Category: advertising
Top 10 signs you’re a waiter and not ad professional
Image by jm3 via Flickr There's a kind of deviant you can find in lurking in most ad agencies. Sometimes they've made it to the top, sometimes they're just bottom dwellers but they rarely have a passion for what an agency actually produces – creative solutions to business problem. But…
Why your advertising sucks part 4: You want it to do everything.
Image via Wikipedia Quick, how many copy points can you fit into a 60 second radio spot? The answer should be one. But many ads that really suck the big one are about two or three things – maybe even more. This is real easy to observe in a print…
Hey, account guy, where’s your book?
Image by StreetFly JZ via Flickr Every creative in the business has a portfolio. It's our calling card, our proof of worth, and our stamp of identity all rolled into one. Resume? Why do people even have those when a book says so much more about your ability to work…
Why your advertising sucks part 3: You think people are stupid.
Image by byzantin3 via Flickr David Ogilvy said 40 years ago "the consumer is not a moron, she's your wife." It seems not everyone listened because the industry continues to insult her. Ogilvy's quip may be one of the most quoted phrases in marketing and advertising but marketers often don't…
Why your advertising sucks part 2. The power of no.
What's worse than a yes man? Easy. A no man. (Or even a no woman.) Corporate culture breeds them just as incessantly as yes men. And, unfortunately, so do many large advertising agencies. OK. So who is the "no person?" And how do they make your advertising suck? Imagine a…
Why your advertising sucks. Part one: Trust.
Image by thorinside via Flickr You probably agree that most advertising isn't creatively great or even good. From the outside, one might think it's a business filled with dumb, untalented people serving marketing departments filled with bean counters who couldn't care less if their dollars are producing a fetid mess.…
An ad creative’s view of the Red camera. It’s all about the workflow.
Image by Titanas via Flickr Editors note: I spent a little over a year working on the Red Camera developer's other business, Oakley. I've worked on mostly digital the last couple of years and haven't created an actual TV spot in awhile. The last national TV shoot I was on…
Air-traffic-controller mode. A technique to not produce crap.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] I believe being a great creative doesn't mean being a great creative all the time. Part of the task of getting great work produced and not having it ruined before crossing the finish line involves entering what I call air-traffic-controller mode. It's a…
Casting calls are humbling. And not just for actors.
Image by Hollywood Poodle via Flickr I've just spent the last four days watching casting for a series of videos we're creating for one of our clients. Every time I watch a casting session it's a mix of emotions - embarrassment, awe, passion, gratitude, wonder, and of course, thanks. Usually…
Channel your passion. Just don’t necessarily listen to it.
Image via Wikipedia My fist hit the table this morning. I was feeling passionate. Really passionate about my work. It's an empowering thing – feeling so passionate about what you do that you're willing to sacrafice your hand. The one you use to write with, which is how you make…
