Never grow up: Why we all need a little more mischief
Opinion
Grow wise or silly, wide or tall… but never grow up, always down. What media can learn from Roald Dahl.
I was reading my four-year-old his bedtime book. He chose Never Grow Up by Roald Dahl, “a celebration of mischiefmakers and rule breakers.”
As I read, one passage had my brain whirring…
Perhaps each year grown-ups grow old makes them ninety times less bold… until their lives are spent pursuing the boring things they’re used to doing. And they forget to stop and see just how exciting life can be. Filled with adventure, hidden magic. It’s simply absolutely tragic. To watch them waste each day (and weekend) until they die. That’s it. The end”
I became curious about the adventure and magic in our industry and realised there is a big lesson we can learn here.
We’re often rewarded for efficiency and predictability: on briefs, on plans, on trusted channels that ‘always’ deliver. That makes sense; clients want ROI, budgets are finite, risk is real. But when media campaigns become routine, we become mundane.
If every campaign is a refinement of last year’s safe play, we stop inventing the very things that could move the business needle.
Dahl praises those with “the wit, the grit, the spunk to think thoughts up till then unthink.” That’s the muscle we need to rebuild in media.
Boldness in our craft is not about reckless spending or fads; it’s about curiosity, structured experimentation, and a willingness to tolerate intelligent failure. It’s about asking not only “What worked?” but “What might?” and carving out the room to try it.
We don’t have to be childish to be inventive. We need permission to stay curious, to “never grow up” in spirit: to try, fail, learn, and try again.
That mindset doesn’t reject rigour; it upgrades it into a creative process that accepts uncertainty as the price of real discovery.
If we keep recycling the safe playbook, media becomes predictable and invisible. If we channel a little more of Dahl’s mischiefmaking, “the grit to think the unthinkable”, then we’ll create media that surprises people, starts conversations, and ultimately drives value.
Let’s all give ourselves permission to never grow up.
P.S. This is a GREAT book for kids and adults; give it a read.
Bethany Hitchcock is the head of marketing at Goodstuff