In an annual act of self-immolation guaranteed to make me look like a moron, it’s time for predictions for 2022, both for the VO industry and the world at large.
Behold…..
INDUSTRY: Everyone will continue to panic about AI yet will be shocked at year’s end when most working talent have earned more than the year before.
THE WORLD: Sports prognosticators will have mouths agape as the Cincinnati Bengals upset the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl.
INDUSTRY: VO Atlanta will kick off a rocking 2022 full of live, in-person voiceover conferences that will fuel good spirits and revived friendships throughout the year.
THE WORLD: The rapid spread of Omicron will herald a clearer-than-expected end to the pandemic, and by the end of March the world will look a lot more like 2019 than anyone would have expected.
INDUSTRY: Commercials will become more and more geo-targeted, with different VOs attached to the same copy in different regions becoming more common.
THE WORLD: The expected party summer of 2021 will actually happen in 2022, leading to a short but intense economic boom. Travel stocks will soar starting in February.
INDUSTRY: More and more VOs will see the light that snark and conflict on social media isn’t a good look, regardless of who is right.
THE WORLD: Despite saber-rattling and skirmishes, neither the Ukraine nor Taiwan will be invaded in 2022.
INDUSTRY: 2022 will be the year of the anti-trend in casting…..with casting specs finding a happy medium between reads that have been trending hard for the last two years and more classical approaches.
THE WORLD: The Democratic Party will lose the House but retain the Senate.
INDUSTRY: There will be two or more dramatic mergers or acquisitions in the agency and management world.
THE WORLD: Emmanuel Macron will unexpectedly lose the French Presidency.
INDUSTRY: Jenn Henry will wear a tiara in public at a major industry event.
THE WORLD: Will take a deep breath and remember that we have more in common as human beings than we do things to fight over.
Here’s to a happy and successful 2022 for all of you!