Articles
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Nobody reads advertising. People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.
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Howard Luck Gossage, also known as “The Socrates of San Francisco“. Just like some of us, he was a paddler too who once joined a friend to paddle a canoe for 1 500 miles along the Mississippi river. And he discovered the media theorist Marshall McLuhan.
We write about marketing, media, South Africa, AI, the creative life and whatever else happens to keep us up at night. These aren’t “thought leadership” pieces written to game an algorithm. They’re honest observations from people who’ve spent decades in publishing, branding and digital marketing and who still find the industry fascinating enough to have opinions worth sharing.
RECENT ARTCLES
The Toast’s own perspectives on brand development, communication, media trends and life in general.
A toast to The Toast
14 years of freedom Fourteen years ago, Kim Browne and I took a leap of faith, leaving the security of corporate media life to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure. We envisioned a creative hybrid brand marketing agency that would seamlessly blend traditional strategies with innovative digital solutions. Thus, Twisted Toast Digital was born—a name symbolising our intent to put a unique spin on conventional marketing approaches.
Change in the air
There’s a certain crispness to the breeze lately, isn’t there? A whisper of something shifting, something new unfolding. It’s been a while since we last sent out the Toast Tribune, our little monthly love letter to you all. Life, as it does, got in the way—busy days turned into weeks, then months. But here we are, recommitting to this rhythm, dusting off the typewriter (or, well, the laptop) and pouring fresh energy into sharing our stories with you again.
The latest in LLM AI
Imagine you’re facing a tight deadline—campaign ideas aren’t flowing and your inbox won’t quit. It’s a grind I’ve seen wear down marketing teams time and again. The latest wave of large language model (LLM) AI, such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Claude, Gemini and xAI’s Grok—can lighten that load. But here’s the catch: Raw tech isn’t enough. At Twisted Toast Digital we’ve been mastering this since ChatGPT first hit the scene and our expertise turns these tools into super results you can’t get on your own. We’re in an AI surge right now. OpenAI’s GPT-4o and various reasoning models juggle text, images, deep search and voice with slick speed. DeepSeek’s R1 offers budget-friendly reasoning. Claude 3.7 Sonnet keeps it safe and polished. Gemini 2.0 Flash blends words and visuals.
Bright lights and big game
The wildlife industry stages a pyrotechnic comeback amid renewed demand for top genetics Hoogenbomen, Lindleyspoort, North-West Province – Two huge LCD screens, framed by bright green LEDs blinking in sync with booming speakers filling the marquee with powerful sound, towered imposingly over the standing-room-only Piet du Toit Wildbedryf auction on Saturday, 15 February 2025. A massive, majestic buffalo bull appears on-screen, while in front of the auctioneer’s stage flame bursts reach up almost to the roof. The bull snorts, mock-charges the camera and shakes its formidable horns, holding the audience spellbound. Outside, a welcome drizzle continues, much to everyone’s delight.
From AI to retro: A look at bold design directions in 2025
From AI to retro: A look at bold design directions in 2025 Twisted Toast Digital, located in Johannesburg with growing presence in Cape Town [...]
The power of persuasion
Blending logic and emotion for effective marketing In the dynamic world of marketing, the art of persuasion stands as a cornerstone for creating compelling campaigns. At Twisted Toast Digital, we believe in the seamless integration of logic and emotion to craft messages that resonate deeply with our audience. This balanced approach not only captures attention but also drives action, ensuring our clients achieve their marketing goals effectively.