate BS, choking out creativity and authenticity.

• Rebels with a Cause Who's got the guts to flip the bird at the status quo? We spotlight the mavericks and misfits defying conventional wisdom, proving you can succeed without selling your soul.

• The Power Play of Expression Who gets a megaphone, and who's told to shut up? We unmask how language and messaging can both empower and oppress, studying the power dynamics determining who stays interesting and who fades to beige.

Each week, we'll deliver:

• Analysis That Matters Deep dives into specific moments when companies choose between conformity and character. Not just success stories - real examination of what these choices cost and whether they're worth it.

• Cultural Criticism Sharp analysis of how market forces shape modern expression. Why venture capital creates certain voices. How success breeds sameness. What power determines who gets to stay interesting.

• Inside Stories Profiles of companies making expensive bets on personality. What they're risking, how they're doing it, whether it's working. Numbers when we can get them, honest assessment when we can't.

• Actual Insight Practical examination of what it takes to scale without surrendering. Not best practices or growth hacks - real analysis of what works, what fails, and what it costs.

We're starting small. The newsletter is phase one—a chance to find our voice, build our audience, and figure out what actually matters to cover. We'll expand when it makes sense, but for now, our mission is clear: documenting what happens when companies dare to stay interesting as they scale.

It won't be comfortable. It might be useful. It'll definitely be honest.

Why now?

Because it's time someone called out the beige parade of corporate drivel. Brands today aren't just losing their voices—they're losing their souls. We're not here to nitpick marketing strategies; we're here to confront a culture obsessed with conformity, where success too often means sanding down every edge until nothing unique remains.

After years of watching originality get strangled by committees and so-called "best practices," we're launching Motormouth to cut through the nonsense. The world doesn't need more hollow slogans or empty jargon—it needs voices unafraid to challenge the status quo, to question the unspoken rules that keep everyone marching in step.

Consumers aren't fools. They're drowning in content yet starving for something real, tired of brands preaching "authenticity" while parroting the same tired lines. In a marketplace clogged with clones, it's crucial to spotlight those daring enough to break the mould—not just in branding, but in defying the very culture that rewards sameness over substance.

Will we piss people off? Absolutely. That's the price of progress. By pushing back against the forces of conformity, we're stirring a broader conversation about what it means to stay true to yourself in a world that pressures you to fit in. We're here to champion the rebels, expose the gatekeepers muzzling genuine expression, and urge brands—and people—to reclaim their unique voices.

Motormouth isn't just another newsletter about marketing. It's a call to arms against the blanding of everything, a rallying cry for those who believe that commerce doesn't have to come at the expense of character. Because words can shape the world—but only if you've got the guts to use them.

Join the conversation

We love feedback. If you have suggestions, thoughts, or tips, contact us at [email protected]. Think of Motormouth as a work in progress—one we're shaping with the input of a community that refuses to settle for the status quo.

In the meantime, check out some of our stories, and if you like what you see, then I highly suggest you sign up. It's free, it's fresh, and I guarantee it'll be more thought-provoking than the other rubbish clogging your inbox. At least we promise to say something you’ll remember.

Kieran Tie, Editor-in-Chief

P.S. Got a story about a brand walking the talk? An idea too spicy for your day job? Send it our way. We're always on the lookout for contributors who aren't afraid to make some noise.