Each month, a member of the Whistlejacket team picks a piece of work they have seen that's nothing to do with either themselves or the agency, but they really wish it did. Because they love it so much. This month, Designer Dan Ayris has picked the Polaroid summer campaign created by their internal team.

 

The Best of Summer is Analog.

Building off the momentum of last years’ successfully provocative campaign, Polaroid have sought to remind us that the best of summer is in fact analog, as they continue to champion authentic experiences in an over-digitalised world.

At 8:00 a.m. ET, June 18 – at the start of summer and on one of the most iconic stretches of sand – Polaroid unveiled a giant billboard on the Coney Island seafront. 

The message read “Go jump in some water before the data centres drink it all up”. 

Polaroid had decided to use this campaign as a stunt to bring the conversation of data centres strain resources directly to its source. 

One of the more significant technological debates in today’s world, its provocatively striking headline is part of the campaign’s wider message, serving as a metaphor for the over-digitisation of modern life, and the increasingly human need to reject it — seeking authenticity, connection and creativity. And rather than continuing to frame this message through a nostalgic lens, Polaroid is making the point that as we rely more on technology and life becomes more digital, the greater the value of human connection and real-world experiences.

So why does this campaign stand out to us amongst the rest? Well, a big part of it is timing. 

The design industry has fallen into a speed paradox. The demand for content is extremely high and less time is given to turn said work around. Therefore you end up being forced to rely on the very thing that’s created this shift. Content is continually churned out, even when there is little to say, and customers' feeds are bombarded with questionable design aesthetics and images that mostly cause you to linger for a second, just to look for evidence that the brand has in fact rushed this thought through a computer. 

Quality drops. Messages don’t cut through. 

That being said, Artificial intelligence in particular,  is a tool — at the end of the day, it is for us to determine how it’s used. 

I’ve often said that design is cyclical. Art is counter culture, and therefore, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the more artificial intelligence strives for perfection, the more we will see a shift in seeking organic and imperfect content.

But there’s a strong case to be made about the preservation of human culture too – and not just from an environmental standpoint. 

Take 2026 so far – we've continued to see the huge resurgence of physical mediums, processes and experiences. Call it ‘retro’ or ‘nowstalgic’, but vinyl sales are the highest they’ve been since 1984, a 20-year-old director and outspoken critic of AI just created the highest grossing film in its studio’s history, and our high streets now offer any number of ‘experiences’ in an attempt to survive.

The world is changing and people are responding.

Polaroid’s ‘The best of Summer is Analog’ campaign success stems from its focus in putting all of their efforts into a single human-led campaign. Reinforced with humble creative direction, a hands on approach, and a refreshingly blasé attitude. It’s imperfect, and it’s unmistakably human.

It reminds us that there’s still lots to be done to minimise the exploitation of people and environments, without putting the full responsibility on the people. But more intelligently, it's setting the tone for a shift in the market. Forecasting an increase in the value of the analog market and the human perspective. 

If you haven’t seen it already, do go check this campaign out! 

And hey – go jump in some water – we don’t know how long it will be there for.