As Featured In:
Webby
AdAge
HBR
WSJ
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week Several years ago, I read this wonderful book by Priya Parker and it really stayed with me so I thought I’d resurface it this week as you may be in the midst of some summer gatherings yourself. While the book may seem to focus more on events, it’s equally … Read more
This week is the Cannes Creative Festival and so there are plenty of the usual healthy jokes about Cannes being a yacht-party fueled satire of itself. Criticism aside, awards have always been meaningful to celebrate great work and motivate creative people … but the problem is that in past years most Cannes award-winning campaigns quickly seem … Read more
The day after the Met Gala, the Internet was flooded with deep fakes of celebrities who weren’t there, wearing things they never wore. Some of them were pretty convincing. The future of art, fashion, and music will see all sorts of disruptions in the coming years from technology like this. Where is all of this headed? … Read more
Last weekend The Rock made his return to wrestling and a “new era” for the sport was on display at WWE’s Wrestlemania 40 event. The event itself was largely what fans of the sport probably expected, but the use of augmented reality technology in the broadcast stood out because of how integrated it has become. While other … Read more
Back in early Fall of 2023, Glamour magazine launched a series of articles on the topic of “bridesmaid burnout.” Inspired by the spiraling demands of time, money and emotional labor heaped upon bridesmaids, the series collected advice on everything from asking about financial expectations to how to decline being a bridesmaid without killing your friendship. Are modern bridesmaids unwilling to just … Read more
This year’s Super Bowl Ads cost $7 million – and most are being rated today based on their entertainment value. Not exactly the metric I would pick. Instead, I always look at the year’s ads based on the marketing strategy and whether the creative the team used actually delivered on what they might have hoped … Read more
Coming back to work last week, my inbox was filled with pitches about products, technologies, and innovations that are launching at CES this week. I was honored to be invited as an Innovation Award Judge this year and I’m here covering the show and working on my usual recap of the most non-obvious stories I find. Already some of … Read more
Sold artwork at an art fair receives a revered red dot sticker indicating it has found a home, or it has been “placed” (in art lingo). But what does it take to make that sale and who are these collectors who travel to the world’s biggest art festivals, checkbook in hand ready to become a … Read more
They say meeting your heroes never ends well. But they have never met the Wiggles. This week at SXSW Sydney I was able to attend the world premiere of a new documentary called “Hot Potato” which tells the story of the unlikely rise of the renowned children’s entertainment group and rock band, The Wiggles. During the pre-show … Read more
I don’t often buy into the cringe-worthy hyperbole you often get from press releases, but the opening of The Sphere in Las Vegas might not be exaggerating (much). The Sphere is a huge dome structure covered by LED lights and large enough to fit the Statue of Liberty inside. The opening show is a new live set … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my upcoming book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - coming 09/24!
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ten books.
Skip the obvious and anticipate the future with our weekly newsletter. Join over 25,000 subscribers and start receiving the stories (and insights) you’ve been missing.
In addition to Non-Obvious Thinking, Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
