In the last series of Mirror Mirror – streaming Wednesday on Network 10 – Todd Sampson takes on the wellness industry head-on.
Talk to B&TSampson said the point of the docuseries Mirror Mirror “it’s being a mirror for ourselves, and often for big industry.”
After tackling the cosmetic surgery industry and the Internet, Sampson searched his mind for other industries that impact our minds every day.
“You really can’t get beyond wellness and I’m a bit of a wellness junkie myself,” he said.
In the two-part documentary series, Sampson explores a variety of wellness methods, including the use of crystals, washes, and colonizers—”didn’t feel good,” he says of the latter.
The problem with the wellness industry is that “many peddle misinformation to make money or attract followers,” he says.
He described this as “the lingering effect of COVID misinformation.”
Far from being stupid, Sampson says many are turning to the wellness industry out of desperation.
“Many of them (the subjects of the documentary) are motivated by the irrationality of fear. And I think that leads us, myself included, to do things that you probably wouldn’t do in other circumstances. And fear has never been easier to spread, as was the last series.
For example, one of the saddest stories in the series concerns a man who treats his cancer with alternative therapies, Sampson says.
“My empathy with him is that trauma is hard and difficult and damaging and he was desperate for another solution,” Sampson said.
When asked why so many people turn to alternative therapies rather than relying on traditional medicine, Sampson says it’s a matter of trust.
“Unfortunately, I think there is a kind of lack of trust in Western medicine that has its roots in misinformation, and has even deeper roots in the recent crisis that we have had with COVID,” he said. he declared.
Source: Network 10
If we look at the numbers, Kim Kardashian has more followers than the World Health Organization, he points out.
When asked if the advertising industry can help, Sampson says it’s difficult given the industry’s role.
“This is a difficult question because the advertising industry is a tool used by customers and the industry to sell things. Although one may have a moral compass within this industry, you will primarily be the lubricant in the capitalist machine. »
Todd Sampson was famous in the industry himself, becoming CEO of Leo Burnett Australia and is one of two constant panelists on Gruen; the other being Russell Howcroft.
Despite his success, he says he left the industry after achieving everything he wanted.
“I had achieved everything I wanted to achieve. I wanted to move on with my life and focus on something else.
Although he initially tried to balance a career in documentary making with a career as a CEO, he says it wasn’t sustainable.
“I’d be in a war zone, and then I’d be selling toilet paper.”
